How to Choose Tactical & Shooting Gloves

Tactical gloves are designed specifically with law enforcement, military personnel, and outdoor enthusiasts in mind. While standard winter gloves focus on keeping your hands warm, tactical gloves go above and beyond to meet the needs of professionals and enthusiasts who need extra dexterity, enhanced protection, and special features to ensure they can easily grip firearms and gear on the go. In this guide, you’ll learn all about the different features of tactical gloves, types of materials used, and how to measure for gloves to find the perfect fit for your needs.

Are Shooting Gloves the Same as Tactical Gloves?

Shooting gloves are a subset of tactical gloves. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are not the same. All shooting gloves are tactical gloves, but not all tactical gloves are shooting gloves. Tactical gloves are optimized for protection and durability while shooting gloves and hunting gloves are built with a focus on precision and dexterity for handling firearms.

Tactical gloves are all about protection, ensuring your hands are safe from cuts, abrasions, and other threats in the field. Shooting gloves are designed to improve your trigger control and accuracy, often featuring thinner materials around the trigger finger. Thankfully, most modern tactical gloves offer the perfect balance between protection and shot performance to ensure all bases (and fingers) are covered depending on your needs.

Choosing the Best Tactical Gloves: Features to Look For

Tactical gloves offer many useful features that standard gloves may lack. Unfortunately, not all tactical gloves are available with all the following features. The best tactical gloves may incorporate several of these benefits, but you need to ensure you buy the best pair for your needs, which involves prioritizing the most important features fit for you.

Fingerless Tactical Gloves

Fingerless gloves, also known as half-finger gloves, fall more under the shooting glove category. They protect your entire hand except the fingers to allow complete trigger control and maximum breathability to prevent the build up of sweat. The main benefit of fingerless shooting gloves is also its main drawback—your fingers are completely exposed to cold weather, cuts, burns, and abrasions.

Padded & Hard-Knuckle Tactical Gloves

These combat gloves are best suited for military members and law enforcement, providing extra protection of the knuckle area and assisting with close-quarters combat and riot control. Typically designed from thermoplastic rubber (TPR), hard-knuckle gloves assist with controlling machinery or heavy-duty weapons and are extremely durable, which can increase their longevity. The main drawback is that padded gloves are bulky and provide less breathability, so they are ideal for tactical operators who may encounter hand-to-hand combat or harsh conditions in the field.

Touchscreen Compatibility

Touchscreen gloves feature conductive materials on the fingertips that allow you to operate smartphones, GPS units, electronic optics, and other devices. This way, you don’t need to remove your gloves in cold climates or stressful scenarios where every second counts.

Insulated Tactical Gloves

Insulated gloves are only necessary in cold, harsh climates that require extra warmth to protect your hands. They are designed with special insulated linings with synthetic materials like Thinsulate or PrimaLoft that retain heat. While some Thinsulate gloves and other options may reduce breathability, the best insulated gloves utilize waterproof barriers like GORE-TEX or water-resistant membranes that wick away moisture to increase breathability and dexterity. If you’re hunting or working in cold weather, insulation is a must-have feature.

Protective Palm Padding

Protective padding greatly improves grip for weapon control and gear operation, but the biggest benefit of padded tactical gloves is superior protection. Depending on the product specifications, this type of padding results in cut-resistant, heat-resistant, and puncture-resistant gloves. If you need protection against sharp objects or overheated weapons, make sure to buy tactical gloves with protective palm padding made from puncture-resistant materials, flame-resistant materials, or both depending on your demands. Tactical gloves with palm padding are also necessary for climbing and rappelling to prevent rope burn.

Ventilation & Breathability

Breathable tactical gloves are a must for all-day wear to ensure optimal comfort and mobility. During high-stress scenarios and intense activity, sweat will build up and cause irritation and deteriorate grip. Features like lightweight mesh, vented finger guards, and moisture-wicking liners help improve airflow and keep your hands dry. Depending on the method of ventilation or breathability, this may slightly reduce the gloves’ durability and weather protection, but the tradeoff is definitely worth it if you plan on wearing your gloves for extended periods.

Wrist Closures & Adjustment Systems

Proper wrist closure and adjustment is essential for keeping out the elements and ensuring a snug yet comfortable fit. Hook-and-loop straps like Velcro are extremely common and easy to adjust, even with one hand. The only downside is that Velcro can be noisy which is crucial to consider for stealthy operations and hunting. Elastic cuffs offer the quickest way to put on and take off the gloves and reduce the risk of snagging. However, they offer a less secure fit than Velcro straps and other closure methods. Some military gloves use buckle or snap closures for the tightest fit possible, but they are less common than Velcro, are bulkier, and are more difficult to put on and take off than other systems.

What Is the Best Material for Tactical Gloves?

Different types of materials offer unique advantages and drawbacks in terms of protection, breathability, and weight. Some gloves also offer a combination of these materials in certain areas. Here is a brief breakdown of common tactical glove materials and their uses:

• Leather Gloves: Genuine leather made from cow, sheep, or goat skin is incredibly durable and naturally forms to fit your hand. While leather tactical gloves provide excellent grip and abrasion resistance, they dry slowly if wet and tend to be pricier than synthetics. Leather also requires a lot of upkeep and must be treated if wet to prevent cracking or breaking.
• Synthetic Leather Gloves: These lightweight and flexible gloves are an excellent choice when dexterity is essential, and they have quick-dry capabilities and provide better breathability than real leather gloves.
• Kevlar Gloves: If you need cut-resistant gloves, Kevlar should be your go-to choice. Also featuring flame-resistant properties, tactical Kevlar gloves are ideal for military and law enforcement use. The only downside is that they tend to be stiffer than leather and synthetic gloves if they aren’t blended with other fabrics.
• Neoprene Gloves: With a snug fit and excellent insulation in cold and wet environments, tactical Neoprene gloves are an all-around great choice, especially in harsh weather conditions.
• Nomex Gloves: With heat and flame-resistant materials, these thermal gloves are perfect for military use and jobsites where you may be exposed to flames. However, they offer less protection against punctures compared to Kevlar.
• Nylon, Spandex & Mesh Gloves: This material is incredibly lightweight and breathable and allows for maximum mobility. While these materials lack durability on their own, they are often combined with materials like TPR or rubber reinforcements on the knuckles or palms for improved protection.

How to Size Tactical Gloves

Gloves that are too tight restrict movement; gloves that are too loose may slip off or reduce your grip. A snug fit is essential, and you should prioritize a tighter fit without hindering mobility. To properly measure yourself for gloves, you’ll need to measure both the length and circumference of your hand.

For length, take a flexible tape measure and measure from the base of your palm to the tip of your middle finger. For circumference, open your hand and do the same around the widest part of your palm, just below the knuckles (excluding the thumb). Reference the glove size fit chart below for a visual example and find the perfect fit for your hand.

If you’re between sizes, opt for the larger size unless the manufacturer or product reviews state they run small.

If the Glove Fits, Buy It

Hopefully this guide helped you determine the size and type of tactical glove you need based on your profession or application. OpticsPlanet.com carries Mechanix Wear gloves, First Tactical gloves, and other tactical, hunting, and shooting gloves for men and women from the best brands in the business. Explore our collection today to save big on high-quality tactical gloves to protect your paws while maintaining the perfect level of flexibility and comfort you need for all-day wear.