Getting your nitrile glove size right in Australia is mostly a matter of measuring once instead of guessing every time you reorder. Sizing is not standardised across brands, so "large" means whatever the manufacturer decided it means. What actually helps is the palm width on the product page — for grip x we publish it for every size, and the rest of our range too.
Here is how to measure, what our published widths are, and how to tell you have it wrong.
How to measure your hand, properly
You need a tape measure or a strip of paper and thirty seconds.
- Open your dominant hand flat, palm up, fingers together.
- Measure across the palm at the knuckles — the widest point, not including the thumb.
- Write that number down in millimetres.
- Match it to the table below for the glove you are buying.
Measure your dominant hand. It is usually slightly larger, and a glove that fits it will fit the other one.
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Our published palm widths
These are the figures on the live product pages. Nothing here is a general industry chart — it is what we actually publish for what we actually sell.
| Size | Grip-X Black | HR Heavy Duty | SE Premium Black / Blue | MaxProtect & ChemTough |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | — | — | 85mm | 84mm |
| M | 94mm | 94mm | 95mm | 94mm |
| L | 105mm | 105mm | 106mm | 105mm |
| XL | 113mm | 113mm | 116mm | 113mm |
| XXL | 120mm | — | — | — |
Tolerance is ±3mm on Grip-X, HR, MaxProtect and ChemTough, and ±5mm on the SE Premium range. Glove length is a minimum of 240mm across the range.
Two things worth noticing. Grip-X is the only one of ours that goes to XXL, which is why it tends to be what larger hands end up on. And the SE Premium range runs a few millimetres wider at each size than the heavy-duty gloves, so if you are moving between them do not assume your letter carries across.
If you are between sizes, go up
This is the single most useful rule in glove sizing and it is worth more than the table above.
A glove that is slightly too big costs you a little dexterity. A glove that is slightly too small is already stretched to its limit before you have picked anything up, and it has nothing left when you catch it on an edge. Most of the splits I get asked about happened while the glove was being pulled on, not during the work.
On a textured glove there is a second reason to size up: stretching the glove tight across your palm flattens the texture out, which is the thing you paid for. Our heavy duty gloves carry the deepest texture in the range — more on why in textured versus smooth nitrile gloves.
Signs you are wearing the wrong size
Too small
- Gloves tear while you are putting them on, or within the first few minutes.
- The material looks pale and shiny where it is stretched across the back of your hand.
- Your fingertips are pressed hard into the ends and go numb on a long job.
- The cuff cuts a visible line into your wrist.
Too big
- Loose material bunches at the fingertips, so you lose feel for small parts.
- The glove twists on your hand when you grip something.
- Air pockets at the finger ends that you keep pressing out.
The most common mistake I see is a workshop owner ordering 10 boxes of Large for the whole team. Large is our best-seller by far, but not every hand is the same. Too big, and the spare material catches on bolts and edges and rips. Too small, and the glove is stretched tight — uncomfortable, and it splits faster.
My rule of thumb: stick with the size you already wear in other gloves, and check it against our size guide. Still not sure? Email us a photo of the front and back of your hand. After walking into this many workshops, I can usually tell at a glance. Most blokes land in Large; women usually suit Medium.
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Sizing a whole crew
If you are buying for a team, do not order a single size. The cost of a box in the wrong size is not the box, it is the tearing, the double-gloving and the complaining.
A practical approach: measure everyone once, write it on the whiteboard, and order to that spread. The mix varies a lot by trade, so measure your own crew rather than guessing.
If you are buying by the carton it is worth talking to us about trade pricing first, so you order the right quantity in the right spread at the same time. It helps to know how many gloves a workshop actually uses before you call.
A note on sweat and fit
Fit and sweat are related. A glove that is slightly too tight traps more heat and gets harder to pull off and on, which means you change less often than you should. If that is your problem, sizing up is the first thing to try.
Sizing changes by duty level, not just by hand
One thing that catches people moving between our ranges: the letter on the box is not a promise that two gloves fit the same.
A heavy-duty glove has more material in it, so at the same palm width it feels snugger on the hand than a light-duty one. If you wear L in a light duty glove and you are near the top of that width band, you may well want XL once you move up to heavy duty. That is not inconsistent sizing — it is the extra material doing its job.
The practical version: when you change duty level, re-check the width rather than carrying your letter across. It takes ten seconds and it saves a box in the wrong size.
It is also worth knowing which gloves do not offer your size at all before you plan a crew order. Grip-X is the only one of ours that reaches XXL; the HR Heavy Duty stops at XL. If you have a couple of people who need XXL, that decides the glove for you. And if your hands sweat in gloves, fit matters even more — see nitrile gloves for sweaty hands.
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure my hand for glove size?
Measure across your open palm at the knuckles, excluding the thumb, and compare that figure in millimetres to the palm width on the product page. Use your dominant hand.
Are glove sizes the same across brands?
No. There is no single standard that makes one manufacturer's large the same as another's, which is exactly why we publish the palm width for every size rather than just a letter. Always check the number.
Should I size up or down if I am between sizes?
Up. A slightly loose glove costs you a little feel. A slightly tight one is pre-stretched before you start and is far more likely to split while you are pulling it on.
Do you do XXL?
Grip-X Black goes to XXL at a 120mm palm width. The rest of our range tops out at XL.
Do gloves stretch with wear?
Nitrile gives a little as it warms to your hand, but not enough to rescue a size that was wrong to begin with. Buy the size that fits at the start of the job, not the one you hope will relax into it.