I talked about these gloves in an earlier article, and one of the things that I sometimes have against Adidas gloves is their lack of creativity with the names of the gloves. Since they are labeled either pro or replicas with the same name you could be looking at completely different gloves. To be completely clear today I’m going to be talking about the Adidas Tiro Pro Goalie Gloves. There’s another version with the same name that are replica gloves. Those are not it, in fact they are on my do not buy list for Adidas gloves. Just want to make sure we’re all on the same page. Just in case you come across the other article, and you get the sense that I’m contradicting myself. I do, do that sometimes, but it’s not the case here.
These Adidas Tiro Pro Goalie gloves are visually one of the best gloves on the market. I know I’m showing my age by saying that because they have traditional gloves written all over it. Kind of like how some people look at Uhlsport and their release of their traditional white and red gloves. The biggest difference between both options is the price tag. You can get these Tiro Pro gloves for about half the price of the old school Uhlsport gloves that hit the market last year. You could argue that the more expensive option are a bit better gloves, but that’s a topic for another day. Let’s take a look at these Adidas Tiro Pro and see if they are a decent buy!
Adidas Tiro Pro – Grip
This is an interesting one because these gloves say they feature the same type of latex that we see in other Adidas options. Which means that they are likely going to have unlockable grip in or near the same level that a 100 plus dollar glove could feature. Why do I talk about it being unlockable? Because for the most part these gloves are not going to be as sticky as perhaps the Adidas Predator Pro might be the first time that they arrive at your door. Get them a little damp and apply some Glove Glu before the first use, and you’re going to be seeing some similar grip levels.
Yesterday I talked about this with the Nike gloves. It’s not just about the grip that you get from the glove coming out of the box. A lot of brands will send you real sticky gloves that won’t be as sticky after the first use. What happens is that you have to use your finger mobility to be able to make clean catches and not rely on the stickiness of the glove so much. These gloves provide enough finger mobility, and they are wide enough to the point where they’re going to fit more goalkeepers’ diverse hand sizes. If you’ve been reading along you know that’s an issue. Even if gloves were to be sized the same in length not all of them are equal in width. That can mess with the sizing, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Durability Is Something You Want To Watch Out For
Durability is extremely subjective with goalkeeper gloves. In these reviews what I usually try to do is talk about tips that you can apply to help the glove last longer. In this particular case though the gloves are a bit thicker to the point where I feel more or less comfortable using them on surfaces that are less than perfect. Make sure that you always have these gloves wet when you play. If you’re going to be playing on rougher fields or even just regular turf you should look to have these gloves be more wet than damp. You want that water to be able to serve as lubricant so that there’s not as much wear and tear on the palm.
What worries me is that if you get a pair that’s not as well stitched together, and you try to make a low dive on a rough field if you drag your wrist and your pinky, that part of the glove could come apart quickly on a rough field. You see even from the picture that some versions of the glove may arrive with loose stitching. That’s a problem because those can be vulnerable parts of the glove. Any boundary between the palm and the backhand is always going to be an area that’s at risk. For the most part though I wouldn’t be too scared to take these gloves to a field that was a little rough!
They Can Be A Good Fit For Almost Any Goalkeeper
I got ahead of myself on this one when I talked about the grip. Part of the grip or even your ability to make saves in general is extending the surface with which you’re going to make the save. I’m not saying that these gloves are super wide, but they are wide enough to the point where they’re going to fit most goalkeepers ok. If you have thinner hands like myself what you can do is tape your fingers to essentially make sure that you fill up more of the glove. Think of it like wearing two socks with your cleats. This was something that was popular back in the day, not sure that it still is. We would do that in the snow as well to make sure that nothing got into the boots.
In any case, back to the actual fit, I love the wrist strap. It comes all the way through allowing you to really sure up that part of the hand. Maybe this is just me, but I hate to feel that my gloves are loose in the wrist area. That’s why I usually advocate for wrist straps. If you don’t want that part of your hand to feel too tight you can always adjust the strap to your liking. With some of the modern gloves they are forcing guys like me to tape our wrists to be able to wear these gloves. That’s why I really appreciate a traditional take on the wrist area with a strap that goes all the way around. Allowing you to adjust the way that glove is going to fit.
Why The Massive Price Difference?
This is not something that is going to be evident until you actually go out and try and buy this glove. On Amazon alone you can find these gloves going for 40 plus dollars all the way to 70 dollars and change. Why is that? On that particular platform it comes down to the seller that is offering the product. The price actually changes by size, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to have to pay more money if you buy these Adidas Tiro Pro Goalie Gloves in a size 11 or 12. By the way, the last time I checked those large sizes were available. For those of you who wear those sizes I know it’s not always as easy to be able to find gloves that fit.
The big issue for me in the price range is that at 40 dollars these can be the steal of the century! At 70, you’re in another range that makes you look at the glove in a completely different light. That’s a problem that I have when looking at goalkeeper gear. This was an issue with the Nike Gloves that I looked at the other day. They’re overall great gloves … for 40 dollars. At 60 dollars I would be looking for something else. With these particular gloves I wouldn’t mind paying 60 dollars at all. It would certainly bother me though if I heard that someone got them for 40. As I mentioned it becomes a completely different conversation. Perhaps by the time you read this the price range changes again, and you’ll have to make your own evaluation.
Practice & Game Gloves At A Middle Tier Price
Staying on that talk about the price for these gloves, I understand like I mentioned that if you purchase them at 60 dollars you probably want to see if you can wear these gloves for games. For me this is something that I would be 100% comfortable doing. These gloves feature decent grip that as I mentioned can be enhanced. They are thick enough to the point where you shouldn’t be feeling the burn of hard shots too much. At the same time you get a strap that’s going to allow you to sure up your wrist area. So injuries are hopefully not going to be too much of a problem for you. If you want to use them as game gloves you can, and they can serve as your practice gloves as well!
I want to go back to the Nike Match gloves that I talked about yesterday, those gloves would not be gloves that I would feel overly comfortable wearing in a game. I said then they are gloves that are going to force you to rely on your catching technique and not the stickiness of the glove to make clean saves. That’s ideal … for practice! In games, you’re going to like getting some freebies. I do get the sense that these Adidas Tiro Pro at least when brand new or if they’re well kept are going to give you some freebies. If I got a pair of these at 40 dollars I would make that purchase in a heartbeat. That may be because I really like the look and feel of these gloves across the board.
What Type of Goalkeeper Can Benefit Most From The Adidas Tiro Pro
Another element that I’ve already talked about a bit, but I get the sense that it may get overlooked. So I want to make sure that I bring it to the forefront. Since these are gloves that are a bit wider in the finger area they are going to fit most goalkeepers. They are not extremely wide to the point where people with thin fingers are going to have a problem, they’re wide enough. To me that means that they are gloves that can seemingly be used by just about any goalkeeper that stands between sticks. I think this is the first time that I say that about any gloves that I’ve reviewed so far.
If I had to go out on a limb and say that these gloves wouldn’t be a good fit for someone it would have to be a goalkeeper with really wide fingers. These may be a bit on the thin side for them. For the average keeper though it really should be a problem. Maybe if you feel that you just need to have more grip that can be an issue. Then it would make sense though for you to buy these gloves as your practice gloves. So that you can improve your technique and not rely so much on the gloves!
If you want to purchase a pair of Adidas Tiro Pro Goalie Gloves please do so through my links that’s going to give me a chance to buy more gloves to review for you!
