Skip advert
Advertisement

Best disposable workshop gloves 2025

Hand protection is a vital part of anyone’s toolkit. Which gloves win?

Getting dirt under your nails used to be an inevitable part of doing work on your car, but nowadays any professional will tell you that you need to take care of your hands. Apart from the time you’ll need to spend cleaning after a spanner session, the chemicals in cleaners and used engine oils will dry out your skin, and have been linked to disease.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Using disposable gloves means you can protect your hands, by simply peeling them off when you’re done. Having an extra layer to protect against scrapes and cuts is welcome, too.

We tested eight brands, focusing on those made of nitrile, which gives better protection against chemicals than the more supple and elastic latex.

How we tested them

Disposable gloves should be flexible enough to be comfortable and sufficiently grippy to hold fasteners, even covered in oil. It’s also important that they offer decent feel, which is vital when handling smaller components.

To test toughness, we filled the gloves with water and dropped them from 15cm on to a screw to see if they split or punctured. Then we checked their resistance to common automotive chemicals: petrol, carburettor cleaner, oil and a wheel cleaner. Points were also awarded for value and comfort.

Verdict

The Ansell TouchNTuff gloves are comfortable, decent value and offer good protection. Second are the bright Site gloves, which are great  in slippery conditions but are pricier. Third goes to Toolstation’s product, which is good value but can’t offer the same resistance.

Ansell TouchNTuff

  • Price: around £15 
  • Price per glove: around 15p 
  • Rating: 5 stars
  • Contact: amazon.co.uk
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Used - available now

Cooper Electric

2023 MINI

Cooper Electric

17,045 milesAutomaticElectric

Cash £12,300
View Cooper Electric
ID.3

2021 Volkswagen

ID.3

36,347 milesAutomaticElectric

Cash £14,600
View ID.3
Tiguan

2023 Volkswagen

Tiguan

23,634 milesAutomaticPetrol1.5L

Cash £24,300
View Tiguan
Tiguan AllSpace

2021 Volkswagen

Tiguan AllSpace

24,837 milesAutomaticDiesel2.0L

Cash £32,200
View Tiguan AllSpace

The stretchy material of the Ansell gloves means they are easy to put on and the most comfortable to wear, while the snug fit enables you to feel your way around an engine bay without any difficulty.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Despite the thin feel of the gloves, the TouchNTuff lived up  to its name, passing the nail-drop task and shrugging off all the chemicals. Only the acetone-based carb cleaner looked threatening, but it didn’t penetrate within our 60-second test time. Add in decent value, and the Ansell TouchNTuff is the winner, hands down.

Buy now from Amazon

Site Nitrile Powder-Free Disposable Grip Gloves

  • Price: around £11 
  • Price per glove: around 22p 
  • Rating: 4.5 stars 
  • Contact: screwfix.com

If you work with a lot of wet or slippery chemicals, you might consider that the Site gloves are worth the extra expense over the smooth-faced Ansell ones. The hi-vis orange gloves have raised dots on the surface, which make it easier to keep hold of tools and parts.

They also passed all the chemical-resistance tests and the nail-drop trial. However, they are not as comfortable as our winner, with less stretch in the material. Moving up a size ensures they aren’t quite as much of a struggle to put on, but also reduces the sensitivity.

Toolstation Disposable Blue Gloves

  • Price: around £13 
  • Price per glove: around 13p 
  • Rating: 4.5 stars
  • Contact: toolstation.com
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

If you get through a lot of gloves and want to keep down the cost, then Toolstation’s Disposable Blue Gloves look great value, offering virtually the same protection and comfort as our winner for only 13p per glove.

Advertisement - Article continues below

They have a reasonable amount of stretchiness and offer good sensitivity, which makes them comfortable to wear and easier to put on than some competitors here. There was no issue with any of the chemicals during our test, but the nail-drop test did create a small hole. They tend to be slippery when wet, as well.

