Review of Donkey Gloves

In an average week at work (if there is such a thing), we might spend many hours mowing, lay some flag stones, prune shrubs, weed on our hands and knees and jet wash a patio amongst many other jobs.

I am forever searching for two perfect pieces of work wear, the perfect raincoat and the perfect pair of gloves. I have broadly come to the conclusion that there is not actually a perfect version of either, the reality seems to be that you need a couple of different options in the van / shed and you need to pick the appropriate one for the job at hand.

That being said the work gloves made and supplied by Donkey Gloves (www.donkeygloves.co.uk), come as close to the perfect ‘all round glove’ I have come across.

I saw a recommendation for Donkey Gloves on Instagram recently and thought they were worth a try. They are designed by horticulturist and former Blue Peter Gardener, Clare Cooke. Profits from Donkey Gloves go to support Clare's Farm, a private animal sanctuary on Dartmoor.

I was initially impressed with ease of ordering online and with the sizing guide. We ordered a Large and Extra Large pair, they were instantly comfortable and not stiff. In the packaging there was also a picture of a donkey! What more do you want? They retail for £15 but are currently on a special offer of two pairs for £20 with free delivery, which I think represents very good value for money.

We have been using the gloves non-stop for the last 6 weeks and have been extremely impressed. We have had some unseasonable weather this summer and we have dealt with a lot more rain and wet soil than we would expect. We have used them for a wide range of tasks, and they have stood up well to everything.

After all this work some of the padding stitching and one of the ends of the fingers are starting to fray / become damaged, but they are still perfectly useable. We have washed them many times (something I have tried and failed at with other gloves) and it has not affected the use in the slightest.

Couple of small issues that we found were that they were very absorbent and got very wet very quickly doing work in the rain, this is not necessarily a massive problem but made them uncomfortable to take on and off all day. A couple of times we were able to wash and dry the gloves overnight and have them clean and ready for the next day. From a personal point of view, I quite like a wrist wrap on my work gloves as I find this reduces the pain from vibrations when using power tools (hedge cutters, strimmers etc).

Overall we have been really impressed by these gloves, I have actually just ordered a second pair to replace the current pair when they wear out. As I said I do not think there is a perfect pair of gloves out there, but these are the best I have come across so far. Would highly recommend.