About this product
Full description
Modern gardening involves the phone. Not because we want it to — because that's where the RHS Plant Finder lives, where the timer for the soft-boiled seed potatoes runs, where the plant ID apps and weather forecasts and to-do lists and grandchildren's WhatsApp messages all sit. Traditional gardening gloves force you to remove them every time the phone comes out, then wrestle mud-caked hands back into damp fabric. These gloves solve that specific 21st-century problem: touchscreen-compatible fingertips let you check the RHS app, take a photo of an unknown plant, or answer a call without taking the gloves off.
Supplied to us through our partners at AllotMate, who curate practical, well-made kit for gardeners and allotmenteers who'd rather buy once than replace often. Available in Small, Medium or Large so you can get a proper fit for lighter garden work.
What makes them work
The design is built around the specific balance of touchscreen sensitivity and general gardening protection:
- Conductive fingertips — typically the thumb and index finger, engineered with conductive thread that transmits the electrical signal from your skin to the touchscreen. Works with smartphones, tablets, and touchscreen laptops. No more removing gloves to answer a call, check a plant ID, or set a timer
- Lightweight construction — unlike the heavy leather or padded pairs, these are cut for dexterity and finger sensitivity. You can genuinely feel what you're doing — tying in seedlings, snipping herbs, deadheading, or turning seed packets
- Grip-coated palm — textured surface (typically nitrile or latex) gives reliable grip on tools, secateurs, hose fittings, and slippery wet stems. The palm coating stays flexible and doesn't crack after months of use
- Breathable back — nylon-spandex construction with ventilation lets your hands stay cool through longer sessions. A big improvement on airless leather in summer heat
- Snug elasticated wrist — keeps soil and debris out of the glove. Not a gauntlet cuff, but enough to stop the day's rubbish ending up around your wrists
- Three size options — Small, Medium, or Large. Getting the right size matters more for touchscreen gloves than for heavy leather ones, because loose fingertips affect the conductive signal accuracy
When you'll reach for them
These are the pair for the modern gardener doing everyday work while staying digitally connected:
- General garden maintenance — the everyday potting, planting, tying in, deadheading, weeding, tidying that fills most gardening sessions. Light protection without bulk
- Photo documentation — if you're the gardener who photographs everything (plant IDs, seasonal progress, garden design notes, before-and-after shots), these let you snap without stopping to remove gloves
- RHS app and plant ID users — checking whether that self-seeded plant is a keeper or a weed, looking up how to prune your new clematis, or identifying a mystery insect. All without pulling gloves off
- Timer-driven work — propagation timers, cooking timers when you're bringing in produce, garden watering schedules. Touchscreen access without interruption
- Voice notes and to-do lists — capturing garden thoughts as they happen (which seeds to reorder, what to plant next week, which corner needs attention) without stopping to remove gloves
- Answering calls and messages — the practical reality that gardening happens during phone-call hours. These let you take the call and keep working
- Podcast and audiobook listeners — adjusting playback, changing episodes, skipping ads, all one-handed without pausing work
- Allotment holders — particularly useful where photographing crops for social media, checking WhatsApp allotment groups, or ordering seed on the go is part of the routine
Choosing between the Briers range and other gloves
If you're looking at our garden gloves and not sure how these fit alongside the others in the range, here's the honest summary:
- Briers Advanced All-Weather — for cold, wet, and winter conditions. Fleece-lined, water-resistant
- Briers Advanced Flex & Protect — the everyday workhorse with knuckle protection. Suits most general garden maintenance
- Briers Advanced Grip & Protect — the heavy-duty pair for long repetitive tasks (pruning sessions, potting on hundreds of modules)
- Briers Ultimate Golden Leather — the specialist for thorn work, roses, brambles, hedging
- Touchscreen Outdoor Gloves (these) — the lightweight everyday pair for gardeners who want digital connectivity through the working day. Not for heavy pruning or thorny work — for everything else
Most gardeners eventually own three or four pairs, using each for the work it was designed for. The touchscreen pair is the "modern everyday" addition to a traditional glove range — light, dexterous, connected. If you spend more of your gardening time on general maintenance than on brambles, these become your default pair.
Choosing your size
Size matters more for touchscreen gloves than for heavy leather ones, because loose fingertips affect the conductive signal:
- Small — suits smaller adult hands (roughly 18-20cm palm circumference). Also often the right size for women gardeners in the standard Briers/AllotMate sizing
- Medium — suits average adult hands (roughly 20-22cm palm circumference). The most common size
- Large — suits average to broader hands (roughly 22-24cm palm circumference)
If you're between sizes, choose the smaller size for touchscreen accuracy — a snug fit at the fingertips ensures the conductive thread makes proper contact with your skin, which is what actually transmits the signal to the screen.
Looking after them
Lightweight gardening gloves respond to basic care with proper working life:
- Rinse by hand after muddy or sappy tasks — the palm coating cleans easily under a garden tap. Doesn't need soap for regular use
- Machine wash occasionally if the label allows — check the care label. Cool wash, no fabric conditioner (conditioner can coat the conductive thread and reduce touchscreen sensitivity)
- Air dry naturally — radiators and tumble dryers shorten the life of the palm coating and can damage the elasticated wrist
- Store dry — damp gloves develop mildew inside within days. Hang or lay flat after use
- Fingertip sensitivity check — if touchscreen response starts to drop, wipe the fingertip area with a slightly damp cloth. Dried mud and sap can insulate the conductive fibres
- Replacement expectations — lightweight touchscreen gloves typically last 1-2 seasons of regular use. Cheaper than the leather pairs, and honest wear-and-tear is expected
About AllotMate
AllotMate curate practical, well-made tools and equipment for gardeners and allotmenteers who'd rather buy once than buy often. We work with them through a direct fulfilment arrangement, which means your order ships from their warehouse to your door — slightly faster delivery and consistent stock levels because they handle their own inventory.
Specifications
- Sizes: Small, Medium, or Large (three variants)
- Fingertips: touchscreen-compatible (typically thumb and index finger)
- Palm: grip-coated (nitrile or latex) for tool control
- Back: breathable nylon-spandex construction
- Wrist: elasticated cuff to keep soil and debris out
- Use: general garden maintenance, everyday tasks, potting, planting, deadheading, weeding, allotment work
- Not for: heavy pruning, brambles, thorny plants (choose leather pair instead), cold winter conditions (choose all-weather pair)
- Supplied through: AllotMate
A note on smartphone use in the garden: touchscreen gloves are a proper practical addition for anyone who uses phone apps in their gardening routine. If you never touch your phone during garden sessions, the traditional leather or padded pairs give better durability at similar price points. If you check plant IDs, use the RHS app, photograph the garden, or run timers regularly, these gloves change what's possible in a working session — and the small investment usually pays for itself in the first month of use.
Care and use
- Rinse by hand after muddy or sappy tasks
- Palm coating cleans easily under garden tap