Gloves are sometimes an essential part of your outfit. We’re not just talking fashion gloves here, but also practical gloves. Your hands are precious, and damage to the hands through work or other areas of life is something we all do our best to avoid.

That’s why many people in different jobs, and carrying out different daily routines, wear gloves as a matter of course. You may also want to wear gloves to keep your hands warm – and this is equally important – but here, we’re talking mainly about gloves that are for protection.

For example, do you ride a motorbike? If so, you will undoubtedly wear gloves when doing so, perhaps a full gauntlet design or tough leather gloves. These are to protect your hands not just from the cold and wind, but also for in the event of an accident.

The same is true of people who indulge in action sports – think cycling, snowboarding and so on – as protection to the hands is essential. You can find some great examples at Top Gloves Guide where there are some great reviews of different types of gloves.

If you know the type of gloves that you need to buy – perhaps you work in heavy industry and need highly-protective gloves – then that’s one factor dealt with, but there’s another that is often overlooked: the size of gloves you should buy. Let’s have a look at glove sizes in a bit more detail.

Choosing the Right Size

It is far from unusual for people to buy gloves without checking that they are the right size. In some cases, a ‘one size fits all’ glove will be fine, but if you are looking for gloves to protect your hands, it is essential you find the right size. Do you know what your glove size is? There’s some great information on how you should find glove sizing that will certainly help, and here is our brief guide:

Men’s glove sizes – for men, sizes range from 6.5 to 12.5. As a guide, 6.5 will be a size extra small, 12.5 an XXL. A medium size glove will be between 8.5 and 9.5.

Women’s glove sizes – for women, sizes also start at 6.5, and reach 8.5. Medium will be around 7 to 7.5.

These sizes refer to the measurement of the hand in inches as a circumference, taken around the palm above the thumb. A closely-fitting glove will be slightly larger than this size, in order to give some movement within.

The best way to find out if gloves fit you is to try them on, or if this is not possible – maybe the shop does not allow it – measure the circumference of your hand as follows: hold your left hand upright (right if you are left-handed) and run a tape measure all the way around, below the base of the fingers and above the thumb. Your glove size is the measurement in inches you read from the tape.

If you need to buy gloves for protection, the best advice is to shop around for quality items. Protecting your hands is not something that should be taken lightly, and the better quality gloves you can afford, the more protection you will be giving to your hands.

There is plenty of advice on the internet as to buying gloves, and also plenty of choice when it comes to brands, materials, types and sizes, so whatever you need, you can be sure there is a pair of gloves that will be right for you, and that will also be the right size.