While you’re shopping in the store or online for the best pair of goalkeeper gloves there’s no doubt you’ll hear a lot about the so-called “glove cuts”. So what are goalkeeper glove cuts? And what type is best for you?
Goalkeeper glove cuts simply describe the way the latex palms and backhand are stitched together.
Your glove will impact flexibility and the feeling of the soccer ball. In most cases, your chosen goalkeeper glove cut is largely a matter of personal preference. You could experiment until you find the brand/cut combination that feels right for you, of you can continue reading and we can help you.
FLAT PALM CUT
Basically none of the larger brands produce this cut of goalkeeper gloves anymore at least at a professional level. It was the original cut to emerge once the goalkeeper glove market began to develop. This glove is a very lose feel and is the best cut for starting goalkeepers and young children. So, let’s just move on and simply say: “Don’t purchase gloves in this cut!”
ROLL FINGER CUT
An extremely popular Goalkeeper Glove cut. It has been around now for a few years and every goalkeeper glove company has at least one model in this cut. The latex wraps-rolls all the way round the fingers from back to front of the fingers. This creates the maximum latex to soccer ball contact providing great ball stopping security. A Roll Finger Goalkeeper Glove will create a more substantial feel on the hands in comparison with a Negative Cut or Hybrid style.
NEGATIVE CUT GLOVES
This cut of Goalkeeper Glove creates a tighter more streamlined feel on the hands and is the preferred cut (combined with German Contact Latex) for professional goalkeeper since 2020.
A flat catching surface, internally (negatively) stitched with latex gussets, giving the goalkeeper the feeling of an “extra layer of skin”. This style of glove is perfect for the Goalkeeper who likes a tighter fit and more feel on the ball, it is the hardest glove to create as it is stitched and assembled inside-out. In addition, and what professional goalkeeper like the most about this cut is that the inside stitching has the effect of creating padding at the tips of your fingers providing protection on hard shots. The firm surface perfect to distribute the ball from. Whether you’re bowling the ball underarm, throwing it overarm, or tipping it over the bar, the Negative cut is versatile to any situation and the most accurate…PERIOD!
HYBRID CUT GLOVES
This goalkeeper glove cut is a combination of the best features of both the Roll Finger and the Positive/negative Cut Goalkeeper glove styles which is why it is known as Hybrid Cut.
The middle 2 fingers a Positive or negative stitched while the Index and Pinky fingers are semi rolled at the top providing more latex to ball contact and catching security.