Written by Kyle Hamilton and Lily Hartman
Updated May 5, 2023
Disposable gloves are used widely by many professions—nurses, doctors, dentists, people that service or process food, cleaners, mechanics, you name it. However, us nonprofessionals have just as many uses for disposable gloves as the pros do. Whether it's working outdoors to garden, using harsh chemicals to clean the house, or applying hair dye, disposable gloves can protect you and keep your hands clean. Our top pick—the Venom Steel Rip Resistant Industrial Nitrile Gloves (available at Walmart)—can help you with a wide variety of general tasks around the house and are durable, flexible, and comfortable.
For those who are allergic to latex, don't worry, we have you covered. Our roundup also includes gloves that are made of vinyl and nitrile, giving the option to choose which is the perfect fit for you. However, one note: If you're looking for gloves with specific medical grading or for professional food handling, this roundup isn't for you. The gloves we tested were aimed at general-use cases only.
Editor's Note:
The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.
Best Overall
Venom Steel Nitrile Gloves
Specs: Fully-textured, Powder-free, Nitrile Material
Rated for: Industrial, Cleaning
Thickness (palm/fingertips): 6 mil / 6 mil
The Venom Steel gloves aced our durability tests. The six millimeter, dual-layering of the gloves allowed it to withstand more than ten pounds of pressure before tearing apart. It even stood up to slashes from a knife without ripping, a first in our testing. The dual-layer is also effective against chemicals and water; it kept my hands safe and dry during testing.
We tested the “one size fits most” Venom Steel gloves, and that naming scheme is pretty accurate. While they fit comfortably on my larger hands, and didn't hinder my flexibility, some of my coworkers with smaller hands felt that the gloves were a bit too big. Fortunately, you can choose from more specific sizes as needed. Overall, if you’re looking for good, durable, multi-purpose gloves, then the Venom Steel gloves will definitely exceed your expectations.
Pros
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Impressively durable
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Comfortable fit
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Textured
Cons
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May be too big for smaller hands
Best Latex
Curad Latex Gloves
Specs: Fully Textured, Powder-Free, Latex Material
Rated for: Medical
Thickness (palm/fingertip): 5.9 mil / 6.7 mil
These gloves flawlessly slid onto my hands, which was very impressive considering that the gloves don't incorporate any powder in them. Combine that with a super comfortable fit, which also allowed me to use the full flexibility of my fingers, and you get a perfect pair of gloves for any job. The gloves' texture is a nice bonus, as it helped to slightly increase my grip.
Pros
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Easy to put on
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Comfortable fit
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Textured
Cons
-
None that we could find
Best Value
GlovePlus Vinyl Gloves
Specs: Powder-Free, Vinyl Material
Rated for: Industrial, Food
Thickness (palm/fingertip): 3 mil / 4 mil
Vinyl is the cheapest material among the three types we tested in this roundup, which is great if you don't want to spend tons of cash on gloves. The vinyl material is less elastic compared to latex or nitrile, which is why it's a perfect option for short-term activities. The loose fit also makes this a good choice for cosmetic purposes, giving you the option to lotion up your hands while keeping it contained.
Pros
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Affordable
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Loose fit
Cons
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Not very elastic
The Safety Zone Nitrile Gloves
Specs: Fully Textured, Powder-Free, Nitrile Material
Rated for: Medical, Food
Thickness (palm/fingertip): 3.0 mil / 3.6 mil
If you have latex allergies, then these gloves are your best choice. In our testing, they came in second behind our Best Overall pick, the Curad Latex Gloves. The Safety Zones fit just like a second skin, making them very natural to work with. This also provides excellent flexibility, as they don't feel too tight or too loose.
Pros
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Comfortable fit
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Textured
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Good flexibility
Cons
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None that we could find
Vivid Nitrile Gloves
Specs: Textured Fingertips, Powder-Free, Nitrile Material
Rated for: Medical, Food
Thickness (palm/fingertip): unknown
These gloves have a slightly tighter fit around the fingers. You still get full flexibility, and they're tight enough to ensure they won't fall off, however, I noticed an air bubble formed around the palm. The textured fingertips is a nice addition, but there isn't a noticeable difference.
Pros
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Textured
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Good flexibility
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Tight fit
Cons
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Air bubbles can form
GlovePlus Black Nitrile Gloves
Specs: Textured Fingertips, Powder-Free, Nitrile Material
Rated for: Industrial, Food
Thickness (palm/fingertip): 5 mil / 6 mil
This was an interesting glove to wear because it felt like a mix of latex and vinyl. You get a strong elastic grip around the palm of the hand, that's common from latex, but these gloves have a slightly looser feel—like vinyl usually provides—around the fingers.
Pros
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Textured
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Strong grip
Cons
-
Loose in the fingers
Comfitwear Powdered Latex Gloves
Specs: Powdered, Latex Material
Rated for: Food
Thickness (palm/fingertip): unknown
Powdered gloves such as these use cornstarch to make it easier to put on and take off, which these do very well. The powder also gives a comfortable fit with excellent flexibility. The downside to using powder, however, is the leftover residue that remains on your hands when you take the gloves off. It can cause an increased risk of bacterial infections if it comes in contact with an open wound, which is why most popular brands also offer powder-free gloves.
