Gluing Gloves to Increase Durability and Waterproofness

The finished product.

I don’t know about you, but I easily go through 2-3 pairs of gloves during any given winter season.  Mostly they are lightweight gloves that are used for long periods of time while skinning, and the constant friction has worn through either a stitch on a seam or through the material completely.  It kinda drives me nuts, but I have found that a little bit of prep with some glue makes gloves extremely durable and very waterproof.  With full leather gloves, I like to coat the whole glove…or at least where there is leather, but for the fleecy type, I mainly stick to the palm because I want to still have beathability on the rest of the material.  A side benefit of doing this is that the gloves become extra grippy…which can’t hurt.  I got some Black Diamond Stormweight Gloves in the mail the other day, so I figured I get them ready for the season.

What you will need.

There are many different ways to achieve the goal here…mainly getting glue where you want it and not where you don’t.  You also want to avoid letting the fingers of the glove stick to one another after the glue is applied.  Sometimes this may require multiple gluing sessions, mostly for heavier, all leather types of gloves, but the glue kinda smells nice anyway so why not milk it for a few days.  Speaking of glue, there are many types that work for this, but I find McNett Seam Grip and Aqua Seal are most readily available for me.  A 1oz tube of Seam Grip will be enough for a pair of gloves and store what you don’t use in the freezer.

Pencils positioned inside of glove.

For lighter weight gloves, when I’m covering just the palms and fingers, I like to use pencils to keep the fingers spread apart.  Jamming them into the glove and then tweaking the tips against the side seems to do the trick…but be careful not to poke a hole in the glove at the same time. Once you feel like the fingers will stay apart while the glue dries, you’re ready to start.  I like to use the applicator that is provided with the glue, applying an even coating.  Not too much…and not too little.  Expect to get some glue on yourself and maybe somewhere that you don’t want it, but the to goal is to limit the amount of things that get completely ruined from it.  Set the gloves aside to dry for at least 24 hours and/or us an accelerator to make the glue dry faster.  A little powder (or even dirt) helps get rid of the tackiness once they have completely dried.  Be sure to do this in a well ventilated area, or you’ll end up like me.

I think you will find this to make your gloves extremely durable and soon you will feel like you should be owning shares of McNett stock from all the things you will start slathering with the stuff.  I did this to a pair of Cloudveil Patrol gloves about 4 or 5 years ago and they are still holding up great!