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How to choose a welding jacket

Updated: 16 October 2026

You are on amazon.co.uk with a welding jacket in the basket, the title says flame resistant, and the photo is either black cotton or a leather sleeve. That line does not tell you whether EN ISO 11611 is printed. The Products Compared editorial team lined up the nine jackets in the [welding jacket comparison](/hub/occupational-safety/welding-jacket) on 15 October 2026. Shelf prices ran from £22.68 to £61.74. Nothing here was lab-tested, and links to Amazon are affiliate links. How to choose a welding jacket, in this set, is five checks in order: the weld you do, whether a class is printed, the build, the size over your layers, and only then the price.

You are on amazon.co.uk with a welding jacket in the basket, the title says flame resistant, and the photo is either black cotton or a leather sleeve. That line does not tell you whether EN ISO 11611 is printed.

Our top picks

Portwest Portwest BIZ2 Bizweld, black XL

Best overall

Portwest Portwest BIZ2 Bizweld, black XL
9.2/10about £28.98
View offer
Portwest Portwest BIZ2 Bizweld, black XXL

Best value

Portwest Portwest BIZ2 Bizweld, black XXL
9.2/10about £22.68
View offer
YESWELDER YESWELDER leather welding jacket

Alternative

YESWELDER YESWELDER leather welding jacket
9.2/10about £61.74
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the weld, not the photo
  2. 2.Read the listing for a class
  3. 3.Then pick cotton, leather, or leather sleeves
  4. 4.Size it over what you actually wear
  5. 5.Use the price after those four

Start with the weld, not the photo

Start with the process and the position. Tranemo’s summary of EN ISO 11611 puts TIG, gas welding, low-current MIG, and rutile stick welding towards Class 1. It puts high-current MIG, basic or cellulose electrodes, flux-cored wire, gouging, and cutting towards Class 2. Overhead work, and welding under a car, drop spatter onto the sleeve and the neck. Bench TIG is the Class 1 example. An hour under a chassis is the Class 2 example, and this set prints no Class 2 jacket. How those codes sit on a label is on the Class 1 or Class 2 page.

Read the listing for a class

Read the bullets for a standard number before you study the leather. Only the Portwest BIZ2 prints EN ISO 11611: the XXL at £22.68 and the XL at £28.98. Each says Class 1 (A1+A2), 100 percent cotton at 330 g/m², and 780 g. A1 and A2 are flame tests, so the welding class stays Class 1. The other seven titles say flame resistant or heat resistant and do not print the standard. A supplier chart says 99 percent cotton and 1 percent carbon fibre, while the amazon bullets say 100 percent cotton. This page does not merge those lines.
Portwest Portwest BIZ2 Bizweld, black XL

Testsieger

Portwest Portwest BIZ2 Bizweld, black XL
9.2/10about £28.98
View offer

Then pick cotton, leather, or leather sleeves

After the class, pick the build for the spatter you already make. Flame-resistant cotton here is the Portwest, and also an unlabelled lightweight cotton jacket. A hybrid is leather sleeves on a cotton body. Full leather is the dearer coats, including the YESWELDER at £61.74. None of those unlabelled pages prints a welding class. Cotton is the build for lighter work when you also want printed Class 1. UK Bizweld reviews include light fabrication with no burn, and holes through the sleeves, with no rate in the sample. Leather or leather sleeves is what reviewers describe once sparks have reached skin. An unlabelled coat still has no class.

Size it over what you actually wear

Size the jacket over overalls or a jumper, not over a T-shirt. The Health and Safety Executive’s note on clothing for molten metal says the jacket should fasten to the neck, cover the trouser tops when you bend, and be loose enough to get off quickly. The only measured chart here is a Bizweld supplier PDF, not an amazon field. A body chest of 116–124 cm maps to XL, with a garment chest of 136 cm. A body chest of 128–132 cm maps to XXL, with a garment chest of 144 cm. A chest of about 120 cm sits in the XL band before a thick layer.

Use the price after those four

Put the price last. In this basket the printed standard sits on the cheaper cotton: the Portwest XXL at £22.68 and the XL at £28.98. A lightweight cotton at £36.99 prints no class. Hybrids and full leather cost more here without a higher class. Gloves, a visor, and fume control stay outside the jacket.

Common questions

What should I check on the listing before the photos?
Check the weld you do, then look for EN ISO 11611 and a class number in the bullets. In this comparison that line appears only on the Portwest BIZ2 XXL at £22.68 and the XL at £28.98, both Class 1 (A1+A2). A title that says flame resistant, on the QeeLink, LeaSeek, and YESWELDER rows, is not the same check. Leather photos come after the standard line.
Is flame resistant the same as EN ISO 11611?
Flame resistant is a phrase in the title. EN ISO 11611 is a named standard with two welding classes. Only the two black Portwest BIZ2 listings here print Class 1 (A1+A2), 330 g/m² cotton, and a 780 g item weight. The QeeLink lightweight cotton at £36.99 uses the flame-resistant phrase and prints no class, no fabric weight, and no care line.
Do I need Class 1 or Class 2 for ordinary MIG?
It depends on the current and where you stand. Tranemo’s guide puts low-current MIG towards Class 1, with TIG and gas welding, and high-current MIG, flux-cored wire, and cutting towards Class 2. This basket can show a printed Class 1 jacket. It cannot show a printed Class 2 jacket.
What size should I take over overalls?
Use the size you wear over the layers you weld in, and check that the cuffs and collar can close. On the Bizweld supplier chart, a body chest of 116–124 cm maps to XL and 128–132 cm maps to XXL. That chart is not on the amazon page. Leather reviews often suggest the next size up for a jumper.
Why is the labelled jacket cheaper than the leather ones here?
On these nine prices, the only printed Class 1 jackets are the Portwest rows at £22.68 and £28.98. Leather starts at £56.99, and the YESWELDER is £61.74, with no class on the page. You pay more here for hide and for review comments about spatter, not for a higher class. A UK trade shop can sell leather that states Class 2. None of these leather ASINs is that listing.
What still has to be separate from the jacket?
Gloves, eye protection, and fume control stay separate. The HSE expects arms and legs covered, a visor or goggles, and fume controlled with extraction and respiratory protection. EN ISO 11611 does not cover hands, face, eyes, or laser welding, and it only addresses a brief shock up to about 100 V DC. The jacket is the layer on your torso and arms.

Related pages

Leather or cotton welding jacket

How to wear a welding jacket

Welding jackets

Best welding jacket UK: the labelled Class 1 cotton

EN ISO 11611 Class 1 or Class 2: A2 is not Class 2

Sources

Public UK and standards sources below. amazon.co.uk prices and titles rechecked on 15 October 2026.

  1. HSE: Controlling the risks from welding (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. HSE: Safety risks from welding (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. HSE: PPE at Work from 2022 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: product regulations and UKCA and CE marking by sector (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. ISO 11611:2024 Protective clothing for use in welding and allied processes (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Tranemo: EN ISO 11611 protective clothing (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. HSE: molten metal protective clothing, levels of risk (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. ESAB UK: FR and leather welding jacket (retrieved 15 October 2026)