Pros
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Powdered
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Comfortable fit
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Good flexibility
Cons
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Powder leaves residue
Ammex Black Nitrile Gloves
Specs: Textured Fingertips, Powder-Free, Nitrile Material
Rated for: Medical, Food, Light Industrial
Thickness (palm/fingertip): 4 mil / 4 mil
Similar to our other choice of black nitrile gloves, these are tighter around the wrist, making it a bit more difficult to put on. The gloves are nice and tight around the fingers, giving good flexibility, yet loose around the palm and knuckles. The textured fingertips, however, don't seem to make a difference when gripping objects.
Pros
-
Textured
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Good flexibility
Cons
-
Tight fit
Green Direct Latex Gloves
Specs: Fully Textured, Powder-Free, Latex Material
Rated for: Food
Thickness (palm/fingertip): unknown
The most notable feature of these gloves is the added texture. Out of all the gloves we tested, the Green Direct had the most pronounced texture, which was very helpful for gripping objects. The gloves are also pretty snug too, making it ideal for prolonged use, but you lose out on some flexibility compared to the other gloves we tested.
Pros
-
Textured
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Tight fit for longer use
Cons
-
Slight loss in flexibility
L3 Level 3 Nitrile Gloves
Specs: Latex free, Nitrile Material
Rated for: Salons, Cleaning, Food
Thickness (palm/fingertip): unknown
From coloring hair to cleaning your home with chemicals, these latex-free, disposable gloves are made to resist ingredients, such as hair dyes and bleach. They run slightly small, but many reviewers are a fan of their tight fit. These rubber gloves are also touch-screen friendly and promote good grip and mobility. As for the downsides, reviewers find that they are thin and fragile and that they are more pink than red in person.
Pros
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Latex free
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Fit well
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Great for hair stylists
Cons
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Run small
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Thin and fragile
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Misleading color
Ammex Vinyl Gloves
Specs: Powder-Free, Vinyl Material
Rated for: Medical
Thickness (palm/fingertip): 3 mil / 3 mil
Vinyl doesn't adhere to the skin as well compared to latex or nitrile, so I was surprised by how natural these gloves felt. However, I did notice a small loss in flexibility, but only slightly. The wrist is pretty loose, which makes it easier to put the gloves on.
Pros
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Loose wrist
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Comfortable fit
Cons
-
Slight loss in flexibility
How We Tested Disposable Gloves
While disposable gloves are often used in a medical or industrial setting, they also have many uses around the home and workplace that don't involve touching a patient in an exam room or a specimen in a lab. Our tests were meant to help us discern the best disposable gloves for those more casual use cases, rather than anything that goes down in a doctor's office. If you require gloves with a specific medical grading or for professional food handling, be sure to familiarize yourself with local and federal requirements. The gloves in this roundup were tested for general use only.
In order to see which gloves performed the best, we put them through a series of experiments.
• Durability —We took a box cutter to each glove, and determined its durability by rating how easy it was to slice through the glove material.
• Resistance to tearing —One the glove had a slice in it, we added weights that hung from the torn glove to see how much weight it would take for the glove to be torn apart when it was already damaged.
• Temperature resistance —After setting the water temperature to "uncomfortably hot", we stuck our glove-covered hands under the water to see how long it took for us to actually feel the burn.
• Chemical resistance —With most disposable gloves, if you get some sort of chemical (like a heavy-duty cleaning agent) on them, after a while, the glove can become brittle and crack, which naturally provides no protection for your hands. We applied some Goo Gone and common vinegar to the gloves and left them to dry out overnight to see which gloves could hold up when it comes to chemicals. Note: We did not do this test with the latex gloves, as they are not rated to deal with chemicals.
• Usability — In addition to the tests listed above, we also just used the gloves in a more casual setting as well. This helped us to determine how comfortable and flexible each set of gloves was, as well as how easy a glove was to put on or take off.
What You Should Know About Disposable Gloves
Disposable gloves are usually rated for some combination of industrial, medical, or food usage. Be sure to select the right gloves based on your use case, and read the specifications carefully. For food preparation, make sure that the gloves meet the requirements laid down by the FDA.
In our roundup, we included three types of disposable gloves: latex, nitrile, and vinyl. Latex gloves are made out of rubber. The primary reason you might choose an alternative to latex is that some people suffer from latex allergies. Nitrile gloves are made out of a synthetic rubber, making it an ideal alternative when latex allergies are of concern. The synthetic rubber makes the gloves more durable, making it a top pick for medical use. Vinyl gloves are a popular choice for the food industry and situations where high levels of durability and protection are less of a priority. While they may be less durable, they are also a less expensive option.
In addition, some gloves come advertised as "powdered." These gloves have cornstarch powdered in the interior of the glove, making it easier to put on and take off. It will also help with moisture build-up and to help keep up flexibility for prolonged use. However, most gloves are powder-free since powdered gloves can increase the chances of contracting a bacterial infection if it comes in contact of an open wound.
Disposable gloves also come in a variety of thicknesses; the trade-off is that thicker gloves usually mean better temperature or chemical protection, but there can be a corresponding loss in dexterity and flexibility that might be needed for undertaking small-scale or delicate tasks.
Before gloves can be marketed to hospitals and medical institutions, they must undergo a series of tests conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure their durability.
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Meet the writers
Kyle Hamilton
Product Tester
Kyle Hamilton is a product tester at Reviewed, specializing in home appliances and technology.
See all of Kyle Hamilton's reviews
Lily Hartman
Staff Writer, Search
Lily Hartman is a staff writer who also enjoys writing magazine articles about health and outdoor recreation. In her free time, she likes to hike, camp, run, and lift weights.
See all of Lily Hartman's reviews
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