Best Gloves for an Obstacle Course Race

Running Spartan Races, Tough Mudders, and other Obstacle course races can be tough business for the hands. You might train for hours a day in a gym or at the box but nothing can simulate crawling through rough muddy rocks under barbed wire or doing a hundred plus burpees on terrain ranging from mud to pavement. I workout a few hours a day, I feel tough, and my hands feel tough but after some races without gloves I realized my hands were not that tough. Here’s our top suggestions for the best glove to get you through a Spartan Race and to let your stop asking, What are the best gloves for an obstacle course race?

6. Mad Grip Pro Palm Glove ($14.99)

These made the list mainly due to the low cost and simplicity of them.  The plus side of these compared to the ones in hardware stores is that they’ve managed to mold in some more aggressive grip.  They are also cheap enough that when they become saturated in mud and debris you can discard them or relegate them to garden gloves.  Unfortunately, they are very low performing because when they get wet the gloves will hold all that water in the cotton backs of the gloves.  They also don’t cinch with any type of wrist strapping so they could possible fall off.

Oh hey, while you are here would you like to check out the new New Spartan Shoes?

5. Mechanix Wear M-Pact Gloves ($25.00)

Mechanix is a glove brand you will see all over all Spartan Races, Tough Mudder, and so on.  They are durable and made out of synthetic materials that don’t absorb water too much. Another benefit to Mechanix type gloves is that there is so many versions to fit your personal preference.  This version is basically the most bad ass type of them.  They have rubberized palms, protected knuckles, wrist strap tighten-able, and they are made of a breathable material.  I’ve thrown away other versions of the lighter kinds in the past but these are some of my favorite for the colder weather. When it’s warmer they also have the fingerless version listed below.  When in doubt of your specific needs buy these gloves in your size and favorite color.

Fingerless Version: Mechanix Wear M-Pact Fingerless Gloves

4. Spartan OCR Neo Grip Gloves by Fit Four ($29.95)

These are a collaboration between fit four and Spartan Race. They took an interesting approach by throwing out all of the “extra” part of the glove and just adding the grip part where you hands would mostly grip on obstacles. Fit Four also made them of neoprene similar to wetsuits which was a great choice and I wish that more OCR type gloves would take this approach.

Full Review on ORM: Fit Four Glove Review

3. Warrior Elite II Half-Finger Gloves ($25.00)

Warrior Elite II gloves are a another new entry to the obstacle racing glove world. They are a glove designed just for adventure and obstacle course racing. The overall glove material is meant to not absorb water and shed it when it does. They also used grip similar to wide receiver gloves in the NFL which has its obvious benefits.

Full Review on ORM: Warrior Elite II Glove Review

2. Under Armour Men’s CTR Trainer HF Gloves ($29.99)

Under Armour always manages to come through with the best performance gear and these are no exceptions.  If you see me racing there is a very good chance I have these on.  They are super thin all around so even when the quick drying material gets soaked there isn’t much to absorb it with all the mesh panels.  On the fingers and palms they also have little strips of this sticky type material that is comparable to the stuff on football players gloves to help them catch footballs.  But they didn’t stop there with all the features you might need, they added a soft place on the back of the thumb so that you can wipe your nose or brow without scratching it too bad. The only possible rub against these gloves is that the wrist is just a tight elastic material and doesn’t have the ability to cinch.  I’ve never had a problem due to this but it’s worth noting.  If you want a performance based glove that makes it feel like you have almost nothing but a second skin on your hands you should get these.

1. Under Armour Men’s Flux Half-Finger Training Gloves ($22.99)

These are still conceptually the same glove as the CTR with a few slight differences. Most notably they grip pattern on the palms has changed to a more spread out pattern instead of stripes.

Another change is that the palm is not the same mesh but instead just a perforated section which seems like a nice improvement since it means less seams.

The final change is the wrist enclosure is a little longer and more elastic based than previously. This has the added benefit of the glove staying on your hand even better. I suggest you buy the old gloves (CTR) while you can and these to test out which work best for you. I prefer the updated version and like that Under Armour didn’t just scrap the entire concept of these gloves since they are uniquely fit for obstacle course racing.

Honorable Mention:

Under Armour Men’s UA Nitro Football Gloves – These gloves have great grip and are lightweight but they don’t deal with mud and water as well as the gloves mentioned above. They are also less breathable and more expensive.

Gloves to stay away from:

Mechanix Wear 0.5 Original Style Glove– Held water like you wouldn’t believe and provided almost no grip when wet.  I would even go as far to say they felt quite a bit more slippery than bare hands.
True Grip Suede Cowhide Glove with Mesh Back – These are gardening gloves, not obstacle course racing gloves. Unless you plan on planting tomatoes by the nearest wall jump please avoid these. I have seen people wearing all types of gardening gloves at the beginning of races but never at the end of races; this is not a coincidence.

Got a glove you like, or hate? Comment below!

If you enjoyed this article you may also like our article on Best Shoes For An Obstacle Course Race.

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Dario

Dario is a long time distance runner and OCR athlete. When not on the roads and trails logging miles he can be found drinking coffee while reading bad science fiction books.

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