I am certainly one of those people who believe that the price for goalkeeper gloves has gotten way out of hand. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that the big brands got into the market. Adidas technically has always been in the market. When you look at it though a high end pair of gloves is going to cost you about the same as a pair of cleats. If you train regularly there is no way in the world that the gloves are going to last as much as the cleats. That’s why I do think it’s important to find those diamonds in the rough. The cheap, but good goalkeeper gloves that you won’t have an issue taking to your daily training session.
Before I get into some of the options of these cheap, but good goalkeeper gloves I do want to highlight why there is a need for goalkeepers to find these types of gloves. Even though, if you’re here I maybe don’t need to explain myself that much to you. Anyway, if you play on a competitive team and you’re fighting for a starting spot in every training session then you’re not going to want to wear some rags to training and save the good gloves for the games. The mistakes that you could make in training because of the gloves may not allow you to stand between the sticks on the weekend. Not all of us have an extra 150 to 200 dollars lying around to buy new training gloves every couple of months. That’s why I wanted to write this article.
Cheap, But Good Goalkeeper Gloves – What To Actually Look For
Even if you’re bargain shopping for goalkeeper gloves you’re potentially going to want to look for gloves that meet your needs. For example some goalkeepers like thicker gloves because they need that cushion to be able to minimize the impact of a hard shot. Even if you’re bargain shopping for training gloves that you can wear out and not be too bummed about, you’re going to want to look for gloves that fit your needs. The same thing goes for people who like more of the thin cut gloves that give you a ton of finger movement. If that’s something that’s important to you then that’s the type of glove that you should be looking for.
Going back to that idea of buying cheap training gloves, ideally you’ll be able to buy a glove that has some of the same features that the one that you use on gameday. Now, I don’t mean to say that you should only wear expensive gloves for games. If these cheap but good goalkeeper gloves are all that you’re going to wear then maybe you are going to be on the lookout for gloves that are all around good. I feel that I’ve compiled a list of some very decent all around gloves that I would not have too much trouble wearing myself. All of them are currently under 45 dollars at US stores!
New Balance Team Dynamite Replica Goalkeeper Gloves
Anytime that the name of the gloves has the word replica in them you’re going to be able to expect a couple of things. You’re not going to get the best grip, and the gloves are usually not going to be as durable as their counterpart pro versions. With that said, finding a decently made replica glove can be a great way to find your pick of cheap but good goalkeeper gloves. If you use the pro New Balance glove as your game day glove it makes total sense that you would use these for training. You can’t expect them to last as long as the pro version of the glove, but the feel that you get with these gloves should be as close as possible to the real deal.
What I like about these gloves is that they do everything “ok”. What you have is a thick enough glove to be able to reduce the impact of a shot, and the cut is very traditional. The grip is going to be decent, however it is going to fade away much quicker than it would with higher quality gloves. From there, the strip is good, I feel that it’s capable of providing the right type of support. The word I keep coming back to is decent, don’t expect anything to be over the top. For gloves that are currently going for 29.99 they make a good deal. If they were going for 50 or 60 dollars we may be having a completely different conversation.
Adidas Predator Match Goalkeeping Gloves
The hard plastic type material that these gloves are made of makes them kind of old school. You don’t see that type of material on gloves these days as much as you did back in the day. There’s a bit of a reason for that, this material isn’t necessarily all that flexible, and that can be something that’s really going to bother some goalkeepers for sure. The reason why I do include these gloves as cheap but good goalkeeper gloves is because I do think the traditional cut is nice and the gloves are thick enough. As I’m writing this I’m dealing with a wrist injury so that puts things into perspective when it comes to how important straps are.
There are a couple of things to be aware of when it comes to these gloves. The match gloves are the ones that I think are ok, the training version of these gloves are not necessarily great in my opinion. I’m definitely not endorsing the training version of these gloves if you will. Another thing that may be important to note is that these gloves without finger protection are going to cost you 39.99. If you want to add finger protection to essentially the same gloves you’re going to have to pay over 50 dollars. I’m not sure that version of the gloves is really going to fit the bill as cheap, but good goalkeeper gloves.
