Roofers encounter a variety of hand-specific safety hazards daily.
This includes cuts and abrasions from sharp roofing materials like shingles, burns from hot tar or other chemical agents, and blisters and calluses from working on roof surfaces, to mention a few.
To protect themselves from these workplace injuries, roofers use specialized roofing gloves.
However, considering the multiple available options, picking one can be overwhelming. You may find a promising choice only to discover an equally great alternative, leading to a vicious cycle of analysis paralysis.
Fortunately, we’ve simplified the task for you by creating a list of the top roofing gloves we identified after going through the value propositions of each one and the roofers’ experience with them.
By the end of the article, you’ll have sufficient information to pick the right roofing safety glove and learn how to use ServiceTitan to boost roofers’ productivity.
Best Roofing Gloves
Our research identified the following ten roofing gloves arranged in no particular order.
SHOWA Atlas 300S-07 Natural Rubber Glove
378GOBKL Endura Superior Goatskin Gloves
NoCry Cut-Resistant Work Gloves
G & F 3100-DZ Rubber Latex Coated Work Gloves
Ironclad Heavy Utility Work Glove
John Tillman and Co 1490 TrueFit Mechanics Glove
Mechanix Wear M-Pact Driver F9-360 Gloves
CLC Custom Leathercraft 125 Flex Grip Work Glove
Men’s DT Leather Winter Work Gloves
Hestra Leather Fall Line Gloves
Let’s explore their features and applications in more detail.
1. SHOWA Atlas 300S-07 Natural Rubber Glove
This general-purpose palm glove with an elasticated wrist grip offers added security and excellent protection from external debris and liquid.
While the abrasion-resistant palms are made of natural rubber, the back is made of breathable material. This improves dexterity, absorbs sweat, and keeps the wearer comfortable, especially when working in high temperatures.
The SHOWA Atlas 300S-07 also has a rough grip that prevents slips and tearing.
Best for: All roofing applications. It is ideal for use in summer when temperatures can be very high.
Price: $5.06 (for a single pair) or $31.32 (for 12 pairs)
2. 378GOBKL Endura Superior Goatskin Gloves
Created by Superior, this glove is extremely tough and treated with Waterstop to repel water, stains, and oil. This makes it suitable for wet conditions and heavy-duty roofing projects.
Roofers donning the glove are protected from punctures, cuts, abrasions, and fire flashes.
Lined with kevlar fiber, the glove has a driver-style slip and elastic backs near the wrist region. This facilitates easy donning and doffing and prevents the glove from slipping off during work.
Lastly, the glove’s unpadded surface provides an excellent grip, control, and touch sensation, which increases agility. It also offers protection against the cold weather.
Best for: General winter roofing projects.
Price: From $29.99
3. NoCry Cut-Resistant Work Gloves
With a lightweight and breathable design, the NoCry ranks as one of the top roofing gloves on the market. Its foam nitrate coating provides a non-slip grip, while the symmetrical design makes the glove ambidextrous (it can be worn on either hand).
The glove’s polyethylene (HPPE), spandex, and glass fiber materials give it an ANSI level 5 cut and abrasion protection rating (four times stronger than leather).
Even better, it’s reinforced between the thumb and the forefinger, preventing tears resulting from friction.
Best for: Suitable for all roofing projects done in the summer.
Price: From $13.49
4. G & F 3100-DZ Rubber Latex Coated Work Gloves
The 3100-DZ is a popular, heavy-duty, all-purpose work glove used by workers across different trades.
The glove features a distinctive blue latex coating on the palms and a knitted, breathable cotton material on the back. This offers protection from cuts, punctures, and abrasions while promoting maximum airflow to prevent sweat from accumulating on your palms.
Best for: Ideal for heavy roofing work during the summer.
Price: From $13.99 to $14.15
5. Ironclad Heavy Utility Work Glove
This popular, heavy-duty roofing glove is made of PVC, polyurethane, and nylon and is designed to offer maximum protection to roofers.
The palm is reinforced with Duraclad, while the knuckle features a thermoplastic over mold that protects roofers from abrasion and provides a secure grip.
Wearers also enjoy a secure and comfortable fit with the help of the glove’s adjustable hook and loop closure on the wrist region.
To help roofers handle excessive perspiration on hot days, the gloves' designers added a sweatband wipe behind the thumb for cleaning sweat.
Best for: Perfect for summer due to its breathable material and sweatband.
