This week Pricewatch looks at gardening gloves...
Stanley Premium Leather Gloves €15.49
Stanley makes a whole range of work gloves but this soft leather pair, made out of pig skin, took our fancy. They are very well made but we'd be concerned they may harden towards the end of a wet Irish summer. They're good for precision gardening - weeding and seed sowing and the like - but the absence of any padding means they're not so good for heavy work. In fact, we reckon they'd be best when directing the staff rather than getting down and dirty yourself.
VERDICT:The genteel glove ***
Powerfix work gloves from Lidl €2.49
These gloves are the cheapest of the bunch, are very robust and the wrist guard offers a substantial degree of protection when wielding tools. They are not much use however when it comes to gentle weeding or the planting of seedlings. They are made with split-calf leather and will no doubt harden in the rain but we are pretty confident they will last a lot longer than they should given the price.
VERDICT: Cheap but availability limited ***
Garden Plus €2.98
This is another very cheap product, but one which is more widely available than the Lidl glove. They have a light cloth back and a leather palm glove and are great for heavy-duty gardening. The cotton back means they are cool on hot summer days and they have been given greater flexibility along the knuckle through the addition of extra elasticity. The cotton is prone to shredding and once that goes the gloves will be next to useless, but at this price just buy some more.
VERDICT: Cheap and easy to get ****
Darby's True Temper €19.91
We approached these with some suspicion because of the celeb endorsement - "they're used and recommended by Diarmuid Gavin" and the fact that they looked more suited for goalkeeping, plus the high price. Our suspicions were ill-founded as we quickly concluded they were great. The wrists can be easily tightened and sealed with Velcro, they have extra padding on the fingertips and they were equally good for heavy duty and light work.
VERDICT: Expensive but excellent *****
