The Best Rowing Machine Gloves to Protect Your Hands

Indoor rowing is the ideal cardio and full-body exercise to add to your fitness regimen. It’s a great low-impact activity that can boost your overall fitness and endurance as it works most muscles in your body.

Rowing machines are great for toning your entire body, shedding some pounds, improving core strength, and keeping your overall health in check. But still, if you have just started rowing, you might be experiencing rowing blisters. Or, worse, if you haven’t found the ideal rowing grips, you might be dealing with wrist damage. And who wants that?

To help you get the most out of your rowing and stay safe, we created a list of the best rowing machine gloves that fit comfortably to prevent mishaps.

In A Hurry? Here’s Our Best Picks

How Am I Qualified to Write About These Products?

I’ve been using indoor rowing gloves from the first day I walked into a gym 10 years ago. Over the last decade, I’ve bought and tested more brands of indoor rowing gloves than I care to remember. And luckily, all of that experience has helped me make an informed decision while I was putting this rowing glove review together.

After recalling some of the best brands of rowing gloves and narrowing the wide array of styles of gloves on the market down to the five best, I’ve scoured the blogs and checked the online reviews from verified users.

Who Is This Guide For?

If you’re an avid indoor rower, you probably want to get the most out of each rowing session and have extra hand protection. There are many solid reasons why you should wear rowing machine gloves with adjustable wrist wraps. These essential fitness accessories are usually worn by people who:

• Want to prevent blisters and calluses
• Want to have a more efficient rowing and exercise time 
• Want to avoid sweaty palms
• Want to maintain the ideal grip while rowing 

How We Picked the Best Products?

To ensure I pick the best rowing machine gloves, I consulted reputable sources such as Start Rowing, which provides reliable reviews from experts in the fitness industry. I also read about different user experiences on major forums such as Reddit and Quora. What’s more, I looked at the retail prices for each pair of rowing gloves on Amazon and the brands’ official websites to make sure I have the right price range for each model.

Therefore, combining my experience of using gloves for rowing and the feedback from other users, I narrowed down my list to the following 5 models. Keep scrolling.

How We Compared Each Product

In the paragraphs that follow, I’ll talk in detail about the pros, cons, and specific features of the best pairs of rowing gloves you can find on the market. We compared each product based on the materials they are made of, their breathability and level of comfort, padding, and grip quality, as well as on their available sizes, colors, and retail price. 

The Best Gloves For Rowing Machine

Sculling Gear Rowing Gloves – Our Top Pick

Designed by a team of passionate rowers, these gloves for rowing by Sculling Gear have everything you will ever need in a protective glove. They are available in different sizes – from extra-small to extra-large. This means that everyone can find their ideal fit, as ill-fitted exercise gloves can cause a plethora of issues (check out the sizing chart below to get the ideal fit).

What’s more, they have the perfect grip, giving users just the right amount of tack to ensure their hands stay glued to the handle. Sculling Gear’s rowing gloves have an open-back design that boosts breathability and ventilation. Plus, they cover the lower part of all fingers except the little one.

And when it comes to its design, this glove is made from premium materials – a combination of polyester, nylon, and silicone, featuring a strong Velcro closure. The polyester that covers the palms has just the right amount of padding to provide excellent callus protection. Plus, it can be also fully stretched to prevent the bunching up that causes painful blisters.

Sculling Gear rowing gloves are very lightweight and comfortable to use, contributing to a seamless rowing experience.

Key Specs

Color	Grey
Material	‎Glove: 80% polyester & 20% polyurethane, grip: silicone, trim: 00% nylon, Velcro closure
Sizes	X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, – X-Large
Price	$39

Who It’s Best For

Sculling Gear’s rowing gloves are best for fitness enthusiasts who are looking for lightweight gloves for not just rowing, but general weightlifting as well. They are the ideal workout gloves for anyone who’s looking for a well-ventilated and comfortable fit, enhanced with durable silicone padding to prevent calluses.

Kansoon Breathable Gloves – The Best Adjustable Design

The Kansoon gloves for rowing machines have a versatile design that provides users with extra comfort. They feature a foam pad on the palms and a honeycomb structure made of a printed silica gel for the ultimate anti-skid and steady grip.

These premium quality gloves are made from lightweight and breathable materials such as microfiber and Lycra. Although their design lends a sporty look to the gloves, their double-layer palm feature, and anti-friction construction contribute to the gloves’ durability and longevity.

