Find the perfect goalkeeper gloves│The Ultimate Goalkeeper Glove Guide

What are the best goalkeeper glove brands?

There are a lot of different brands to choose from when it comes to goalie gloves. You can take your pick from either the major sportswear brands such as Nike, adidas and PUMA or perhaps look to more specialized goalkeeper brands like Uhlsport and Reusch.

Nike goalkeeper gloves

The gloves from Nike are some of the best on the market - especially the lightweight gloves featuring the Nike Vapor Grip 3, which provides you with an excellent grip, ergonomic fit and basically perfect handling of the ball.

adidas goalkeeper gloves

A pair of goalie gloves from adidas will definitely help you out in order to keep a clean sheet. The adidas gloves come in various colourways and cuts featuring the latest technology with no sewing to irritate the wrists as well as an increased catching area. Thus, the adi gloves perfectly combine comfort and functionality.

PUMA goalkeeper gloves

Many of the best goalkeepers in world football prefer PUMA gloves, and it’s easy to understand why. The gloves have a high level of comfort and an optimal grip with several layers of latex that also provides shock-absorption. The PUMA gloves also ensure great handling in bad weather conditions.

Uhlsport goalkeeper gloves

Moving on to the more specialized goalkeeper brands, Uhlsport is an obvious choice when you are on the look-out for new goalie gloves. The German brand solemnly focuses on developing the best gloves available and the brand is renowned for their quality and unique latex technology, featuring a soft and thick yet durable latex foam.

Reusch goalkeeper gloves

Reusch has been making goalkeeper gloves for more than 80 years and the brand has managed to evolve and keep perfecting its gloves over the years with the latest technologies. Featuring stylish designs, great grip control as well as sublime comfort, Reusch provides some of the best goalkeeper gloves in the market.

Select goalkeeper gloves

Select is a Danish brand renowned for high-quality football equipment, which is also apparent for their goalkeeper gloves. Made with high comfort and functionality, the goalie gloves from Select provide you with a strong grip and excellent handling in all conditions.

Which glove cut should you choose?

No goalkeeper glove guide without mentioning glove cuts. When you’re trying to decide on your new goalkeeper gloves, you have to choose from a vast number of glove cuts. Below, you will see a few rules of thumb regarding each cut:

Choosing the right cut is a matter of preferences and you might have to try the different kinds to really know what you prefer.

Which glove latex should you choose?

The latex is a very important feature in goalkeeper gloves, but it can seem like quite a jungle to navigate through the many different types.
Important rules of thumb are:

• The softer the latex, the better the grip
• The harder the latex, the better the endurance
• The thicker the latex, the better the protection
• The thinner the latex, the more ball control

Often latex types are divided into Soft Grip, Super Soft Grip, Mega/Giga Grip and Contact/Supreme Grip.

Should I choose fingersave?

Fingersave is a feature that is available in some goalkeeper gloves, most often Flat Cut-gloves. Fingersave comes in different shapes, but common to them all is that they help to prevent your fingers from bending backwards.
Fingersave adds great finger protection but it comes at a price. Gloves with fingersave are less flexible and you might feel like you’re missing some control and flexibility.
Some goalkeeper gloves have fingersave systems that can be removed if you prefer. Some gloves even allow you to only have protection for some specific fingers. That way, you can choose exactly where you want protection and regain some of the ball control.

Which gloves should I choose for artificial grass?

It’s no secret that artificial grass is not a goalkeeper glove's best friend. The hard surfaces can shorten the lifetime of your gloves. Therefore it’s important to take good care of your gloves and wash them to keep the latex soft and clean. That being said, there are some important things to consider when you buy new gloves. If you often play on AG, you should consider buying two pairs of goalkeeper gloves. One pair for matches and one pair for training. Depending on your budget, you can choose two identical pairs of match gloves or a good pair of match gloves and a less expensive pair of training gloves.

How do I take care of my goalkeeper gloves?

It’s very important that you take excellent care of your goalkeeper gloves. Gloves aren’t like boots that you can wash when they’re dirty. They need to be washed very often and preferably every time you’ve used them. Make it your most important habit to bring the gloves to the shower after training, wash them gently with and let them dry on a hanger until your next training session. That way, you keep them fresh, damp and ready to perform for a very long time.

What accessories do I need?

Need to have or nice to have? Except from gloves and boots, a goalkeeper doesn’t need anything else. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any accessories that are nice to have. For instance it is always a great idea to bring a towel to the pitch in case of rain. Sells Technical Aqua is a stroke of genius for this purpose. Other useful accessories are finger tape, glove bags and Glove Glu.

Goalkeeper gloves for kids

Last but not least, there are a couple of sizing guidelines to keep in mind when you are on the look-out for kids goalkeeper gloves. The sizes for kids goalkeeper gloves is usually between 4 and 7, while the sizes for adult goalie gloves run from 8 to 12. Below is a quick overview of the goalkeeper glove sizes suitable for the different kids age groups:

• Size 4 - 6-7 years
• Size 5 - 8-9 years
• Size 6 - 10-11 years
• Size 7 - Large youth

You will find a wide selection of kids goalkeeper gloves in all sizes right here.