Best Flame Resistant Welding Sleeves

Tillman 9215 Goatskin/FR Leather Welding Sleeves are a combination type design, using goatskin for the forearms and flame retardant, 100% cotton Westex FR7A for the upper arms provide excellent protection. The combination design makes for very lightweight, breathable sleeves that protect well. They use wide elastic bands, a full 2-1/4 inches wide, for a secure and comfortable hold to keep the sleeves on.

These welding sleeves are inexpensive and look great, but the Tillman 9215 welding sleeves drew some complaints from users for the stitching quality. Some mentioned seams in the leather splitting, others that the elastic portion of the sleeves lost its grip. Several owners mentioned the “skinny fit” of these sleeves, meaning that welders with large arms felt like the elastic bands were too tight. It’s likely the tight fit on large arms was partially responsible for the wear in the elastic.

The Tillman 9215 goatskin/cotton welding sleeves are a thoughtful design, offer lightweight, breathable protection and do their job. They’ve got good quality for the price range, providing the protection of leather and the lightweight breathing of fabric construction in one set of welding sleeves.

Lincoln Electric Black Welding Sleeves are a generically named yet high-quality product, made of 9-ounce, 100 percent flame-resistant cotton that does a good job protecting the arms from light-duty sparks and spatter. They’re a good choice for low-amperage TIG welding. Cotton fabric just isn’t up to hardcore welding jobs like high-amperage stick and flux-core welding, especially in the overhead position, with a shower of sparks and spatter.

These sleeves are 21 inches long, plenty of length for all but the tallest users. Lincoln Electric Black Welding Sleeves are equipped with wide elastic bands at each end of the sleeve for a secure yet comfortable grip on the arms. If you’re just wanting to whip out a quick weld, do some grinding or it’s just really hot out and you need to take a break from the leather jacket, these sleeves will provide lightweight and breathable protection. A lot of users commented that these sleeves were too skinny a fit for people with large arms.

Many welders state that these Lincoln Electric Black Welding Sleeves are very durable for fabric construction and last reasonably well for cotton sleeves.

The Revco Black Stallion BSX BX-KK is made of woven Kevlar to provide cut protection as well as protection from heat, sparks and spatter. Because of the open-weave construction, the sleeves breathe well but the double-layered design helps to prevent sparks and spatter that can sometimes get through this type of sleeve.

Revco designed a thumb hole into the Black Stallion BSX sleeves to aid in keeping them on your arms. They meet ANSI Level 4 Cut Protection standards and they’re 18 inches long, which is a little short when you consider that they come down to cover the palms and back of the hand. For most people the upper end is going to end at or below the elbows. The thumb hole feature and the fact they cover most of the hand makes them comfortable to wear for long periods.

Some users complained that the Revco Black Stallion BSX BX-KK sleeves can get sacked out and become loose-fitting. The cut resistance at the ANSI Level 4 standard is actually minimal. With two layers these sleeves do add significant protection, but they’re only going to save you once.

The West Chester Ironcat 7000 Welding Cape Sleeves are made of flexible suede leather tanned to be heat-resistant. They’re designed with a cape that covers your shoulders, with sleeves that continue the full length of the arms. These are great for overhead welding, because they protect you from the shower of sparks and spatter that falls down on the shoulders and arms during this particular chore. They’ll keep you cooler than using a full jacket, and they’re designed to work together with the Ironcat welding apron.

The West Chester Ironcat 7000 is made with corners and wear spots reinforced with black oxide-finished rivets for extra strength. There have been some complaints by users of button snaps breaking and the possibility of the leather tanning causing stains on clothing.

These sleeves offer adjustable wrists and an upright, adjustable collar to fine tune the fit and keep the sparks and spatter from ending up down your neck or in your sleeves. West Chester Ironcat 7000 Welding Cape Sleeves also feature a pocket on each sleeve for soapstone or scribes and leather patches on wear spots for reinforcement.

Miller 231096 Combo Welding Sleeves are made with pigskin leather for the lower section and Indura flame-resistant cotton fabric for the upper third or so. The pigskin leather used on these sleeves is one of the most protective materials used in protective gear for welding. Without a direct hit from a molten blob of metal, you’re unlikely to ever have a burn-through on that portion of these welding sleeves.

The flame-resistant Indura 9-ounce cotton fabric works fine to protect your upper arms, which are further from the welding bead anyway. Miller 231096 Combo Sleeves don’t provide the same level of protection as the full coverage of leather welding jackets but they do allow for cooler working conditions. There were a few complaints of stitching coming apart at the cuffs, but this wasn’t prevalent among most welders using these sleeves.

Miller 231096 Combo Sleeves are 21 inches long, which is fine for most people, but if you’re on the tall side, they may not extend much above the elbows. The elastic bands are very wide, comfortable and do a great job securing the sleeves while you work.

Hobart 770570 Flame Retardant Cotton Welding Sleeves are made from lightweight, breathable 9-ounce flame-resistant cotton. They’re 19 inches long, so they’ll cover your arms well unless you’re pretty tall. These sleeves are very basic, but also inexpensive, which means even if they don’t last long, you can buy four pairs for the same price as one pair of expensive full leather sleeves. Hobart is well-known for quality, thoughtful welding equipment.

They will protect you well enough to take care of any minor welding chores you might need to handle, but the Hobart 770570 Welding Sleeves are definitely designed for lower-amperage processes like TIG. Although they’re frequently praised by users for their durability, the fact remains that these sleeves were never designed for high-amperage flux core or stick welding that throws a lot of spatter.

Hobart 770570 Flame Retardant Cotton Welding Sleeves have no liner. They generally receive high marks for staying on the arms well. They’ll stop sparks from grinding or low-amperage processes, but they’re not going to stop molten blobs of metal for more than a second or two.