Are you putting off tackling your yard because there’s no longer grass due to the weeds, brambles, and nettles?
You may have good reason to resist getting out there to hack away at it with a weedwhacker.
If you don’t have sufficient arm protection, prickles, thorny stems, spikey leaves, spines and your power tools can tear your arms to shreds.
Fortunately, there is an option. Gardening arm sleeves will give you physical protection to your arms leaving you to focus on bringing your yard back under control.
This one simple arm protection could be as essential as your yard gloves.
Does that sound good?
What You Can Expect? In this article we cover the basics of gardening arm sleeves and show some good quality pairs that will do the job while you are doing your yard work.
What are gardening arm sleeves?
Gardening arm sleeves are a type of personal protective equipment, PPE for short, specifically designed to protect your arms.
Provided your sleeves fit snugly enough, your sleeves will cover your arms, and are made of materials that resist cuts and scratches, such as high-performance polyethylene (HPPE) or prevented with Kevlar.
They will protect against:
- Thorns
- Spines
- Poisonous or irritant plants
- Branches and sharp twigs
- Ticks and insects
- Harsh sunlight
Gardening sleeves are great if you are older, or have thin or sensitive skin. Those who are taking blood thinners or bleed easily may also benefit from this additional arm protection.
Choosing sleeve protectors for gardening work
The styles, specifications and quality of the sleeve protectors is going to vary.
Look for these four characteristics to help you find a suitable pair.
Grade of protection
Some gardening arm sleeves will only give you a simple barrier from the sun, simple abrasions and scratches, and other, pro-quality sleeves can resist a real cut from a blade.
Many high-quality sleeves have testing certifications that declare the level of protection against cutting, tearing, and abrasion.
Breathability
When you are getting into those weeds, you will want a set of sleeves that can handle getting a little sweaty.
Sleeves that reflect sunlight can protect against sunburn and help keep you cooler.
Flexibility
You need to have the ability to move well while wearing your gardening sleeve on. Most sleeves are elasticized, to get that fit just right.
Some sleeves have a thumb hole and finger opening for that extra protection.
Make sure that you can move your arms freely and can operate any tools you have to work with.
Just like you would if you were wearing a shirt.
Washable
Most sleeve protectors can be washed in warm soapy warm water or a gentle wash cycle.
They just drip dry.
5 pairs of high-quality gardening arm sleeves you’ll want to use in your garden
When you keep your arms safe, it lets you maximize your time in your yard, especially when you use quality sleeves to protect them.
Arm sleeves come in men’s and women’s styles, millions of materials, and countless options, so your sure to always find the style and material that you want.
1. Geyoga Heat Resistant Sleeves Protectors
These sleeves provide level 5 protection, or the highest level of protection for the wearers.
The protection goes from wrist to shoulder, is 15x stronger than steel; and is under the right design is very light.
The sleeves have a thumb hole, which holds the sleeves in place and covers the back of the wearer’s hand.
The stretch is the key to the comfort of high-performance HPPE gardening arm sleeves, which enables you to trim hedges, or chop wood longer.
In fact, you can use these cut resistant sleeves in many activities such as welding, work as a mechanic, handling animals, or combative/defensive activities in martial arts classes.
You can utilize these high-performance arm sleeves in any activity where thermal protection is needed because you encounter very high temperatures as part of your work.
Specifications
- Material: HPPE and nylon and spandex
- Size: extra large
- Cutting resistance: level 5
- Color: gray and black
Pros:
- Great coverage: this product always provides great coverage along what feels like the whole arm based on previous purchasers comments.
- Washes well: forget about sweat, stains, and mold growth as you can thow them in a low-moderate wash temperature after your hardyard work is done.
- Excellent performance in the yard: reviewers comment on how well they performed and provided protection in the yard.
Cons:
- Overheating: these sleeves are not very breathable, which makes them uncomfortable to wear on a hot day. Therefore, wear on light layers.
2. Superior Glove Arm Sleeves for Gardening Yardwork
Unlike too many jackets and hoodies, these protective arm sleeves will not turn into shredded fabric when you go into a briar patch at the bottom of your yard.
