Gloves CS2 Trade Up Guide

In late 2025, Valve introduced an update that reshaped the CS2 skin economy by allowing you to trade up five Covert skins for a chance at gloves. The change quickly disrupted gold item prices and marked one of the most significant adjustments to the game’s trade-up system.

If you want to understand how glove trade-ups work and which Covert skins can lead to specific glove outcomes, you need clear and accurate information. This guide breaks down the essentials so you can approach CS2 glove trade-ups with confidence and a solid grasp of the mechanics.

How to Complete Glove Trade-Ups in CS2

You complete a glove trade-up much like any other contract, but the rules differ in key ways. You must place five Covert (Red) skins into the Trade Up Contract, not ten as required for lower-tier exchanges.

You cannot use StatTrak items in these contracts. Gloves never come with StatTrak counters, so the system only accepts standard Covert skins.

The outcome depends on the collections tied to your selected skins. Each Covert item belongs to a specific case pool, and that pool determines which glove finishes can drop. Mixing skins from different collections changes the possible results and the odds for each option.

Before confirming the contract, review:

• The collection source of every Covert skin
• The possible glove outcomes from that pool
• The float values that influence the final wear rating

Precision in selection directly affects your potential return.

CS2 Glove Groups

CS2 divides gloves into three distinct pools. The gloves you can receive in a trade-up depend entirely on which Covert skins you submit and which case collection they belong to.

Each group connects directly to specific cases. If you understand these links, you control which glove pool your contract targets.

Glove Set One (Glove Case & Operation Hydra)

This first pool contains gloves originally released in the Glove Case and Operation Hydra Case. It includes 24 finishes across several glove types.

Bloodhound Gloves

• Bronzed
• Charred
• Guerrilla
• Snakebite

Driver Gloves

• Convoy
• Crimson Weave
• Diamondback
• Lunar Weave

Hand Wraps

• Badlands
• Leather
• Slaughter
• Spruce DDPAT

Moto Gloves

• Boom!
• Cool Mint
• Eclipse
• Spearmint

Specialist Gloves

• Crimson Kimono
• Emerald Web
• Forest DDPAT
• Foundation

Sport Gloves

• Arid
• Hedge Maze
• Pandora’s Box
• Superconductor

To guarantee an outcome from this pool, you must use Covert skins tied to these cases:

• AWP | Oni Taiji
• Five-SeveN | Hyper Beast
• M4A4 | Buzz Kill
• SSG 08 | Dragonfire

This route requires a high upfront cost. Even heavily worn versions of these skins trade at premium prices.

For example:

Because every eligible Covert skin sits in the upper price tier, you commit substantial capital before considering float optimization or resale value.

You should also factor in float control. Lower float inputs increase the chance of cleaner glove finishes, but they raise acquisition costs further.

Glove Set Two (Clutch & Revolution)

The second pool draws from the Clutch Case and Revolution Case. Like the first set, it includes 24 glove finishes.

Driver Gloves

• Imperial Plaid
• King Snake
• Overtake
• Racing Green

Hand Wraps

• Arboreal
• Cobalt Skulls
• Duct Tape
• Overprint

Hydra Gloves

• Case Hardened
• Emerald
• Mangrove
• Rattler

Moto Gloves

• Polygon
• POW!
• Transport
• Turtle

Specialist Gloves

• Buckshot
• Crimson Web
• Fade
• Mogul

Sport Gloves

• Amphibious
• Bronze Morph
• Omega
• Vice

You access this pool by using Covert skins from the same two cases:

• AK-47 | Head Shot
• M4A4 | Neo-Noir
• M4A4 | Temukau
• MP7 | Bloodsport

Compared to the first set, this option lowers your entry cost significantly.

This makes Set Two more accessible for mid-budget trade-ups. You still need to calculate expected value carefully, especially after Steam fees and market fluctuations.

Factory New versions raise your contract cost quickly. However, they improve your chance of landing lower-float gloves, which may command stronger resale prices.

Glove Set Three (Broken Fang, Recoil & Snakebite)

The third pool combines gloves from Operation Broken Fang, Recoil, and Snakebite cases. Despite spanning three cases, it still contains 24 glove finishes.

Broken Fang Gloves

• Jade
• Needle Point
• Unhinged
• Yellow-banded

Driver Gloves

• Black Tie
• Queen Jaguar
• Rezan the Red
• Snow Leopard

Hand Wraps

• CAUTION!
• Constrictor
• Desert Shamagh
• Giraffe

Moto Gloves

• 3rd Commando Company
• Blood Pressure
• Finish Line
• Smoke Out

Specialist Gloves

• Field Agent
• Lt. Commander
• Marble Fade
• Tiger Strike

Sport Gloves

• Big Game
• Nocts
• Scarlet Shamagh
• Slingshot

Because this pool spans three collections, you gain access to six eligible Covert skins:

• AWP | Chromatic Aberration
• Glock-18 | Neo-Noir
• M4A1-S | Printstream
• M4A4 | In Living Color
• USP-S | Printstream
• USP-S | The Traitor

You should approach pricing carefully here.

The M4A1-S Printstream stands out as a cost outlier. Its Battle-Scarred version often exceeds the Factory New price of several other eligible skins, which reduces contract efficiency.

For lower-budget attempts, you can use any of the other five skins in Battle-Scarred condition. At higher wear tiers, the AWP Chromatic Aberration often offers one of the more affordable Factory New entry points, around the mid–double-digit range.

This broader skin selection gives you more flexibility. You can mix cost, float, and availability to fine-tune your contract.

When you plan a glove trade-up, always confirm that every input skin belongs to the same glove group. If you mix collections, you dilute the outcome pool and lose control over which gloves you can receive.

Understanding these three structured pools lets you target specific finishes instead of relying on guesswork.

CS2 Gloves Trade-Ups: A Quick Recap

You access glove outcomes in CS2 by submitting five Covert (Red) skins from the same case pool under the updated trade-up system. The case collection you choose determines which glove set you can receive, so your input skins directly control the possible results.

The table below outlines the main case groups and a commonly cited lower-cost Factory New Covert from each pool:

Each group contains multiple Covert skins that qualify. For example, Group 1 includes options like AWP Oni Taiji and M4A4 Buzz Kill, while Group 3 features skins such as M4A1-S Printstream and USP-S The Traitor.

You must use five Covert skins from the same collection range to access that specific glove pool. Mixing unrelated cases will change the outcome pool.

Covert prices have increased since the October 2025 update enabled direct five-to-one trade-ups into knives and gloves. In many situations, buying gloves directly costs less than attempting the contract.

If you proceed, compare current Covert prices carefully and calculate your total contract cost before committing.