How To Choose The Right Gloves

Goalie gloves are generally designed to help the goalie catch the ball better than he or she could with bare hands. The palm of the glove is usually coated with materials that give the goalie a much better grip on the ball.

Basic, less expensive goalie gloves have a smoother latex or rubber palm. Also most gloves will provide some padding to take the sting out of catching a ball traveling at high speeds. Basic gloves can be helpfull for training and practice but aren't always used for game play.

More advanced gloves will use better materials such as thicker german latex for the palm. Also, the cut and design of the glove may be more exotic to increase the surface area that may come in contact with the ball. Better, more advanced materials are used for the padding that absorbs the "sting" while remaining thin enough to give the goalie a good "feel" for the ball. Finally, many of the best gloves will have a "Finger Saver" system that helps to keep fingers from getting bent backwards. This reduces injuries from trying to catch high speed balls.

Like shoes, gloves can be designed for different types of playing conditions. The biggest difference being hard ground vs soft ground designs that offer longer wear v.s. a better grip. Hard surfaces and even harder indoor surfaces can tear up the palm lining as the goalie dives for a ball. Gloves designed for indoor and hard surfaces will have a tougher, rough surfaced material for the palm providing a longer wear.