It is important to understand the nature of goalkeeper gloves and latex palms before use. Gloves should be viewed as a consumable that need replacing multiple times a year. Latex is a soft natural material (it has to be to grip the ball) subject to abrasion through personal use.
What you need to know
- Latex is soft, it has to be to provide grip
- Latex is meant to degrade and wear down (due to point #1)
- Wear can happen from the very first use, regardless of price or specification
- Your glove will perform until there is no latex left
- Latex wear is not a sign of a fault or "bad" product
- Latex will wear quicker on hard surfaces (artificial, dry summers, end of season pitches)
- How long a glove lasts is not an indication of latex quality
Real World Examples
This is not a faulty glove
We often have images sent in like these from parents or younger keepers, saying that they are ruined after only a few uses and would like a replacement pair. We appreciate it can be hard to hear this for the first time (especially for Mum & Dad paying for them!) but this pair looks completely normal, is in great condition and has a tonne of life in it - it would not be eligible for for a refund.
"My son's gloves ripped after one warm up"
Younger keepers will get through gloves a lot quicker than experienced/older keepers, due to the nature of still learning their technique. Latex is soft and if they are landing on their palms and grinding a hard surface, it will naturally wear away. Particularly if proper glove prep and care has not been followed.
Unfortunately we cannot be responsible for naturally caused abrasion. This is due to personal use and these gloves would not be eligible for a refund and still have plenty of life in them.
A thread from one of the worlds biggest goalkeeping retailers
Below is an example of a large retailer sharing the same information and policy, which is standard throughout goalkeeping.
How can I make the gloves last longer?
Visit our dedicated article here for tips on how to get the most bang for your buck.