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Cold store work gloves

Updated: 17 October 2026

A cold room and a wet garden both hurt your hands, and they ask for different evidence. Cold store work gloves, if you are stepping into a freezer or gripping frozen metal, need a contact-cold level you can read, or they need to stay a short visit. A thermal title does not supply that level. Ordinary rain stays on [waterproof work gloves or leather](/hub/protective-clothing/winter-work-gloves/sub/winter-work-gloves-waterproof-or-leather). The buying order is on the [winter work gloves buying guide](/hub/protective-clothing/winter-work-gloves/sub/winter-work-gloves-buying-guide). The table is our [winter work gloves comparison](/hub/protective-clothing/winter-work-gloves). Peter F. used the amazon.co.uk captures and HSE cold-stress guidance on 17 October 2026, with no lab test.

A cold room and a wet garden both hurt your hands, and they ask for different evidence.

Our top picks

PROGANDA PROGANDA thermal, medium

Best overall

PROGANDA PROGANDA thermal, medium
9.2/10about £4.99
View offer
LLB LLB fleece leather, medium

Alternative

LLB LLB fleece leather, medium
9.2/10about £8.49
View offer
OriStout OriStout waterproof, large

Rank 3

OriStout OriStout waterproof, large
9.0/10about £9.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.A cold room is not the same as a wet garden
  2. 2.Read a contact-cold level before a long visit
  3. 3.What these listings actually say about freezers
  4. 4.When to stop and buy a marked glove

A cold room is not the same as a wet garden

Cold air, frozen metal, and wet product are three routes into a cold hand. Contact cold is the rail or the carton you grip, and it pulls heat faster than the air in the same room. SATRA's notes on EN 511 say moisture inside a glove cuts insulation. A minute at a chest freezer is not a picking shift.

Read a contact-cold level before a long visit

A higher contact-cold figure means more resistance in the palm test, not comfort at a slogan temperature. Retailer sheets disagree on the water-check duration, so this page does not publish a minute figure. Levels are test results, not a comfort temperature such as −30 °C. Trade pages elsewhere show contact-cold figures of 3 or 4. Those digits are not assigned here. A UKCA or CE mark is not itself an EN 511 level. For more than a short in-and-out, you want a readable contact-cold level.
PROGANDA PROGANDA thermal, medium

Testsieger

PROGANDA PROGANDA thermal, medium
9.2/10about £4.99
View offer

What these listings actually say about freezers

OriStout is the only kept brand whose job line says freezer. The large, at £9.99, is also the top pick on the best page for wet outdoor work in this set. Uses include cold storage and freezer gloves. It is sandy latex over acrylic terry, with a waterproof claim and hand wash. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

When to stop and buy a marked glove

Suitable PPE is free of charge if the assessment still needs it after other controls, including for limb (b) workers. Shorter exposure and dry spares come first. A cold injury needs a competent person, not another size. Trade shops sell marked cold-store gloves outside this set. Do not copy their prices or their −30 °C lines onto these pairs. OriStout and PROGANDA use latex coats, and a reaction is a reason to stop. The LLB leather glove does not print a contact-cold level either.

Common questions

Can I wear ordinary thermal work gloves in a cold store?
For a short visit, buyers do, and PROGANDA reviews talk about minutes rather than a shift. For longer work, or for employees, a thermal claim is not enough. You want a printed EN 511 contact-cold level. None of the kept listings prints one. OriStout names freezers and still has no code. Treat that name as a gap, not as a result.
What does a contact-cold level tell me that the word thermal does not?
It tells you the palm was tested for resistance to a cold surface, as one EN 511 position. Thermal, on these pages, means a liner such as acrylic terry or a claimed Thinsulate weight. That liner can help in cold air and still let frozen metal through. The level is a test result, not a comfort temperature. Without the digit, you do not have the test.
How long do reviews say a PROGANDA pair lasts in a deep freeze?
About ten minutes, in the review themes for the medium. That is a buyer report, not a lab limit and not a shift length. The same reviews say the cuff is not waterproof. Do not stretch ten minutes into a morning's picking. If your hands numb sooner, the visit is already over. ANSI heat level 3 on that page is contact heat, not extra freezer time.
Does OriStout naming freezers mean it has an EN 511 score?
No. The pages list cold storage and freezer gloves among other uses, at £9.99, with 4.4 from a shared 5,964 reviews. The fields contain no EN 511 or EN 388 digit string. Reviews still describe a tight fit, loose lining, ripped latex, and frost on the fingers. The freezer sentence is copy you can read. It is not a contact-cold level.
What is the difference between convective cold, contact cold, and water penetration?
They are the three EN 511 positions, in that order. Convective cold is cold air. Contact cold is a cold object against the palm. Water penetration is pass or fail, 1 or 0, and 0 is a fail. X means not tested. A higher contact level on someone else's glove is not a score you can borrow. Moisture in the liner reduces the warmth the insulation was meant to give.
Why does frozen metal need a different check from cold air?
Metal pulls heat out of the palm faster than cold air in the same room. A fluffy liner can feel adequate in the aisle and fail on a rail or a frozen carton. That is what the contact-cold position is for. Wet stock matters too, because SATRA notes that moisture cuts insulation. A garden waterproof claim does not answer either check.
When should a cold-store buyer leave this set?
Leave when the visit is longer than a short in-and-out, when you employ people and the assessment still needs a glove, when a client asks for a code, or when someone has a cold injury. Buy a glove that prints a contact-cold level. Do not stay because OriStout uses the word freezer, or because a trade site's −30 °C line sounds firm. Those temperatures are not results for these pairs.

Related pages

Best winter work gloves

Winter work gloves

How to choose winter work gloves for a cold UK job

Winter work gloves size and care for a thick liner

Waterproof work gloves or leather for the UK winter

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings used for this comparison, last checked on 17 October 2026.

  1. HSE, Cold stress (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  2. HSE, Outdoor working (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  3. HSE, Gloves and warm clothing (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  4. HSE, PPE overview (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  5. HSE, PPE Regulations 2022 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  6. HSE, Glove selection for skin (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, UKCA and CE marking by sector (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  8. SATRA, EN 511 cold tests (retrieved 17 October 2026)