OZ ARMOUR Cow Hide Gloves with Long Mesh Cuff

The Everyday Leather Glove, with a Cuff That Lets the Heat Out

Ask ten beekeepers what they wear on their hands and most will say leather. It's thick enough that a sting rarely gets through, it shrugs off propolis and rough timber, and it lasts. The one complaint is always the same, by the second box on a warm day your hands are swimming, and the sweat running down your wrist has nowhere to go because the gauntlet is sealed all the way to the elbow.

These OZ ARMOUR gloves keep the leather where you want it and fix the gauntlet. The hand is full-grain cowhide. The sleeve is three-layer ventilated mesh that runs up the forearm, so the warm air that builds up inside a leather glove can get out instead of pooling at the wrist. They come in eight sizes from XS to 4XL, with a one-year warranty.

Full-Grain Cowhide on the Hand

Full-grain means the top layer of the hide, the part with the tightest fibre, rather than a split taken from underneath. It's the toughest part of the leather and the hardest for a stinger to get through, and it wears in rather than wearing out. New, they'll feel stiff. Give them an afternoon of inspections and the leather settles to the shape of your hand and stays there, getting more comfortable every season until the fingertips finally go, a few years away with normal weekend use.

Three-Layer Mesh Cuff: Where the Airflow Comes From

The cuff uses the same three-layer ventilated mesh as the OZ ARMOUR jackets and suits. Three layers are spaced apart so the total depth exceeds the length of a bee sting, a bee can land on your forearm and push as hard as it likes without reaching skin, while air passes through freely. The gauntlet is long enough to tuck well under a jacket sleeve, closing the gap at the wrist where most glove stings happen.

Eight sizes from XS to 4XL. Leather gives a little across the palm but not in length, so measure around the widest part of your hand and check the size chart before ordering.