Best goalkeeper gloves
Being a goalkeeper means a lot of pressure. A decisive player on whom the whole team depends. You have to be ready to guard your goal against the enemy, so it’s crucial for you to have the right tool: your gloves.
Over the last years, not only has football evolved, but also the equipment has been developed to another level. Choosing the right goalkeeper gloves can be a mammoth task, especially if you start comparing different brands, prices and technical features. But how to choose the best goalie gloves? Since we want you to make the most out of your game, here is our selection of the most important attributes you should take into consideration.
Best goalkeeper gloves for grip
First things first. What is a good goalkeeper characterised by? You’re right, it’s defined by stopping the ball from entering the goal. And what do you need for that? Exactly, a great grip! There are 3 main types of grip:
- Top-tier football gloves with 80-90% of natural latex. Its palm is very delicate and it provides the best adherence to the ball. However, these gloves are subject to faster wear and tear, so they are recommended to be used on natural grass.
- Mid-tier football gloves with 50% of natural latex and 50% of synthetic latex. Their grip is lower, there's more gliding and they are less spongy. These gloves perform well on dry pitches and lose some adherence on wet fields. However, this is compensated with less erosion of the latex.
- Basic grip palm which offers great resistance to erosion and it’s recommended to be used on dry pitches. They are mostly composed of synthetic latex, so they greatly support the abrasion on the field but they offer less in grip performance.
You can have a pair of top-tier gloves for competition only and another pair of basic grip for training, as they are more resistant although you’ll have to force your fingers to place them into the right position due to the low grip.
Lastly, there are also
football gloves for wet weather with a very delicate palm. Usually, they are made of a high quality latex but they are more porous. Thanks to this feature, they absorb the water better and provide a better contact of the ball with the latex. Some brands also increase their thickness.
Best goalkeeper gloves by cut type
After having reviewed the different kinds of grip that goalie gloves can provide, it’s time to mention the second most important attribute: the type of cut.
- Rollfinger gloves provide a special cut that wraps the fingers both inside and outside of the palm, so there’s more surface of latex and therefore more grip. Take a look at these UHLSPORT goalkeeper gloves:
- Negative cut football gloves have a similar finish to the flat ones, but they are sewed from the inside. It’s usual to see this type of cut on professional goalkeepers such as Hugo Lloris, who wears his Reusch goalkeeper gloves:
Each player is different from one another, so their needs tend to vary depending on their style and needs. This is why brands also offer mixed types of football gloves, such us
roll-flat or
roll-negative football gloves.
Best goalkeeper gloves with special features
We’re almost there! If the above mentioned attributes don’t seem enough, there are two more factors that are essential to some goalkeepers.
- Football gloves with finger protections which usually are plastic bars which allow the internal fingers’ flexion but prevent their excessive extension when in contact with the ball. These fingersave goalkeeper gloves are great for those who suffer from some finger or palm injury, but they’re not necessary for the rest of healthy goalies.
- Goalkeeper gloves for women tend to be more ergonomic and adapt better to the feminine palm. The wrist’s diameter is smaller and therefore they are narrower than the rest of the men’s goalkeeper gloves. Another differential characteristic is that they have less distance from the palm to the thumb, which benefits its freedom of movement.
Best goalkeeper gloves for kids
A lot of parents ask us which are the best goalkeeper gloves for their children and how to choose the right football gloves for them. The logic remains the same as in the previous section, since it will depend on the needs of the kid.
Goalkeeper gloves size chart
First of all, it’s important to note that the size doesn’t depend on the age of the player but on the size of their hand. There are usually two ways of measuring your palm or your knuckle. The first one is by placing your hand on the physical package of the football gloves, where there is usually an illustrative chart on it. The second one, and more appropriate for online purchases, is by measuring the diameter of your knuckle with a measuring tape. This will not only show the size, but it will also include the width of your palm, so you can feel more comfortable with your gloves.
But how should the glove fit your kid’s hand? The answer is very simple. It should suit the palm perfectly and an extra space should remain of approximately 1 cm between the fingers and the top of the glove in order to provide freedom of movement.
Best cheap goalkeeper gloves
Not all expensive gloves are the best and not all the cheapest ones are the worst. Brands offer a wide range of models which cover all the budgets. Sometimes we can find high quality
gloves at a good price because their upper is simpler.
As previously mentioned, gloves have many features to be considered, so the choice will depend on your preferences. You can find cheap football gloves at Fútbol Emotion since we offer a great deal of any kind of football gloves, which can be ranged by price, age, custom, etc.
So although you’re probably searching for the best goalkeeper gloves in the world, that decision should be only taken by you based on your needs!
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Check out our selection of goalkeeper gloves: