Gaming gloves for arthritis: reviews

Hand arthritis can turn gaming from an enjoyable hobby into a painful chore. The pain and stiffness can also take a toll on performance in competitive games. I don’t want my arthritis to keep me from moving up the leaderboards!

I’ve tried a lot of different controllers and gloves to try to make speedrunning more possible and enjoyable for me with my juvenile arthritis. I previously covered some tips and strategies for arthritic gaming, back when I was still figuring out how to competitively game with arthritis. Since graduating from undergrad, I’ve been lucky to finally have the money to try different compression glove options, so I’ll share what I’ve learned.

The key I’ve looked for in gloves is a balance of compression, ease of movement, and full coverage. Here, I talk about my experiences with arthritis compression gloves, Gamer Gloves, and an unexpected favorite for gaming: crafting gloves. None of the options are perfect, so you can judge for yourself what’s best for your needs. Once I found the gloves for me, though, I noticed less pain and more stability while playing.

Some popular gloves for gamers don’t include full-finger coverage, which is a no-go for me. My arthritis is mostly in my fingers, so I need something that extends past the last finger joint. This is why I didn’t consider other gaming-specific gloves such as Foamy Lizard or Ritual Motion gloves.

Imak compression gloves

I first tried the generic arthritis compression gloves. The ones I purchased from Walgreens years ago are still my favorite. They held up well, too; it’s only after several years of use that the elastic around the finger tips is starting to gap. They’re the Imak compression gloves, although I believe I got them in generic Walgreens packaging.

These have been my go-to for hand pain, but when I use a controller, it starts to feel like a strain to extend my fingers. This is what started me on my quest for better gloves for gaming with arthritis.

Summary: The Imak gloves work great for lessening pain, but the compression is too high for the precise, fast movements needed to play video games.

Compression gloves with grip

During my first major hand flare in awhile, I found it hard to grip things like my phone or a controller. To compensate, I bought some compression gloves with gripping surfaces on the hands and palms. The sizing of these was very different from the Imak gloves, despite looking nearly identical aside from the grips. The size I ordered, the same as my Imak gloves, is almost too tight for comfort, despite it being the right size according to the sizing chart. Since I could only buy these online, I couldn’t try anything on before buying.

I think the gripping surface is very useful, although I would buy a larger size if given the choice. They’re so tight, there’s definitely no gapping around the fingers! But in the end, this wasn’t what I was looking for in arthritis gaming gloves.

Summary: These tight, restrictive gloves are absolutely not what you want for gaming. The extra force and strain from movements only worsens some of my pain.

Gamer Gloves

I was really optimistic about trying Gamer Gloves. They look cool, and they’re specifically for gamers! They also boast full-finger compression and velcro that makes on-and-off easy. What I received was rather disappointing, though.

The gloves I was sent came with a hole in them due to a stitching error, it appears. The machine just didn’t stitch the fabric there. There was also damage to some of the “touchscreen compatible” fingertips. Neither issue made them nonfunctional, so I decided to try them out anyway before deciding what to do.

First of all, the thumb doesn’t fit. I saw this in other reviews but figured it wouldn’t be an issue, as I don’t have thumb pain. Plus, it couldn’t be that bad, right? Well, the gapping thumb still causes a lot of problems with buttons. Meanwhile, some of the other fingers feel too short, and this puts the tension on the tips of my fingers instead of providing compression throughout.

The biggest problem for me is that there are bulky seams on all of the fingertips that impair sensitivity and precision. Some of the fingertips also have a weird, stiff material that seems to be for touchscreen compatibility but hardly functions on touchscreens. Mostly, it just makes the tips bulkier and adds another layer between my fingertips and controller (or keyboard, which is nearly impossible to use with the gloves).

I think trying to include full-finger coverage on high-precision compressive gaming gloves is just too ambitious. Some of my fingers feel cramped at the ends, while my thumb has too much room, which indicates standard sizing is a challenge. The seams that decrease sensitivity can’t be easily eliminated without a lot of development and more money, which the market doesn’t support currently. Now that I think about it, I might have a much better opinion of them if I just cut the fingertips off. Maybe I’ll try that.

Summary: Some sizing and design flaws make these gloves hard to use. The full-finger design actually makes it less likely that I get compression in the right places for my joints.

Crafting gloves

Crafting gloves are made for people who knit, sew, and do other fine work with their hands but face pain and swelling. They can be found at many craft stores or online.

I was first recommended them by someone in a speedrunning Discord server, and I admittedly tried other things first. When Gamer Gloves and arthritis gloves failed, though, I gave these a try. I got the Dritz Crafter’s Comfort gloves, and the sizing ran true, just like the Imak gloves.

I was shocked by how well they work. They provide very light compression, which helps my pain levels a surprising amount while also not limiting my range of motion. Even the cut of them shows attention to range of motion—rather than a straight cut for the thumb tip, it’s diagonal to give more freedom of movement.

The first pair I got have good compression through to the ends. After my cat ripped a seam on one, I ordered another pair, and this pair was not of the same quality. The gapping around the ends is kind of alarming, actually, and reduces compression further down the finger as well. A third pair I ordered had gapping levels somewhere between the first and second pair—acceptable, and not anything I would notice if I didn’t have the first pair.

The left picture shows the first, tight pair of gloves I received. The right picture shows the second, loose pair of gloves I received.

I plan to put a small stitch in the fingertips of the second pair to make them have the compression I want. It’s frustrating, but at least it’s a small change to make.

Summary: Great, light compression that helps with pain and stiffness but doesn’t impair movement. Some inconsistency in the product means you may have to return what you get if you order online.

Best of luck to you in your own journey to find gloves to help gaming with arthritis! If you find anything I haven’t discovered yet, I would love to know about it.

For more content about gaming with arthritis and chronic illness, check out Arthritic gaming and using Stardew Valley to explain fatigue.

Stay safe everyone!

-Bri

I love creating resources like this, but each one takes a lot of time and research. If this post helped you, consider supporting the site with by donating a “coffee” on Ko-Fi! Thanks! <3