IroncladRanchworx Gloves RWG-05-XL, Extra Large

Good companies consider both new customers and returning customers. I'm the latter, owning at least 15 pairs of these gloves for work across two different states (pairs in each car, in each tool belt, in a cabin and in my home). When my three new replacement pairs arrived - $93.75, ka-ching! - I checked the size and style, then put my name on them (a name on gear is suggested by the charity with whom I work), applied a leather protectant, and later pulled on a pair for a job only to discover that the company had, without indicating it, changed the size, perhaps in response to those customers who noted that the gloves tend to run small. Great - except for return customers. The fingers are now at least a half-inch longer, the palms are markedly bigger, and the fingertips literally fold over when I try to pick up something. Because this appears a manufacturing change, I emailed Ironclad immediately and was offered a "complimentary pair of gloves," without additional comment or explanation. (Complimentary, my eye! That single pair of work gloves would have cost nearly a C-note!) As a result, I had to contact Amazon and the third-party seller, neither of whom should bear the responsibility. Amazon was (as always) great, but I'm still waiting for a response from the seller. This entire headache would have been avoided if the manufacturer had stepped up initially, helped troubleshoot the problem, and exchanged the gloves for a longtime customer who provided proof of previous purchases. I'll post an update about the seller's response.UPDATE: I want to be fair here. According to the manufacturer in a second communication, the sizing hasn't changed and the gloves I received were apparently mis-sized. Meanwhile, the third-party seller, Elite Performance Supply, has stepped up and been as responsive as the manufacturer was not. The gloves are being replaced with the correct size and the rep could not have been more gracious, even after my spam folder snarfed her first replies. I'm changing my rating from one star to four, calculated this way: four stars for the product (provided they are of the quality of my previous Ranchworx gloves), one star for the manufacturer's lame first response, and five stars (I'd give 'em ten if I could) for Elite Performance Supply, who came through unstintingly to set the problem right. If you run into difficulties, you might want to contact the latter and not the former.

I decided to update my review, because these gloves just crossed the 6 month mark and I'm not as impressed as I was in the earlier days. Let me just say that I do understand gloves will wear out and wear through. My disappointment in these gloves come after a couple of days building a stone wall. The "reinforcement" leather over the finger tips wore through. At first I was like "no big deal, there is leather under the "reinforcement" and I'll have more use out of them". But what I came to find is that the leather under the finger tip reinforcement is not a complete finger. They didn't complete the base leather finger on the gloves and just sewed the tip material over it. Now my finger tips are exposed. If the base leather glove material was completed at the finger tips, I'd have a couple more months of use out of them. Bottom line, even at the sub $30 price on Amazon, I feel these gloves are not worth the price. I can buy other brand gloves that will last just as long and feel just as good on the hands for less money. Also, if you do any heavy duty work such as building a stone wall, these gloves will not last long. These gloves are very well made. They are on the high end of pricing for gloves, but I feel they are worth it. The materials used in manufacturing these gloves are of quality and the finished product is of high quality as well. While not perfect, because perfect means they would never wear out, they are form fitting for high dexterity and able to withstand considerable abuse.

I have owned several pairs of Ironclad gloves over the years; most were the synthetic heavy duty work gloves. I decided a couple of years ago to buy a pair of the Ranchworx Gloves, as the leather palm would be comfortable, they had the long wrist cuff, and they were advertised as really tough gloves that could stand up to a lot of rough work.First, you must know that I am an IT Administrator and only use these gloves for some work around the house; they are not receiving the punishment that other reviewers say theirs are put through.I received the gloves in good order and began using them; within the first month the leather on the side of the right index finger split; I stitched it together with some kevlar fishing line and continued to use them. At six months the gloves had holes in the finger tips, more splits where the leather appeared thin and weak, and the leather was horribly abraded.The work that did this? I took apart a 16 x 20 pressure treated deck and stacked the wood, stacked one and a half cords of oak firewood (purchased, the gloves were not subjected to cutting the wood), and handled a variety of small limbs, etc. in doing yard work. The gloves have never been subjected to steel, wire, cables, rope, sanding products or abrasives, barb wire, or any of the things that you would expect "Ranch" gloves to handle.Realizing that many people claim these to be the best leather gloves made, I assumed I had gotten a pair with inferior leather. I contacted Ironclad by email and received no response, not even a form letter. After waiting several months I contacted them again. Still no response. After several attempts I emailed their customer service department asking if they actually provided customer service. No response.I feel that if you buy these gloves you are taking a chance on some expensive gloves; you may get a good pair like some of these reviewers did, or you may get an inferior pair, like I did.Be assured of one thing: If you have a problem with Ironclad products you will have little luck in getting any help from their "Customer Service" Department!