Storelli Gladiator Recruit 3 Goalkeeper Gloves
The cut on these gloves is very similar to the ones that I just talked about with Adidas. Overall though, I do feel that these are better made gloves. For example the hard plastic type of material that I mentioned with the previous gloves is not present here. These Storelli gloves have more of a mesh covering throughout the glove. This usually gives you much better movement, but with this glove you do have a really bulky backside of the glove. That’s of course part of the fact that these gloves feature finger protection in their base version. Basically this means that you can get cheap but good gloves at the same price as the Adidas ones that I just talked about.
Maybe the negative part of these gloves is that they are a bit bulky for some people’s taste. At the end of the day they are gloves with finger protection and there’s a reason why some people just don’t like these types of gloves. Although I would say that they are not as stiff as some of the traditional gloves with finger protection. As with any glove you can list the pros and cons, if you’re someone who is into these types of bulkier thicker gloves with finger protection they may very well be good all around gloves that you can wear for whenever. Really to be honest most of the options up to this point are more practice gloves or backup options. These can really be your game gloves at 39.99 that’s not a bad deal at all.
PUMA Ultra Protect 3 RC Goalkeeper Gloves
It always seems like you can find Puma gloves on sale, that sadly may be because they don’t sell all that many goalkeeper gloves. My argument though for Puma gloves in general is that they are offering lower prices for what are essentially medium tier products. At least they were in their previous generations. With the PUMA Ultra Protect 3 RC they’ve certainly scaled down the quality a bit. By the way there are better versions of the glove that you may see advertised with the same name. Look for the gloves that are priced below or around 40 dollars to see the gloves that I’m actually talking about.
They also feature a similar backside plastic area. It looks a little less cheap than the hard plastic that I talked about with the previous goalkeeper gloves. However, I can’t imagine that this pair of gloves is going to be too durable regardless. What I do like though is again, a decent palm and grip. The cut on the glove is very traditional, and I feel they are as I would say thick enough. You’re going to get more movement on your fingers with these gloves than with the Storelli gloves for sure. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing to have, that’s something that I’m going to leave up to you.
Best Cheap, But Good Goalkeeper Gloves – Elite WP Goalkeeper Gloves
Maybe it’s not fair that I come out and crown these gloves the top cheap, but good goalkeeper gloves out there. The thing is the price tag on these gloves is just a tad under 50 dollars when most of the other options go for 39.99 at the most. There may be another option that goes a little over that 39.99 mark, but these Elite gloves are the most expensive on the list at 48 dollars. The thing is, you’re getting virtually a premium glove for that price. The knock on this glove for some people may be that it’s very traditional. There’s not a lot of new tech on these gloves.
The counter argument though to what I just mentioned is that all of these cheap options lack the top technological advancements of the premium options. In fact, many of the gloves on the list happen to have a premium counterpart that goes for over 100 dollars. For me the reasons why these Elite WP top the list of cheap, but good goalkeeper gloves is because you’re getting almost a premium product at a rate that is a bit over what may be considered cheap. Yet that 8 to 10 dollar difference may be worth it instead of having to double the price tag and still get a medium tier. Really at the 80 dollar price point range you are getting for the most part, medium tier gloves. The way I see it, medium tier gloves at 48 dollars is a steal!
Cheap, But Good Goalkeeper Gloves Conclusion
It may not be overly realistic to expect peak performance from any of the gloves on the list. Still, some of them can be decent buys and the true benefit is that you’re not going to be as reluctant to use them in a less than stellar field. If we’re honest, the price for goalkeeper gloves has gone through the roof. As I’ve mentioned before it doesn’t even seem fair that they would feature asking prices that can match that of certain sneakers. When the gloves are for the most part not going to last as long. With that said these options can certainly serve their purpose in my opinion.
Would I wear any of these gloves full time instead of getting something that’s more expensive? Again, as I mentioned the Elite Sports option is very middle of the pack and I wouldn’t mind having those full time. The Storelli option is also one that if I wore gloves with finger protection regularly I may look into. I have to admit that some of the first options are potentially not gloves that I would be looking to buy. However, I feel that they are gloves that you may even be able to find at your local sporting goods store, and that’s why I put them on the list of cheap, but good goalkeeper gloves.
