If you are looking to buy the absolute best Crossfit gloves for pull ups, chin ups, muscle ups or pretty much any other exercise which requires a solid grip, you are in the right place.
Did you know that by adding extra width to the bar, gloves can increase the neuromuscular activation of the hand and forearm muscles?
In this post, we are going to learn the ins and outs of Crossfit gloves and hand grips. Our ultimate goal is to give you all the information you need in order to pick the right pair of gloves for pull ups. We are going to talk about different types of fabrics, design, palm and wrist support as well as any hidden disadvantages commonly encountered in these type of products.
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Best Crossfit Gloves for Pull Ups
If you are undecided about which CrossFit gloves to buy, learn that our team has reviewed a dozen of models and came up with these five products below as the best pull up gloves.
1. Bear Komplex 3 Hole Hand Grips And Gymnastics Grips
The Bear Komplex 3 gloves are made of genuine leather which is specially designed to offer the best possible grip. The leather seems a bit stiff at first, but after a few workouts it will break in and it will take the form of the bar.
The wrist strap will be sitting just under the buckle and will offer great support when performing complex exercises such as muscle-ups or toes to bar. So you can use these gloves for a lot more than just pull-ups. The strap is also very comfortable to use, and will not hurt your skin.
The three fingers and three holes design offers maximum amount of palm protection while still feeling comfortable and natural to wear. The triple stitching seems durable too, so you might want to consider this bestselling product if you are doing a lot of weight lifting exercises.
The only downside reported by several users is that the leather loses its grip when the gloves get slightly wet. In fact, it is not recommended the get them wet at all because this will actually hurt the leather material. So, keep them dry and definitely don’t wash them.
- Good and comfortable wrist support
- High quality leather
- Triple stitching
- Wrist strap Velcro could be better
- Can’t be washed
2. 321 Strong Genuine Leather Hand Grips
These two fingers and two holes CrossFit hand grips might be a good pick if you are a smaller user (bodyweight-wise). The leather used is high quality, but a little bit thinner and softer than what you would expect. For this reason, if you are lifting very heavy you might be better off with another product.
But if you want a nice and slick pair of gloves to use just for your pull-ups or chin-ups this might be one product to consider.
A good news is that the materials are washing machine and dryer approved, so once they get dirty you can wash them with no problems.
The straps are there if you want to use them, but don’t really offer any wrist support, so keep that in mind when shopping. They are fine for pull-ups and chin-ups, but if you plan on doing exercises that put more stress on the wrists you might want to buy something else which offers more support.
The Velcro used on the straps seem decent enough and the stitching looks good.
These hand grips also come with a free vinyl carrying case and the manufacturer offers an easy to use measurement chart to help you pick the right size.
- Feels very comfortable
- Lightweight
- Washing-machine approved
- Poor wrist support
- Can’t be used by heavy users/with heavy weights
3. WODFitters Textured Leather Hand Grips
Even though it doesn’t look like it, these Crossfit gloves from WODFitters are made for working out quite intensively. The design features two fingers and two holes, using a soft piece of leather and nicely crafted wrist wraps.
The leather has a subtle texture to it which makes the grip so much better. Regardless of the movements performed, you will be able to get a good hold of the bar. What we specifically liked about this product is the hook-and-loop straps which are very effective. You don’t need to worry about the Velcro wearing-out no more.
When you buy you will get a carrying pouch in the package so the hand grips don’t tangle with other stuff in your gym bag.
Even though the leather material seems quite thin you will need a few heavyweight workouts to break-in these gloves. Using chalk might help.
Apparently they can be hand washed without causing any damage.
- Heavy duty leather
- Good grip thanks to the textured leather
- Hook-and-loop wrist straps
- Can be hand washed
- Takes relatively long to break them in
4. Mava Sports Cross Training Gloves with Wrist Support
These Crossfit gloves from Mava Sports are great for any gym goer. Regardless of how advanced you are you will find these innovative design gloves by Mava to fit very well.
The padding on these is made out of neoprene and reinforced with leather, plus a silicone layer. With three distinct layers protecting your palms you can say goodbye to calluses for good. Surprisingly, even though you have so many layers, the gloves are not bulky at all.
The material feels comfortable, light, yet firm when wearing them. The wrist straps use an adjustable Velcro closure and provide very good support. The neoprene material used stays dry, thus preventing any grip issues.
Picking the right size might be a little bit tricky with this model. They are using an innovative design that requires to be a little bit more strict with the measurements in order to pick the right size.
The fabrics used will allow you to wash the gloves with no issues.
- Innovative design
- Great palm protection
- Good wrist support
- Adjustable Velcro closure
- Picking the right size can be tricky
5. Cross Training Gloves by ProFitness
These leather-free Crossfit gloves from ProFitness are made out of specially designed neoprene and padded with a silicone layer. The palm support is simply great. The ProFitness gloves will boost your pull-ups and will also help you explore other more complex bodyweight exercises.
The fabric feels light and allows your palms to breath, reducing sweating. The grip is very good and there is a subtle texture on the inside of the gloves which makes this product great for heavy weight lifting as well.
The attached wrist straps offer very good support and can be adjusted by using the Velcro closure.
