When looking for a new pair of goalie gloves, you need to consider numerous factors: brand, price, material, size, colour, and the different cuts. The cut of the glove is important for comfort, flexibility, and grip.
Many stores offer a wide range of goalkeeper accessories with goalie gloves, in all kinds of different cuts, but what exactly are glove cuts?
What Are Goalie Glove Cuts?
Glove cuts refer to the way the materials are stitched together. The perfect cut will provide just enough room for your fingers and backhand but ensure you can get a good grip of the ball. Just as importantly, it will enhance your control and comfort.
Goalie gloves are divided into five sections. To better understand the different cuts, we need to describe the other four parts:
- Palm – The part of the glove which the goalie uses to catch or throw the ball.
- Fingers – Depending on the material, fingers can be stiff or bendable. Their purpose is to prevent potential injuries.
- Backhand – This section provides protection, enables the glove to “breathe,” and can be used for punching the ball.
- Closure – Closure is the material that ensures the gloves stay on the goalie’s hands.
Types of Goalie Glove Cuts
There are dozens of different glove cuts on the market nowadays. Brands tend to create their own names for the cuts or develop hybrid models, but essentially, there are only a four basic glove cuts:
Roll Finger
This is one of the most popular goalie glove cuts. With this model, the backhand connects to the palm with no gussets. The latex is wrapped around the fingers, ensuring an excellent grip and a large contact area. Unlike some other cuts, the roll finger cut doesn’t feel tight or restrictive.
Despite being comfortable, some keepers don’t like this cut because it’s bulkier than others.
This cut is also called gun cut or surround cut.
Negative Cut
Goalie gloves featuring this cut have become popular over the last few years, especially in Europe. This cut is characterized by a single piece of latex connected to the backhand with gussets on the inside of the glove. Consequently, these gloves have a tighter fit and offer a firm grip, resulting in better control. Negative cut gloves follow the shape of the hand, leaving almost no “wasted” space.
Since the stitching for the gussets is inside the glove, it will create friction, which may damage the gloves faster than other cuts. But the stitching will also provide extra protection for your fingers.
This cut is also called seamless touch cut, inseam cut, inverted cut.
Flat Palm
The flat palm cut was one of the first to appear when goalie gloves became popular. Like the negative cut, this cut features a single piece of latex that connects to the backhand via gussets. In this case, the gussets are on the outside of the glove.
This provides a looser feeling and extra space inside the glove. The fingers have more than enough room to be comfortable, but the gloves still have a good level of control and grip. Since they’re easy to manufacture, these gloves are often the least expensive option. However, a potential downside is that they don’t follow the shape of fingers. As a result, some find them too loose-fitting.
This cut is also called expanse cut or regular cut.
Hybrid
Hybrid goalie gloves represent a combination of two cuts. This enables goalies to combine the best of both worlds to find the right fit. For example, if you want latex rolled around the fingers with gussets on the inside, you can buy the roll finger-negative hybrid.
You’ll come across dozens of different names for hybrid cuts, depending on the brand you opt for.
Since they’re harder to manufacture, hybrid gloves are often more expensive.
Choose the Right Cut
Although gloves won’t make you a better goalie overnight, they do provide better control and a firmer grip. The right cut depends on the shape of your hands and the level of comfort required.
If you’re not sure which cut to choose, stores with a large selection of traditional and hybrid goalie gloves are the place to go. Whether you’re buying gloves online or offline, you can always advise with the employees and find the perfect pair.
