09/25/2024

5 Best Oils For A Baseball Glove

Oils and conditioners…these terms are typically used interchangeably when discussing products used to moisturize baseball glove leather. However, they’re different. Just take the word of Chris Petroff, the founder/operator of The Glove Lab:

Based on Chris Petroff’s advice, when people are looking for the best oil to use on their baseball glove, what they should be looking for is the best conditioner to use on their baseball glove.

Below we’ll provide you with the top 5 conditioners that you should be considering for use on your baseball glove.

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Best 5 Conditioners For Baseball Gloves

Reviews For Best 5 Conditioners for Baseball Gloves

1) Ball Player’s Balm Professional Glove Conditioner

Ball Player’s Balm burst on the scene in the last decade as one of the first companies that specialized in glove care products. Their Pro Glove Conditioner is made from a proprietary blend of completely natural ingredients. The general consensus within the industry seems to be that the more raw ingredients a conditioning product includes (and the less man-made ingredients), the better! Overall, their Professional Glove Conditioner is trusted by leaders in the glove conditioning, relacing and restoration community, like Chris Petroff.

2) Wilson Pro Stock Conditioner

Everyone who’s done consistent work with baseball gloves knows the smell of Wilson Pro Stock Conditioner. Our podcast, Beyond the Glove, talked about it’s scent in a podcast episode during 2024:

Like a lot of conditioning products, the actual recipe that is used to create it, is a bit of a mystery. All we really know about its male-up is that it contains Lanolin and Vitamin E. However, it’s been used for many years by ballplayers with a slew of satisfied customers. A good testament to its effectiveness is the 4.7 stars (out of 5) that it has earned in its Amazon reviews.

3) Sarna Glove Conditioner

Similar to the previously mentioned Ball Player’s Balm, Sarna is a company that has become popular in recent history as they have established their brand as one that zones in on the art of preserving baseball gloves. Sarna creates this product so that it is white in appearance. However, when the original Sarna Conditioner is compared to the Ball Player’s Balm Pro Glove Conditioner and Wilson Pro Stock Conditioner, it is more runny in comparison. However, if you are wanting a product with a thicker consistency, you can turn to Sarna’s Conditioner Cream. Overall, Sarna is trusted in the ball glove space as attested to by many players and even big names in the space like Glove Refresh.

4) A&J’s All-Natural Glove Conditioner

Another product to keep top of mind if you’re looking for something to help keep your gloves or mitts conditioned is A&J’s All-Natural Conditioner. It checks all the boxes in regard to knowing whether it is good for your glove as their website mentions that it is free of mink oil, neatsfoot oil, coconut oil, petroleum, dyes, detergents, or additives. The consistency of A&J’s will be similar to Ball Player’s Balm. It will come relatively solidified, but by rubbing your fingers or a sponge on it, you’ll be able to easily pick up enough product to cover your entire glove or mitt. And as far as an endorsement goes, this product is sold by Chris Petroff (The Glove Lab) on his site. That should be a good enough testimony for anyone trying to figure out if this glove product is legit!

5) JustGloves Pro Soft Glove Conditioner

This product is not going to receive anywhere near the same amount of fanfare as the products previously mentioned. But if you are shopping at JustGloves and want a product that will moisturize your new glove during or after its first season of use, please be sure and add one of these tubes of conditioner to your order. It will come with a paste-like consistency that will be applied best with an applicator sponge, but also be spread with a hand as well. For its relatively low cost, it’s a no-brainer if you’re already shopping at JustGloves.

Are Conditioners and Baseball Glove Cleaners The Same?

Conditioners and baseball glove cleaners are not the same. They may share some similar ingredients, but their intended purpose & application will differ.

Conditioners are meant to be added just as they exist onto the surface of a glove by a player’s hand or with a sponge/towel. In their natural state, conditioners will provide benefits to the glove by moisturizing the leather.

Cleaners will be different as they are often meant to be mixed with water first (i.e. think of soap) and then applied to the glove using a brush. As opposed to a conditioner that is meant to moisturize the leather, a cleaner’s purpose is to remove dirt and grime from the leather and embroidery of a glove.

If you were planning to both clean your glove and condition it, be sure to clean it first. The cleaner removes dirt and grime. In addition, cleaners also remove salts, soluble minerals and proteins that enter the glove as sweat and wreak havoc on the leather by making it hard for air to reach the leather (thus leading to drying and cracking).

After using a cleaner and letting your glove dry, you can grab one of the conditioners mentioned above and evenly cover the entire palm, fingers, backing and hand stall of your glove. Conditioners not only moisturize the leather, but they also create a protective film against foreign particles entering the leather (while simultaneously allowing the leather to breathe). Best of all, the conditioner then evaporates off of the glove which prevents it from going rancid inside the pores of the leather.
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We hope that we've set the record straight for you on baseball glove oils and baseball glove conditioners! Even more so, we hope that we've provided some helpful suggestions for you when it's time to purchase your next conditioner. If you have further questions, please reach out to the Glove Expert team by LIVE CHATTING them right now! You can slo email at experts@justgloves.com.

Filed Under: Glove Care Lists Baseball Gloves