Sealey Premium Disposable Nitrile Gloves

  • Price: around £7.50 
  • Price per glove: around 7.5p 
  • Rating: 4 stars
  • Contact: sealey.co.uk

The Sealey Premium gloves were actually the cheapest on test by  some margin. They feel a little on the thin side, which has advantages  for sensitivity and flexibility, but means they are not the hardiest gloves here. The nail test caused a split, and the carb cleaner quickly weakened  the material, but if you need protection for other tasks, the Sealey’s good value makes them very tempting indeed.

Buy now from Amazon

Xtremegrip

  • Price: around £12 
  • Price per glove: around 24p
  • Rating: 3.5 stars 
  • Contact: amazon.co.uk

We tried to find a difference between the similar-looking Xtremegrip and Site gloves, but couldn’t. 
This was borne out in the tests, too, where the Xtremegrips had the same impressive results. But there is no reason to spend more on these than the identical Site gloves, unless you like the jazzier box.

Advertisement - Article continues below
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Buy now from Amazon

Tough Glove Gator Gripz

  • Price: around £16.50 
  • Price per glove: around 33p 
  • Rating: 3 stars 
  • Contact: amazon.co.uk

Here’s another product that appears to be identical to both the Xtremegrip and Site gloves. There are a couple of reasons it loses points, however. The first is the price – at 33p per glove it is the most expensive in this test. The second is a strange fit on our samples, with an unusually baggy index finger.

Buy now from Amazon

Boa Pro Disposable Nitrile Gloves

  • Price: around £15 
  • Price per glove: around 15p 
  • Rating: 3 stars 
  • Contact: diy.com

We liked the stretchy material of the Boa Pro, which made it easy to feel delicate components. The glove gripped well, too, even when wet. On the downside, they’re smaller than you’d expect, and a bit restrictive. A bigger issue is toughness, with the gloves compromised by the nail test and dissolved by the car cleaner, too.

Spontex Handy Tough Disposable Gloves

  • Price: around £5 
  • Price per glove: around 25p 
  • Rating: 2.5 stars
  • Contact: tesco.com

For more occasional users, the Spontex gloves have the distinct advantage of being easily available from Tesco in smaller boxes of 20, which won’t take up much room in anyone’s toolbox. This does  push up the price per glove, though.

They are comfortable to wear, with decent stretch, making them easier to put on, while delivering good sensitivity. Unfortunately, they failed the nail test and were quickly dissolved by the carb cleaner.

Kit out your workshop with our car product award winners...

Skip advert
Advertisement

New & used car deals

Nissan Juke

Nissan Juke

RRP £18,185Avg. savings £3,395 off RRP*Used from £10,300
Nissan Qashqai

Nissan Qashqai

RRP £27,135Avg. savings £5,639 off RRP*Used from £12,890
Dacia Spring

Dacia Spring

RRP £14,995Avg. savings £1,827 off RRP*
Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen Polo

RRP £15,060Avg. savings £1,704 off RRP*Used from £8,199
* Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Car Deal of the Day: BYD Seal – signed, sealed and delivered for less than £305 a month
BYD Seal - front cornering

Car Deal of the Day: BYD Seal – signed, sealed and delivered for less than £305 a month

The BYD Seal is a Tesla Model 3 rival, and a very good one at that. It’s our Deal of the Day for 31 March
News
31 Mar 2025
Car Deal of the Day: Only £245 per month for the 60mpg Renault Rafale coupé-SUV
Renault Rafale - front cornering

Car Deal of the Day: Only £245 per month for the 60mpg Renault Rafale coupé-SUV

Sleekly styled SUV comes with hybrid power and a competitive monthly price in our Deal of the Day for 29 March
News
29 Mar 2025
Car Deal of the Day: Hybrid-powered Peugeot 3008 for £208 per month
Peugeot 3008 Hybrid - front tracking

Car Deal of the Day: Hybrid-powered Peugeot 3008 for £208 per month

Peugeot’s sharply styled and hybrid-powered family car can be leased for as little as £208 per month in this deal
News
30 Mar 2025