How do I size riding gloves?

That is Roeckl's instruction on its size chart, and it is the starting point for most glove charts. Use a soft tailor's tape, not a rigid ruler; if you don't have one, Roeckl says a thread works, then lay the thread against a ruler.

Some makers ask for more than the palm. Our Heritage gloves page says to measure palm circumference and middle-finger length, then match both to the chart for the style you want. If a maker asks for a finger measurement, follow its own instructions for where the finger starts and ends.

Write your numbers down in centimeters and inches. Roeckl's chart is in centimeters, Heritage's is in inches, and most home tapes in the US are in inches, so you will want both.

Roeckl's size guide lists hand circumference in centimeters, so a US rider has to do the conversion.

The table below converts a few centimeter readings to inches, rounded to one decimal. It is only a tape-reading aid. It is not a glove size chart, because sizes differ by maker and by style, as the next section explains. For a sense of the scale, Roeckl's adult chart runs from size 6 at 16.5 cm to size 11 at 29.7 cm, and its children's sizes 3, 4 and 5 are 14, 15 and 16 cm.

Our Roeckl gloves page says Roeckl sizes by hand circumference rather than small, medium and large, and that it cuts its gloves for a close, second-skin fit. On Roeckl's chart, size 7 is 18.9 cm around the knuckles and size 8 is 21.6 cm. Roeckl explains that European adult glove sizes are measured in old inches (the French pouce, about 2.7 cm), so size 8 is 8 pouce, or 21.6 cm. Its chart also keeps a separate table for children, sizes 3 to 5.

Our Heritage gloves page says Heritage sizes by number too, but every style carries its own size chart, so you read the chart on that product's page before you order. Heritage's chart pairs a measurement in inches with numbers: youth 3 to 5, ladies' 6 to 8 and men's 8 to 13, all USA standards. Its labels repeat across charts: size 8 is a Large in ladies' and a Small in men's. Some Heritage styles are sold as a single glove, such as the Air-Flow Roping Glove, which is right hand only, and the Pro 8.0 Bull Riding Glove, which comes as one glove in right or left. For those, pick the hand as well as the number.

The takeaway is simple: don't carry a number from one brand to another. If you wear a 7 in one maker's gloves, measure again and look up the next maker's chart. Don't use shoe size either; the charts we read size by hand measurement.

Roeckl's chart also says gloves are designed differently according to their function, so the same reading can point to different gloves. Take a hand that measures 19.5 cm: that sits between Roeckl's size 7 (18.9 cm) and 7.5 (20.3 cm). If your gloves are leather or another material, ask the maker how much the style gives, since our sources don't say. Our Roeckl gloves page describes the Roeck-Grip as Roeckl's original synthetic-leather glove, so read that style's chart and ask Roeckl.

It fits with what our Roeckl gloves page says about Roeckl: choose the size that matches your measurement rather than the one that leaves room. Riders on that page report that Roeckl gloves can run a little large, so reread the chart for the style before you decide.

Winter changes the math. Our Heritage gloves page suggests checking the chart with a liner in mind if you plan to wear one in cold weather. Some Heritage styles also have touchtape wrists, on the Premier, Spectrum and Cross-Country gloves, which let you fine-tune how snug the cuff sits on a small wrist.

A glove that fits your palm can still run long in the fingers, and riders with long, short or narrow fingers describe it in their reviews.

One rider's note shows how it plays out. She measured with the hand chart, started with the 8s and found them too long in the fingers, then went down to 7s, which fit her longest fingers but left extra width in the fingers while the palm fit. She still kept them. It's one rider on one style, not a rule, but it is a good reminder that the chart gets you close and your hand has the last word.

If your fingers are the odd measurement, say so when you shop: check whether the chart for that style lists finger length, and read the reviews on that style for fit notes.

Our Heritage gloves page says the Premier, Spectrum and Cross-Country gloves have touchtape wrists that let you fine-tune the cinch for small wrists.

Riders with small hands often describe a long search. One rider with small hands and tiny wrists wrote that she bought three pairs of one Heritage style once she found a fit. Measure your palm, find the smallest sizes on that style's chart and look for a closure you can tighten.

Roeckl describes its cut as a close, second-skin fit, so a roomy glove isn't the goal with that maker.

Fingertips are where a wrong size tends to show up first. One rider bought her usual size, found the fingers a little too long and said the tips caught when she did up the girth, while the glove still fit her palm and finger circumference. Try your gloves on and do the little jobs you do all the time: pick up the reins, thread a buckle, tighten a girth.

Roeckl's chart lists children's sizes 3, 4 and 5 at 14, 15 and 16 cm, and Heritage's youth sizes are 3 (Small), 4 (Medium) and 5 (Large). Our Roeckl gloves page says Roeckl makes junior styles, including the Roeck-Grip Jr, and tells you to check the size chart on the product page. Our Heritage gloves page lists Kids' Show Gloves in classic black with a stretch wrist for easy on and off.

For winter, plan for your liner when you measure and read the chart with that layer in mind, as Heritage suggests. For single-hand gloves, as noted above, pick right or left as well as the number.

You can compare many styles at once on our riding gloves page; each product carries its own chart, so open the one you like and read it before you order.

• Measure around your base knuckles, thumb left out, with a loose fist.
• If the maker asks, measure the middle finger too.
• Record centimeters and inches.
• Open the size chart for that maker and that style.
• Between sizes? Reread that style's chart; Roeckl calls its sizes a guideline.
• Winter: read the chart with your liner in mind.
• Single-glove styles: choose the right or left hand.