Click on each sport title to find out more.

Angling Gloves

Increasingly worn by the angling community and adapted to their various needs. Fly and coarse fishing gloves are lightweight in construction and allow the wearer to "feel" the line and strike early as a result. Construction materials should allow for safe handling of fish without damage to the fish. Deep sea anglers, often rooted to one spot for long periods of time, have thermal insulation needs as well as the handling needs of other uses.

Baseball/Softball (Fielding) Gloves (Mitts)

Sturdy constructions using thicker leather types and designs for all positions on the field of play. The principal function of the glove is to facilitate catching the ball, soft leathers with some flexibility and "give" are ideal for this purpose, a "draggy" surface feel helps keep the ball on the glove. Construction to minimise the "sting" from the ball should be looked for depending on levels of experience. Stiffer gloves may need some "breaking-in" before they reach their prime.

Baseball/Softball Gloves (Batting)

Gloves are worn by the majority of players - key features are:
i) Enhanced Grip on the bat handle
ii) Enhanced feel of the bat itself
iii) "Sting" protection from off-sweet spot hits

The trade-off in any glove is between feel and durability. Thinner gloves enhance the sense of touch, thicker gloves give better sting protection and should wear for longer, but at the expense of feel. Any glove should be a good, snug fit. Special features to look for should be textured leathers for enhanced surface grip, water and perspiration treatments to maintain grip in wet and sweaty conditions, and to maintain the softness and feel of the gloves during their playing life.

Cricket (Batting) Gloves

The principal function of cricket gloves is to protect the fingers - hence the heavy padding on the back of the gloves. It is important to remember however that the gloves must also grip and control the bat handle, often in hot sweaty conditions and for long periods of time. Fit is important to allow the padding on the reverse to protect as it should, and to grip and feel the bat. On the palm of the glove look for:
1. Soft/Grippy leathers and padded construction for comfort and vibration reduction.
2. Perspiration resistant treatments to prevent the build-up of sweat and ultimate deterioration of the leather.

Cycling Gloves

Whether on the track or off-road, every category of cyclist will wear a glove, tailored to their particular end usage requirement. Track cyclists require soft lightweight gloves, often half fingered only, improving grip on handlebars during lengthy bouts in the saddle. Gloves are a snug fit with some degree of foam padding or gel in the palms to absorb shock and vibration. A good glove should have a mechanism to absorb perspiration from the hands keeping the grip surface dry and protecting the glove from long term exposure to the detrimental effects of sweat. In cold weather, long fingered, more insulative constructions are worn but grip and control of the handlebars and dexterity for gear levers is a must. In mountain biking the same basic constructions are used but with protection padding on the reverse of the glove and often better grip on the palms.

Driving Gloves

Not solely the throwback accessory of the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies, but still preferred by many for comfort or the steering wheel of any car. Gloves reflect traditional styling and are soft and lightweight. Colour fastness can be an issue in such gloves which are usually unlined.

Equestrian (see Riding) Gloves

Primary Functions:
1. Grip and control of reins
2. Protection for soft hands

Gloves are available in a variety of constructions and materials but should remain focused on the prime purpose. Materials which feel grippy in contact with the reins should be used. A snug fit in any glove is important for control. Things to look for:
1. Robust stitch construction.
2. Reinforcements to protect critical areas from the abrasive action of the reins. Materials which maintain their grip and softness when wet if riding in inclement conditions and which will stay soft after exposure to perspiration - riders or horses!

Fishing/ Angling Gloves

Increasingly worn by the angling community and adapted to their various needs. Fly and coarse fishing gloves are lightweight in construction and allow the wearer to "feel" the line and strike early as a result. Construction materials should allow for safe handling of fish without damage to the fish. Deep sea anglers, often rooted to one spot for long periods of time, have thermal insulation needs as well as the handling needs of other uses.

Football (Gridiron) Gloves

Worn by the majority of players to maintain grip on the ball in all play conditions.
Primary requirements:
1. Snug fit
2. Grippy palm surface

Additional features to look for:
1. Protective reinforcement for knuckles and backs of hand.
2. Perspiration resistant or moisture managing materials which will keep the glove comfortable when worn.

Goal Keeping (Soccer) Gloves

Most gloves nowadays feature a latex foam palm material designed to grip a soccer ball and protect the hands from stinging, as ever across the variety of conditions in which soccer is played. Size of palms are usually exaggerated to give the impression of bigger hands and better shot-stopping ability. Gloves must still "fit" however, to be effective. Beware of softer spongier foams which have grip but lack durability.