When they break-in, these gloves tend to loosen up a bit, so you might consider getting a slightly smaller size than you normally wear. Since there is absolutely no leather material in these, you will be able to throw them in the washing machine with absolutely no problem.
- Great palm protection
- Good wrist support with adjustable Velcro
- Can be machine washed
- They need several workouts to loosen up
What Are Crossfit Gloves?
Crossfit gloves are….. uhm, gloves used in Crossfit training? Well actually, there is no real difference between gloves used in Crossfit, weightlifting or bodybuilding. You can look at those as synonyms.
However, there are certain characteristics which makes a Crossfit glove great for doing pull-ups, as we are about to learn.
Most of the times these gloves are made out of leather, or sometimes a combination of leather, neoprene and silicone padding. Occasionally, there might be gloves which don’t use leather at all. Besides the hand padding, Crossfit gloves usually include a wrist strap to hold your wrist joint nice and tight when performing difficult movements.
Do I Need Crossfit Gloves for Pull Ups?
If you’ve been doing just a little bit of research about the pros and cons of using gloves in the gym, I’m sure you’ve noticed there is an entire debate around this topic.
On one side you have the hardcore gym goers who will tell you that using gloves will make you less “connected” to the iron and basically make you a “looser”.
On the other side, you have people talking about the major benefits that come along with the use of gym gloves, such as:
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Better Grip
This is probably the number one purpose of the gloves. When you are doing bodyweight or weighted pull-ups, a solid grip of the bar is really important. The palm padding is specially designed to offer the maximum grip with minimum effort.
Some pull up bars are smaller in diameter, making the grip more difficult. By using a good pair of Crossfit gloves for pull-ups, the thickness of glove will add to the diameter of the bar and it will improve the grip.
Sweaty hands definitely don’t make your grip better, but gloves will keep any moisture away from the bar.
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Better Comfort
Going barehanded on you pull-ups can create major discomfort by hurting your palms. I’ve seen people in the gym with their palm skin split open after a heavy workout with no gloves on.
Why on earth should you bear that pain when you can use a good pair of gloves and minimize the discomfort?
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Wrist Support
Your wrist joints will take on more or less stress depending on the type of exercises you are doing. For example, I always feel that I need some wrist support when doing dips. Some gloves come with adjustable Velcro based wraps which you can use to tighten your wrist and make them feel more secure.
This will help you avoid injuries or it can allow you to actively recover from past wrist injuries.
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No More Calluses
Lastly but not least, getting rid of calluses or at least minimizing them is a very good reason to get yourself a pair of good gloves. Nobody likes them, especially outside the gym.
Pull Ups Gloves Buying Guide
Even though buying a pair of Crossfit gloves is not such a big investment, it is definitely worth to have an in-depth look at the characteristics of the gloves before making the purchase. Here are some of the most important things to check out.
Fabric
Possibly the most important aspect is the fabric used. Most products will use either natural or synthetic leather which works great. What you want to pay extra attention to is the thickness (you don’t want it too thick) and the flexibility of the hand padding.
Ideally, you want a padding that is firm, yet comfortable to wear. Gloves which have a little bit of texture on the padding will offer a better grip so keep an eye out for that as well.
The main downside of leather gloves is that they can’t be washed and you need to keep them dry all the time.
Alternatively, you can use neoprene and silicone gloves which can be just as good as leather ones if you pick a good model. With these ones, you will have no trouble washing them.
Stitching
The stitching of the bits and pieces that make up the glove is very important. When exercising the gloves will undertake a lot of the weight and I often saw parts of the gloves detaching due to poor stitching.
Ideally, you want to buy gloves which have at least double stitching, preferably triple if you can find any.
Wrist Support
The wraps should be adjustable and should be made out of a comfortable fabric. They should sit around your wrist buckle area in order to offer the best support.
There are two main types of wrist wraps you can pick from: Velcro closure and hook-and-loop closure. I find the latter one to be quicker and easier to use, but that is a matter of personal preference.
Design/ Ergonomics
Modern Crossfit gloves designs use just 2 or 3 fingers and two holes on the sides, making them more comfortable to wear. So, instead of going for the traditional and now old-fashioned 5 fingers design, you might want to shift your attention to something more up to date.
If you are looking for something even more minimalist you can get a pair of hand grips or palm grips instead of the full-sized Crossfit gloves. With these you are unlikely to get a good wrist support, but if you are using them only for pull ups that is not such a big disadvantage.
Bottom line
With all that said, making the right decision is just one step away. Analyze for yourself and decide which Crossfit gloves model will suit your needs better. If it’s going to improve your pull-ups, chin-ups, muscle-ups, deadlifts or any other calisthenics exercises you perform, you know you got just the right ones for you.
Which one did you try and test? Let us know in the comments box below. We’d love to hear from you.
Very informational and detailed post! I need gloves like this ones!
Hi Brian,
Nice article, me too. I like to use gloves when I train.
Feeling pain to the skin of my hand only distract me from performing at peak level. Plus those callus and other small skin injury only get annoying on the long run..
Gloves = better workout!
Hi Chuck,
I totally agree.
Thank you for stopping by.