Price: From $18.38
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6. John Tillman and Co 1490 TrueFit Mechanics Glove
John Tillman gloves are famous for their quality and top-rate protection. And the 1490 is no different.
Designed with extra padding in the palms and goatskin reinforcements in the fingers, this glove is highly durable and can withstand wear and tear from rigorous usage.
It also has anti-vibration resistance that minimizes the impact of vibrating tools such as hand drills and roofing nailers.
The adjustable Velcro wrist closure allows roofers to change the glove to their size. Additionally, the back of the glove has expandable nylon spandex material that ensures it is well-fitted to the palms and doesn’t come off during heavy-duty activities.
Worried about sweaty palms? The glove has a breathable material on the finger that soaks up perspiration and keeps the wearer cool and dry.
Best for: Perfect for heavy-duty roofing during spring and fall.
Price: From $19.99
7. Mechanix Wear M-Pact Driver F9-360 Gloves
Created by Mechanix, this all-purpose work glove comprehensively protects the hands against workplace injuries.
The back, knuckles, and finger areas are covered by thermoplastic rubber (TPR). This provides impact resistance and pinch-point finger-tip protection, safeguarding against cuts, abrasions, punctures, and crush injuries.
The glove's Durahide leather is 2016 Level F and ANSI A9 impact, cut, and abrasion resistant.
The manufacturers adopt a keystone design to improve ergonomics, constructing the thumb separately before sewing it into the glove's palm. This provides a more comfortable fit and supports natural hand movement.
Best for: Suitable for working in the winter.
Price: From $71.75
8. CLC Custom Leathercraft 125 Flex Grip Work Glove
The Leathercraft 125 flex-grip glove is specially designed for comfort and dexterity. Its fingertips are reinforced to protect against impact injuries, while the index, middle, and thumb are touchscreen-compatible.
Additionally, the glove has two key durability-enhancing features.
First, the glove’s synthetic material doesn’t shrink or harden when exposed to water. Secondly, concealed inner stitching prevents it from tearing or catching on to wood or metal surfaces.
Finally, its elastic cuff with a hook-and-loop closure helps the glove conform to the shape of your wrist, supports natural movements, and prevents dirt from creeping in.
Best for: Roofing jobs done during the spring or fall.
Price: From $13.60 - $24.62
9. Men’s DT Leather Winter Work Gloves
Made with pigskin leather, this glove is designed to withstand cuts and last longer than the average roofing safety glove.
The spandex fabric on the back of the hand supports an extensive range of movement and ensures a tight fit so it doesn’t slip off. Reinforced material protects the palm, knuckles, and fingertips.
On the wrist is an elastic band and a hook-and-loop strap that stops external debris from entering the glove and supports a full range of movement.
The men’s DT leather winter roofing glove also has a unique seamless roll top design at the fingertips to facilitate grasping.
Best for: Winter shingle handling and metal roofing since it is fully insulated.
Price: From $33.99
10. Hestra Leather Fall Line Gloves
Although popular with skiers and snowboarders, this glove has gained popularity among roofers because of its unique features.
This winter glove has a carabiner that attaches to your jacket and a wrist strap for securing it to your sleeve whenever you need to remove it to make a call or grasp a small object.
There’s also a removable liner and an insulating foam that keeps the hands dry and warm during extreme cold weather conditions.
Best for: Handline shingles and other sharp roofing materials in the winter.
Price: From $165
What Are The Benefits of Using Roofing Gloves?
Although they can cost a lot, roofing gloves are essential, delivering benefits such as the following:
Protection from injuries: Roofing gloves offer protection against cuts, abrasions, punctures, chemical and impact injuries. This reduces the possibility of workplace injuries, increasing roofers’ productivity.
Reduces hand fatigue: Wearing a glove protects your hands from adverse weather conditions and fatigue, allowing you to work longer.
Ensures compliance: Roofers must wear gloves to comply with OSHA safety guidelines and escape penalties and costly fines.
Increased grip: Roofing gloves usually have grooves and grip patterns that increase dexterity and allow roofers to grasp roofing tools more tightly.
What Types of Gloves Do Roofers Use?
Here are the key types of gloves used by roofing professionals.
Insulated gloves: Roofers are sometimes exposed to extremely low temperatures. Insulated gloves help protect their hands while supporting a full range of motion and maximum control. Some are also ideal for wet conditions since they are waterproof.
