Glove Measurement
What Does Size 8 Mean in Glove Sizing?
A size 8 glove fits a hand about 8 in (203 mm) around. It is M on the ISO table but S on some men's charts. See why, and what to order.
A size 8 glove is made for a hand that measures about 8 in (203 mm) around the palm. On the EN ISO 21420 glove size table, size 8 is a medium (M). Letter sizes are not shared between makers, though, so measure your hand and check each maker's own chart before you order.
This answer is part of our glove measurement hub.
What size 8 measures
Numeric glove sizes come from a traditional system developed in France, which uses hand circumference to stand for the proportions of the whole hand. In the EN ISO 21420 size table, size 8 means a hand circumference of 203 mm and a hand length of 182 mm.
Each step on that table is close to 1 in: size 7 is about 7.01 in, size 8 about 7.99 in, and size 9 about 9.02 in around the hand. In practice, the number is roughly your hand measurement in inches.
Is size 8 a medium or a small?
That depends on whose chart you read. Some makers label gloves by number and others by letter, and you need a table to translate between them. The table below shows how one 8 in hand gets three different letters.
The sources disagree here, and both readings are on record. On the ISO table an 8 is a medium, while the store's men's chart calls the same 8 in hand a small. Even within one maker, fit can vary slightly by glove model.
The takeaway: treat "size 8" as a hand measurement, not a letter. For every number side by side, see our leather glove size chart.
| Chart | What an 8 in (20.32 cm) hand is called | Where medium (M) sits |
|---|---|---|
| EN ISO 21420 table | Size 8 = M | 203 mm, about 8 in |
| Leather Collection men's chart | S | 8.5 in (21.59 cm) |
| Leather Collection women's chart | XL | 7 in (17.78 cm) |
| Alfred University unisex table | Between S (7.5 in) and M (8.5 in) | 8.5 in |
What to order if you measure 8 in
Take a soft tape and measure around the palm just below the knuckles, leaving the thumb out. Our step-by-step guide on how to measure your hand for gloves shows the method.
Then match your number in inches to the chart of the glove you are buying. The Leather Collection chart uses that single hand measurement, with no length column.
Pairs from that store are made to order in the size you pick, so get the measurement right first. For an 8 in hand, that means a men's S in Leather Collection men's leather gloves.
Between two sizes, or unsure which chart applies? Our guide on how to find your glove size walks through the full decision.
The Motorcycle Gloves Editorial Team
The Motorcycle Gloves articles are researched from published sources, cited in the text, and reviewed before publication.