Key Specs

Color	Pink, Blue, Black, Grey
Material	Lycra, adjustable Velcro, microfiber
Size	X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
Price	$15

 

Who It’s Best For

If you’re looking for a mid-price range rowing glove that ticks all the boxes, the Kansoon gloves may be just it. They are lightweight, breathable, and have an adjustable design that won’t get in the way of your sports watch thanks to their narrow wristband. Plus, they come in a wide range of colors, and they can be worn by both men and women.

Fit Four Neo Grip Glove – The Best Patented Design

Forget about the days of wrapping your fingers with bulky tapes to protect them from the harshness of the rowing handle and the blisters resulting from repetitive movement. Fit Four has designed the ultimate model of workout gloves, which are quite an appealing substitute for tape.

The Fit Four Neo Grip glove is made from anti-slip and wear-resistant material, which is an essential feature for rowing. The overall design is made from premium materials such as neoprene and the interior has a thin layer of rubber which keeps the gloves from sliding down or wrinkling. Thanks to their quality material and sturdy design, these gloves are very durable and can handle intense wear for years to come.

Key Features

Color	Black
Material	90% neoprene, 10% silicone
Size	X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
Price	$24.95

 

Who It’s Best For

If you’re looking for a comfortable glove with a minimalist design that won’t give you sweaty hands, and it’s easy to put on and take off, you will love the simple design of the Fit Four Neo Grip glove. Thanks to its durable, anti-slip material, the glove stretches to comfortably fit any hand while also providing cushioning that absorbs shocks and protects your hands from blisters. Besides rowing, you can also use this model to get a firmer grip when weight lifting doing bodyweight exercises or yoga. 

The Buying Guide

After you have decided to buy rowing gloves, it’s essential to get the right fit and proper gloves for your hands. Although there are a few different types of gloves available on the market, all of them serve the same purpose – to ease friction and protect hands from calluses and blisters. Whichever type you choose, it should be comfortable and easy to use.

For instance, you can go for traditional rowing gloves, rowing pads, or rowing grips. Rowing pads are types of rowing gloves that slip over the hand and cushion the palm and lower fingers. Rowing grips cover and protect just the part of the hand that’s most likely to form calluses and blisters.

Let’s take a look at the most important aspects you should consider when buying rowing gloves.

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Fit

Finding the right glove fit is of paramount importance for your overall performance and comfort. Your gloves should fit snugly and shouldn’t restrict your fingers in any way. If you wear gloves that are too tight, you may find it difficult to grasp the handle of the rowing machine. On the other hand, loose-fitting gloves may cause your hands to slip while rowing.

Material

Leather and synthetic fabric neoprene are the most commonly used material options for indoor rowing gloves. Gloves made out of leather are more durable, but they are not great at eliminating odor and preventing sweat build-up. The padding of leather gloves is usually better than that of neoprene gloves, which usually have moderate padding.

Closure

In most cases, rowing gloves will have either a Velcro or a pull-on closure. Gloves with a Velcro closing strap are much easier to put on and put off, which is why this closure is the most popular. It is essential to wear gloves that have a strong Velcro closure, otherwise, the straps may be flapping around while you are rowing, impeding your performance.

To make an informed decision, make sure to check the online reviews from customers to see how secure the Velcro closure is on the glove model you’re considering.

Design

Most gloves for rowing machines are fingerless, but there are also full-fingered models. Some people think that a full-fingered pair of gloves provides an enhanced grip and offers better rowing control than fingerless rowing gloves. What’s more, full-finger gloves also provide full-palm protection. 

Nevertheless, full-fingered gloves may contribute to sweat build-up. Fingerless gloves, on the other hand, have a more breathable design and may be more comfortable to use.

Ventilation

Many modern rowing gloves boost breathability and ventilation with their open-back design, while reducing the coverage to the areas that are usually more prone to blisters. This helps minimize heat and contributes to sweat reduction.

How do you measure rowing gloves?

Getting the correct glove size for your hand is essential to make the most out of your gloves and boost your rowing performance. To pick the correct size, just measure your palm circumference with a tape measure below the knuckles. Take measurements only of your dominant hand.

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Always choose the larger size if you are between sizes and have a bigger palm circumference. It is also a good idea to check the manufacturer’s website for specific sizing instructions, as glove sizes can differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Here is a size chart that converts hand width (in inches) to glove size.

Size	Men Hand Width	Women Hand Width
XS	7	6
S	7.5-8	6.5
M	8.5-9	7
L	9.5-10	7.5
XL	10.5-11	8
XXL	11-12.5	8.5