The 10 Best Armored Gloves
This wiki has been updated 22 times since it was first published in January of 2018. Whether you're pulling the trigger on a paintball gun or pulling the clutch on a Harley, you want your hands to be comfortable and protected. The armored gloves included in these rankings offer you both of those benefits, though some are clearly better suited for the roadways than they are for a battlefield. We've ranked them here based on protection, comfort, and durability. When users buy our independently chosen editorial choices, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. BMW Genuine Motorcycle Riding Two-In-One
2. FreeToo Tactical Military Outdoor
3. TitanOps Gear Combat Training
Editor's Notes
April 09, 2020:
During this round of updates, while the majority of our previous selections maintained their positions, we did remove the Kolumb Premium Tactical and Jiusyu Touchscreen Tactical due to availability issues. In their places, we added the TCBunny Powersports – a budget-friendly option that comes in three colors, and the TitanOps Gear Combat Training – a comfortable pair that’s available in three sizes.
A few things to look for in this category:
Fit: Like any other gloves, a good pair of armored gloves needs to be comfortable, and to be comfortable they need to fit well. While which gloves will best fit you personally largely depends on the unique shape of your hand, several models we ranked include extra features to help ensure an agreeable fit.
While the Street & Steel Westwood have stretch panels along three fingers on each hand, allowing users to comfortably form a fist, the TitanOps Gear Combat Training use military-grade Velcro on their wrist straps, to ensure the gloves stay snug. On top of this, the TitanOps are one of many options that use stretchable, synthetic textiles to create a glove that easily conforms to the shape of your hand.
Ventilation: This is an especially important consideration for this category, given that these gloves are often worn by users riding motorcycles – or playing paintball – in the hot sun. Options like the TCBunny Powersports help keep hands cool by using breathable fabrics across their palms and vented eyelets on top of their fingers – the latter being a strategy that’s also employed by the FreeToo Tactical Military Outdoor. As the name implies, the Valken V-Tac Half Fingers are missing half their fingers, which makes them much less stifling than most, while the Joe Rocket Motorcycle Cold Weather take the opposite approach, and minimize ventilation as much as possible by implementing a drawstring around their wrists, to help keep hands warm.
Protection: This is what sets armored gloves apart from their common counterparts – the rigid shielding they offer one’s hands. While the Reebow Tactical Military have no special provisions to protect your fingers, the Tonsiki Carbon Fiber Full Fingers have two small pads across each finger, and one across each thumb. The open fingers on the Valken V-Tac Half Fingers do leave your digits exposed, but it should also be acknowledged that the full shielding they have across the back of their hands is more than most. The multipurpose vented eyelets on the FreeToo Tactical Military Outdoor also help give a bit of extra protection to your fingers.
4. Joe Rocket Motorcycle Cold Weather
5. Fox Head Men's Bomber
6. Street & Steel Westwood
7. Reebow Tactical Military
8. TCBunny Powersports
9. Tonsiki Carbon Fiber Full Fingers
10. Valken V-Tac Half Fingers
After deciding that the pen was mightier than the pliers, Canadian electrical contractor William Rhoda abandoned his career and headed back to college, where he majored in marketing and advertising and won a scholarship along the way to earning a diploma in creative communications. His past career landed him a depth of knowledge in tools and hardware, while his current career schooled him in audio, video and camera equipment. During his leisure time, he’s learned lots about outdoor gear, and years of tiresome backyard maintenance have taught him all about pools and hot tubs. His recreational pursuits include rest, relaxation and revolutionary action, and his roommate’s a hairless cat.