Best Goalkeeper Gloves - Buying Guide

Summary

In soccer, the Goalkeeper is the player who guards the goal and is the only player allowed to handle the ball. The goalkeeper position in soccer is very unique and requires some specific equipment. In this Guide I will cover what to look for in goalkeeper gloves, how much you should spend on them, and where to buy goalkeeper gloves .

First, a little about my experiences: I grew up playing soccer, and primarily the goalkeeper position since about 10. I gained my knowledge about goalkeeper gloves by actually buying and using them. I have tried many of the major brands and want to share my knowledge and experience with you today.

Goalkeeper save

Source: Fasttrack

Goalkeeper Gloves

Source: footy-boots

Goalkeeper Gloves

Source: Eurosport

Goalkeeper Gloves

Cleaning Goalkeeper Gloves:

• Goalkeeper Gloves Care
  How to care for your goalkeeper gloves and keep them gripping well and smelling good.

What to look for in Goalkeeper Gloves

The first step in determining what gloves to buy is figuring out what you need. Here are a few things to evaluate:

What size goalkeeper glove do you need? – Goalkeeper gloves range in size with most people falling in between size 7 to 12. Determining your size is very important for a good fit.

Here is how to find your Goalkeeper Glove Size:

Measure with a ruler or tape measure the length of your hand from the tip of your middle finger to the bottom of your palm. Then round up to the nearest inch, and add 1” to that. This is your goalkeeper glove size. Example: My hand measures 7 ½ in. Round that up to 8in. and then add 1in to that equaling a size 9. Remember, it’s also important to that your gloves are a little big – maybe about 1/2 in or so.

What are the weather conditions you will play in? – Do you usually play in wet conditions or dry conditions? Some gloves are made to perform in rainy games much better than regular gloves so its important to know if you will often play in the rain. In my experience, it works OK to use regular gloves in wet weather, but it is more challenging.

Do you need gloves with fingersave technology or other features? – Different goalkeeper gloves offer a wide variety of different features such as ‘Figersave’ technology. Basically this is a rigid backbone like structure on the back of gloves that stops your fingers from being pushed back too far. I have used gloves with this feature and it does build a little confidence knowing that if you try to stop a hard shot with the tips of your fingers there will be a rigid structure keeping them from bending back.

Honestly though, for most experience goalkeepers, this is not really necessary as I have noticed my hands and fingers are already strong from lots of practice. But this and other features are good to try out.

Are you looking for practice gloves or match gloves? – If you are looking for goalkeeper gloves just to practice in, than almost any pair will do, as long as they are fairly durable. However, if you are looking for goalkeeper gloves for games, then you want better quality.

I would recommend for every goalkeeper to have two pairs of gloves, one for practice and one for games. The reason for this is that you want to use your good gloves for only games so that they will stay in good condition. For practice gloves, a cheap pair is fine, because they will get beat up quickly.

Now that we know some of the important things to look for when buying goalkeeper gloves, let’s get into how much to spend on gloves.

Goalkeeper gloves

How Much Should You Spend on Goalkeeper Gloves?

In all my experience I have noticed the old saying ‘what you pay is what you get’ is very true with goalkeeper gloves. The expensive high end goalkeeper gloves cost a lot, but are incredible to use. While $10 gloves are barely good enough for practice gloves.

Good goalkeeper gloves range from about $40 to $100. If you are playing very competitive soccer, and have the money, I would suggest the higher end gloves.

But for most goalkeepers playing in high school or other youth leagues, you can buy good match gloves for about $40 to $60. If that is still above your budget, don’t worry, I’ll mention more about this further down, so keep reading!

adi FingerSave Allround Goal Keeper Glove Petr Cech model $135.00 Current Bid: $89.99

J League Soccer Game in Japan

Japanese Goalkeeper taking a goal kick

Source: InternPete

Full lineup of players

Source: InternPete

Where Are the Best Places to Buy Goalkeeper Gloves?

One would probably expect the best place to buy goalkeeper gloves is at your local sports store, but that is not where I would suggest you buy the gloves.

I would suggest you go to your local sports retailer and try gloves on and see what they offer. You can get a better idea of what size you are, what gloves feel like and those kinds of things, but unless you are in a hurry, I would recommend going online to buy gloves.

In my experience you can find a much larger selection as well as better prices by buying goalkeeper gloves online. I have purchased nearly all of my gloves online and have never had a problem.

My favorite soccer website is Eurosport (soccer.com). They have a very wide selection to choose from and I have always been satisfied with the products I have purchased from them.

Now, for those on a budget, here is my tip for buying goalkeeper gloves:

Go online to your favorite online soccer store, (soccer.com is my favorite) and look for goalkeeper gloves that are on sale. Usually they are on sale because they are either last year’s version, or have limited sizing options. Either way I have been able to buy top quality gloves for half the price. You can also find a good pair of practice gloves much cheaper this way as well.

I hope this Goalkeeper glove buying guide will help you buy the right gloves that you need. If you have any questions, just leave a comment!