Golf Glove

Possibly the largest individual category of sports gloves around the globe. Golf gloves are principally worn to enhance the grip and feel of the hand on the club. Usually only one glove is worn on the "top" hand - left-hand for a right-handed players and vice versa - but specialist pairs of gloves exist for wet or cold weather play. The best gloves are made from soft, lightweight leathers capable of remaining soft and maintaining their grip across a range of conditions, thanks to special leather treatments for water and perspiration resistance. Thinner leathers promote better feel but often sacrifice some element of durability. There are constructions of gloves for more athletic "big hitters", designed to deal with the stress and strains of the big swing. Any golf glove must be a snug fit to be totally comfortable on the hand.

Hockey - (Field) Gloves

Increasingly worn by outfield players for better stick control, protection from other sticks or vibration as well as hand protection especially on Astroturf or Asphalt pitches where the game is faster and injuries more likely. Construction should reflect individual players needs. Heavy finger padding on the back of the glove for hand protection from other sticks. Foam padding on the inside for vibration protection. Robust construction and good grippy materials on the palm for stick control.

Hockey - (Ice/Street) Gloves

Main features of construction for this sport are protection for hands and fingers from others stickwork - hence rigid constructions and heavy padding. However, control of the stick is still important to the Ice or Street Hockey player and players should ensure good grippy flexible materials on the palms. Glove constructions do not allow for washability so antibacterial treatments to prevent odour build up and resist the breakdown of construction materials are very important - particularly for Street Hockey.

Motor Cycling Gloves

Gloves exist to cover a wide range of rider needs; soft lightweight gloves for racing control; mid-range constructions for Touring wear and insulated; waterproof constructions for Winter wear. Grip and dexterity are optimised in lighter weight gloves but should not be totally absent in the heavier weight constructions. All constructions should be capable of protecting the riders hands if falling from the bike, resisting friction burns from the roads surface on the palms and having padding for knock protection on the reverse. Stitching should be strong and robust so that gloves do not fall apart on contact with road surfaces if rider leaves machine.

Motor Racing Gloves

Flame retardant constructions involve mainly Nomex fabric shell gloves but for high speed car control, additional grip on steering wheels should be provided with non-flammable palm materials such as leather. The seams of gloves have to be stitched inside the glove as part of FIDA regulations to ensure no thread ends are exposed in the event of an accident or fire.

Polo Gloves

A cross between a riding glove and a baseball glove is usually preferred; extreme control of horse and flailing mallet being essential. Fit and a robust construction are critical as ever, but robustness should not diminish dexterity. Perspiration is an issue and can interfere with grip as well as detract from performance in the longer term - hardening leathers and rotting gloves - perspiration treatments should be sought.

Racketball (Squash)

Particularly worn in racketball to protect the hand from calluses and improve grip on racket handle. Snug fitting gloves are essential as is an ability to resist wetting from perspiration which diminishes grip and its longer term detrimental effect on the leather.

Sailing Gloves

The principal function of a sailing glove should be to protect the wearers hands from rope (sheet) burns but less hardy hands will benefit all round from the abrasion resistant performance of sailing gloves, keeping calluses from winch handles and generally sharp objects around the boat to a minimum. Thicker materials offering abrasion resistance are key to construction, but these materials should be rain and salt water resistant as well as capable of repeated wetting and drying.

Ski Gloves

Given that skiing is a winter sport, the primary function of most winter gloves is thermal protection from the outside elements but, dependent on skier ability and requirements, insulation may diminish in favour of lighter weight, more flexible constructions with good grip for ski poles. Materials should be water resistant with low water uptake and the ability to dry quickly after a day's ski activity. Cross-country skiers have different requirements with the aerobic activity this sport involves generating high levels of perspiration which the gloves construction should account for.

Snowboard Gloves

Here there is the same basic requirement as other winter sports enthusiasts to keep warm but boarders put additional strain on gloves by trailing hands in the snow or gripping the board edge - for this reason snowboard gloves require higher abrasion resistant reinforcements particularly in the fingertips.

Windsurfing/Waterskiing Gloves

Gloves which are designed to get wet and stay wet - constructed in materials compatible with the requirement but particularly reinforced to deal with the abrasion resistant requirements of heavy duty in-water usage. As ever gloves should fit well to allow for optimum blister and chafing protection for softer hands.