It’s rare that we really gush about a product, but this is going to be one of those times. We’ll probably be embarassed about it in the morning, but tonight we’re gonna unabashedly tell you: these gloves rock the house. They’re easily the most comfortable and useful welding gloves we’ve ever used. We think our name (in the post title) is better, but Hobart calls them their “Premium Form-Fitted Welding Gloves.”
We didn’t ask for these, but when we were testing some Hobart welding gear, Hobart included two pair in the package. Here’s how it went in the shop:
Day One: I love my favorite pair of welding gloves so much that when I finally wore/burned a hole in one of the fingers I actually started using the left one (without the hole) along with right one of the “cheapie” pair we keep around the shop for guests. Yeah, I look stupid, but it’s better than giving up my faves. For this reason, I decide to try out one of the pairs from Hobart.
Click on pictures for larger versions.
Wow. They feel really good. The fingers are quite thick, but the more “rounded” shape of them makes them feel much smaller than they are. Maybe “dextrous” would be the right word. The bottom line: You can feel a lot more, and you can manipulate smaller object than you can with lesser gloves — like my old favorites.
I tell Sean about the gloves.
Day Two: Sean tries out the other pair, and tells me that they’re better than sex. Ok — I’m kidding. He didn’t say that. What he really said was, “Holy s*@#, these feel great. What’s inside of ‘em?” He’s right. The lining is much softer than you’re probably used to in a welding glove, but it doesn’t affect durability — or your ability to “throw off” the gloves in the least.
Day Five: I discover that Sean’s labeled one pair with his name, presumably to keep me from improperly “shaping” them by putting my grubby paws in them. Not to be left out, I promptly claim the other pair. I find myself grabbing “my” gloves for all kinds of things beyond welding like, for example, hanging on to the so-hot-they-burn-the-wood screws back in our LOX screw test. Try manipulating a tiny screw with other welding gloves!
Day Seven: After a lot of use, neither pair of gloves are quite white anymore. They’ve got black crap on them, but they still look great. Sean mentions how the gloves’ extra layered material is really, really well placed. It helps the gloves provide a lot of heat and puncture protection while still remaining flexible.
Day Twelve: I’m so used to these great gloves that I realize that I’ve forgotten to tell you, our readers, about them. So, I fire up the laptop and write this post even though I can’t find a quick retail link to tell you where you can get these, because you really, really should. I promise, however, that I’ll call up Hobart Monday afternoon and find out for you.
The Details
- Natural-grain leather
- Form-fitted design
- Protective knuckle patches
- Padded palm
- Kevlar stitching
- Branded pigskin cuff and backhand
Premium Form-Fitted Welding Gloves [Hobart]