Leather is a versatile material well-known for its incredible durability and strength. There are many types: cycling, driving, winter, and safety work gloves. However, the material’s toughness makes it difficult to find well-fitted ones, especially if you’re looking for safety gloves. So, how should leather gloves fit?
In short, you should pay close attention to four main factors: the fingers, the palms, the backs of the hands, and dexterity. When wearing gloves, the fabrics must wrap around your fingers snugly. You can comfortably make a fist, squeeze, or spread your fingers. Most importantly, you can hold things firmly.
Besides, factors like glove materials, purposes, and brand names play a huge part in proper fitting. Dive in for the details!
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Why Should You Find the Perfect Fit?
A slight misfit looks fine but it causes discomfort, limited finger movements, and a lack of grip. In particular, purpose-built gloves, such as mechanics, motorcycling, or weight lifting gloves, that are poorly fitted lead to serious accidents.
In the long term, tight leather gloves will affect the skin, bones, and tissues of your hands. Irritation, chafing, and blisters might appear around the folds and fingertips. On a deeper level, critical symptoms like constant fatigue or chronic contact dermatitis may occur. Meanwhile, loose gloves are no better. They significantly reduce grip, dexterity, and productivity.
Here are the signs that indicate your leather gloves are not the perfect fit:
- The wrist closure doesn’t sit on top of the wrist properly.
- The thumb crotch feels tight.
- The fingers are quite long or short.
- The material constantly rubs against your skin when you move your fingers.
How Should a Pair of Leather Gloves Fit?
It is not complicated to learn how leather gloves should fit. All you need to do is take notice of the following criteria:
- The fingers: The fabrics must wrap around your fingers snugly. Heed the thumb as it is where low-quality gloves won’t fit. Thicker gloves tend to cause more discomfort. When you pinch the fingertips of these gloves, they should be able to stretch further so your fingers have room to breathe.
- The palms and backs of the hands: When you try on brand new leather gloves, it is normal for them to be slightly stiff. Leather softens and stretches over time. As long as you can make a fist, squeeze, and straighten your hands comfortably in the gloves, they are the right pair. Remember that there should be no redundant fabric.
- Your hands’ dexterity: Don’t pass by the grip and dexterity even if you are buying winter gloves. The material should allow you to hold things and have freedom of hand movements at all times. Some types of synthetic leather can be slippery. A tip is to try picking up a small object on the floor like a coin, button, or bolt.
You can easily get the right fitting once you try the gloves on. But oftentimes, you might have to buy gloves online. No worries, we have you covered. In the next part, we will provide criteria you should consider when picking up leather gloves online.
Keys to Well-fitted Gloves
Size
Gloves come in multiple sizes. Each brand and model might be sized differently. A crucial step before purchasing is to measure gloves’ size. You will need to measure your hands for gloves and convert the measurements according to the brand size guide chart. Here’s how to attain accurate numbers:
- Measure the width of your dominant hand. Wrap the measuring tape around the hand’s widest point, excluding the thumb.
- Measure the length of your dominant hand. Spread your fingers and measure from the tip of the middle finger to the base of your hand.
- Choose the larger number and round up. Then, match it with the brand size chart.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to leather. It is normal to have shorter or longer fingers than regular-sized leather gloves. If your fingers tend to feel tight in your previous gloves, send the measurement of your hand’s length to the brand service and ask for advice on gloves for long fingers. Do the same if you want leather gloves for short fingers. Another tip is to compare the measurements with your favorite gloves for more accuracy.
Purpose and material
Measuring hands for gloves is important, but don’t neglect the apparel’s purposes and materials. These play an immense role in proper fitting. There are countless types of leather: suede, cowhide, sheepskin, deerskin, full-grain leather, nubuck, synthetic leather, etc. Each type is used for different purposes.
Deerskin leather is softer and more stretchy. This material is popular for its dexterity. Deerskin is often used to make gloves for outdoor activities, such as shooting, driving, motorcycling, and playing sports.
Sometimes, you can find light-duty deerskin work gloves. Due to the material’s nature, deerskin leather gloves should be somewhat tight at first (the tightness doesn’t cause any discomfort) so they will stretch and fit your hands snugly over time.
On the other hand, full-grain cowhide is stronger and resistant to work hazards. In terms of protection, no material can bypass full-grain leather. Hence, it is usually found in heavy-duty gloves. The sturdiness can make these gloves fairly unbreathable though. When buying these, leave small rooms at the fingertips for better breathability and comfort. If your figures are in between two sizes, take the bigger one.
Brand name
A perfect fit comes from a superior manufacturing process. Only a high-quality brand can offer gloves that fit flawlessly. If there is a brand you’ve tried and trusted, it’s best to stick with them. Otherwise, choose a reliable brand that has a wide range of sizes and styles.
Good leather gloves can certainly last for several years when worn and maintained properly. So, investing in a pair that fits and wears nicely is always worth it.
Tips to Make Leather Gloves Fit Better
In some cases, your preferred gloves are not available in the right size. Don’t be discouraged, there are steps you can take to train the leather.
- Tight leather gloves: As mentioned above, leather naturally stretches with time, you only need to urge the process. Firstly, soak the gloves in water. Then, put on a pair of disposable gloves and wear the leather ones on top. It is to keep your hands from getting wet. Now, stretch the leather gloves by spreading your fingers, then making a fist. Also, wear them while driving or cycling. When the gloves are dry, they should feel a bit looser.
- Loose leather gloves: You can shrink leather gloves within a few steps. First, soak them in lukewarm water. Don’t use hot water as heat can cause the leather to be brittle and stiff. Leave them for ten to fifteen minutes. Then, press the gloves in a towel to squeeze out the excess water. Finally, let them air dry. Repeat the process until your gloves fit snugly.
Conclusion
It doesn’t take an expert to know whether a pair of leather gloves fit properly. But it does take extra effort to learn and apply the principles. There’s no point in stunning and long-lasting gloves that don’t fit.
We hope the provided information on how should leather gloves fit can help you make wise decisions when buying leather gloves. We appreciate your attention. Before you leave, let us know if you have any other questions. We are more than glad to assist. Thank you for reading!
Veronica is our content editor. She is a talent in delivery. Her main work is editing and writing articles that are both informative and simple to follow. She is in charge of synthesizing our understanding of what personal protection equipment (PPE) is needed in each job, how to best apply it, and how to visualize that equipment.