Heavy-duty gloves: These are constructed from tough materials, such as thermoplastics and double-latex coatings, that can withstand harsh conditions. They also sometimes feature extra padding, reinforcements, and coatings.
Anti-cut gloves: These shield hands from cuts, punctures, and abrasions. They have different ANSI/ISEA cut ratings, which determine the level of protection they offer.
How Can I Choose The Best Roofing Gloves for My Needs?
Quality roofing gloves share some common characteristics you must look out for when shopping. This ensures you pick the perfect one suitable for your current needs.
Here’s a rundown of the things to consider when choosing gloves for your roofing company.
Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
1. Consider their features
Evaluate roofing glove choices using their features to pick the perfect pair. This ensures you choose one with the right combination of control and defense against hand-specific injuries.
Typically, the prioritized features depend on your needs, the task, and the weather.
Some important features to look for when buying roofing gloves include the following:
Abrasion and cut-resistance rating
Insulation
Water repulsion ability
Traction
2. Look for the right material
A roofing glove’s cut-resistance level, grip, reusability, and insulation against cold weather lie in its material.
Roofing gloves are usually made from the following materials.
Rubber roofing gloves provide great traction and protection against water and dangerous chemicals. However, they don’t last as long as leather gloves and are hard to use in high temperatures.
Leather roofing gloves are not easily affected by cuts, abrasions, or punctures. The only drawback is that the leather material takes a while to soften and fit the wearer’s hands.
Nitrile roofing gloves: Unlike leather gloves, these are very flexible and offer protection from punctures and oil-based chemicals. However, they don’t last as long as leather gloves.
3. Consider size and fit
For maximum protection and efficiency during work, it’s important to pick the right size of roofing gloves.
If the glove is too tight, you will find it difficult to perform roofing tasks easily. If it is too loose, your hands will lack sufficient protection, and the glove will slip off during use.
To pick the right glove size, consult the manufacturer’s sizing chart and try it on before buying.
How to Empower Your Techs Beyond Gloves
Providing techs with the right roofing shoes, gloves, and shotguns or nailers is key.
However, their efficiency, productivity, and ability to deliver quality work are negatively affected if they still use clipboards and paper documents.
Documents may go missing, more time will be spent sorting through heaps of paper, and you’ll have to hire more staff to reduce the workload on office staff.
Guardian Roofing faced a similar challenge when printing about 300 pieces of paper daily to manage job booking and roofing projects.
“A company that just does re-roofs, they might have 40 transactions in a month,” says Co-founder Matt Swanson. “Sometimes we have 40 a day. That's why the stacks of packets were so big. It created so much turmoil (and) inefficiency.”
Daily, techs returned to the office with multiple paper documents, including checks, cash, and even crushed potato chips. Office staff spent hours sorting into packets.
To address this inefficiency, Guardian Roofing turned to ServiceTitan for marketing, job management, and customer service. And in six years, the company grew from $15 million to $30 million in revenue.
“There is no way that we could have done that (without ServiceTitan),” Matt said. “I can't imagine how many packets that would be.”
Guardian Roofing relies specifically on ServiceTitan’s Customer Experience platform to exceed customer expectations and deliver on its “Customer for Life” motto.
Front desk employees can send customers appointment reminders and brief technician bios within the platform. This allows the customer to know who will be coming and when they’ll arrive.
ServiceTitan’s Customer Experience platform also allows customers to communicate with employees and technicians via SMS. They can ask questions, reschedule appointments, and report issues.
Laing Roofing has used this feature, among many others, to assume the responsibility of maintaining customers’ roofs throughout their lifecycle.
“The goal for us is to own the life cycle of that roof because roofs don't last forever,” says VP, Robert Maier.
“And if it's 10 years down the road that the client needs to replace their roof, then it only makes sense that the company that’s taken care of them for the last 10 years is going to be first in line to do that big-ticket item.”
Consider investing in ServiceTitan to empower employees to deliver quality service and boost efficiency.
ServiceTitan is an all-in-one software that helps service companies streamline operations and revolutionize their business. Thousands of contractors nationwide use the software to automate key processes and boost employee productivity, leading to an average 25 percent revenue increase within their first year of working with us.
ServiceTitan Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and substantially elevate the trajectory of their business. Our comprehensive, cloud-based platform is used by thousands of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, garage door, and chimney sweep shops across the country—and has increased their revenue by an average of 25% in just their first year with us.
