Umpire and Referee Gloves Buying Guide

Umpires and referees should consider warmth, grip, water-resistance and palm color when deciding on gloves.

Typically, the gloves with the most warmth sacrifice grip and dexterity due to their bulk. Gloves with more grip and dexterity usually sacrifice warmth.

You will find the right combination of warmth, grip and dexterity here based on the weather and the functions you perform (e.g. a plate umpire needs more grip and dexterity for indicator, writing and ball bag use than a base umpire).

Glove Rankings for Warmth

1. Franklin ColdMax Gloves (WARMEST)
2. Under Armour Sideline Gloves (WARMER)
3. Industrious Handwear Winter Gloves (WARMER)
4. Franklin All-Weather Pro Gloves (WARMER) (Baseball & Softball Only)
5. Under Armour Storm Liner Gloves (WARM)
6. Industrious Handwear Year Round Gloves (WARM)
7. Under Armour V2 Cold Gear Infrared Field Glove (WARM)

3 Ways to Add Warmth While Wearing Gloves

• Add a handwarmer pack to place inside your gloves
• Use supplemental handwarmer pouch (popular with football officials) around your waist to slide your hands into
• Wear a thinner hand-liner glove under another pair. Gloves that can be worn as hand-liners include:
• Manzella All-Black Ultra-Max 2.0 Gloves
  
• Under Armour V2 Infrared Gloves
  
• Industrious Handwear Year Round Gloves
  
• Under Armour Storm Liner Gloves

Glove Rankings with Best Grip & DEXTERITY

(Only those with grip shown)

1. Industrious Handwear Year Round Gloves with Silicone Strips
2. Industrious Handwear Winter Gloves with Silicone Strips
3. Under Armour V2 Infrared Gloves with Silicone Grips in Fingers
4. Franklin All-Weather Pro Gloves with Leather Palms

Glove Rankings FOR WATER-RESISTANCE / Wet Conditions

(Only those with water-resistance shown)

1. Industrious Handwear Winter Gloves (WATERPROOF)
2. Under Armour Sideline Gloves
   
3. Franklin All-Weather Pro Gloves (Baseball & Softball Only)
4. Franklin ColdMax Weather Gloves (Baseball & Softball Only)

Palm Color

Some officials want all-black gloves and some want black with light colored palms. The white palm color is important to enhance signal visibility to your crew, coaches, players and spectators.

All-Black Gloves

• Franklin ColdMax Gloves (Baseball & Softball Only)
• Manzella All-Black Ultra-Max 2.0 Gloves
• Industrious Handwear Winter Gloves
  
• Industrious Handwear Year Round Gloves (WARM)

Gloves with White or Grey Palms

• Under Armour Storm Liner Gloves
• Franklin All-Weather Pro Gloves (Baseball & Softball Only)
• Under Armour V2 Infrared Gloves

Tell us what works best to keep your hands warm in the comments below.