These sleeves are made of tough durable fabric with the appropriate polyester-based fabric, and performed exceptionally well in test conditions for sharp thorns than foliage or edges.
Though the sleeves are not strapped in any way and no Kevlar is used, so the cutting resistance was not either defined and they will surely protect you while doing your yard work.
Specifications
- Color: metallic gray
- Material: HPPE
- Sizes: extra small to extra large
- Cutting resistance: unknown
Pros
- Thumb hole option: Can get sleeves with or without thumb hole. Other sleeves seem held better in place with the elastic, gripping at the top of the sleeve.
Cons
- Sizing is large: Some buyers reporting these arms sleeves are larger than standard sizes.
3. Sintege Cut Resistant Sleeves
These cut proof hot wash sleeves have a separating arm which is elasticized for the mobile bidding needed when doing your yard work.
Do the sleeves protect the arms from sharp thorns, splintered blades, and heat exposure, you are going to want a second pair for your shop, too!
Sintege sleeves come in two-length sizes for one sleeve (with a thumb hole) and a short straight sleeve one-size for the arm. They are hand wash or machine wash on low.
Specifications
- Material: polyester and nylon
- Sizes: one size, two lengths 40cm and 20cm
- Cutting resistance: not specified
- Color: metallic gray
Pros
- They do the job: buyers happy with these gardening arm sleeves and they consider them worth the investment for their daily yard work.
Cons
- Sizing will be a lottery: these sleeves are designed to fit anybody available in one size and flopping in softies.
- Cutting Resistance Unknown: so they may better used for thorns and vegetation than blades.
4. MIG4U Cut Resistant Sleeves with Arm Guards
These sleeves are excellent body armor for cutting through hedges, or stubborn tree stumps.
They are elastic with an adjustable velcro strap for a good fit for most sizes of male and female gardeners. The thumb hole also adds to the comfort.
The amalgamation of high-performance polyethylene (HPPE), fiberglass and synthetic fibers provides reliable protection for older gardeners with thin skin that still do the big jobs.
These sleeves are also flame and abrasion resistant with a remarkable level of strength that exceeds steel, and leather.
You can hand wash them, or machine wash them to keeping them at their best.
Specifications
- Material: HPPE with glass fiber yarn
- Sizes: large and extra-large
- Cutting resistance: level 5
- Color: metallic gray with black edging
Pros
- Highly adjustable: the upper velcro strap means that you can customize the fit of these much more than competitor designs.
- Versatile: buy a couple of pairs of these as they will be indispensable in your workshop too!
- Lightweight, and breathable: the last thing that you need is hot sweaty arms while you are working. These gloves are breathable and will keep you cool.
Cons
- Velcro strap can rub: multiple purchasers have found that having the velcro strap on the inside of the arm causes rubbing and chafing while they working.
5. Kevlar Protective Sleeves
These 100% Kevlar arm sleeves have a high degree of cut resistance for a variety of activities.
With an integrated thumb-hole, you have protection from mid-palm all the way to the elbows.
These sleeves were engineered for maximum protection with key industry certifications for cut resistance, tear protection and abrasion protection at Levels 4, 3 and 2 respectively.
The sleeves are elasticized and will stretch to fit. Kevlar is a durable product that is a breeze to wash, and drips dry quickly.
The manufacturers have designed these sleeves to stay in the shape that you purchased them for as long as possible. The Kevlar fabric will always stay breathable, and will keep your arms dry from sweat while you work.
Specifications
- Material: Kevlar
- Sizes: once size only
- Cutting resistance: level 4
- Color: black
Pros
- This arm sleeve protects to the level of your fingers: great if you are working with tools that rub against your hands, and cause blistering.
- These sleeves stay put: purchasers appreciate that the sleeves stayed securily put on their arms,
Cons
- Not cut-proof: even though made from knitted kevlar these arm sleeves are not cut-proof.
- Protection only to elbow level: these arm sleeves do not fully protect your arm.
Rounding up
Gardening arm sleeves are an easy solution to preventing scratches, and bruises that are a regular side-effect of untamed yard work.
They are easy to throw on and should not cause discomfort, or limit your range of movement.
For just a small investment, you can have a pair of protective sleeves that will give you the confidence to tackle the yard.