What the foam on the palm does
The palm of a goalkeeper glove is foam with latex on it. Advantage Goalkeeping says that latex is the expensive part of the build, sometimes 30 to 50 percent of what it costs to make the glove. Mark Caron calls the same thing latex-injected foam. It pads the hand and it sticks to the ball.
When a shot hits your palm, the foam compresses. Soft foam wraps around more of the ball, so more of the surface holds it. Firm foam compresses less, so it grabs less and it tears less when you plant a hand on turf. That is the whole trade shops keep dressing up with names. Advantage’s rule of thumb is that softer foam grabs more and harder foam lasts longer. They also say thicker foam pads the hand more. Soft and firm I have felt with my own hands. Thickness is padding. You feel that when a shot lands.
Water sitting on the foam is a wall. The ball hits the water instead of the foam, so the grab disappears until you wipe the palm or until you put on a rain palm that is mixed to work with water instead of against it. The One Glove says the same thing about their aqua foam: a layer of water left on the palm is not grip. You still have to meet the ball.
Latex is a natural material. DZL and The One Glove both say it starts to scuff from the first use, and that how you wash it and what surface you play on decide how long the palm lasts. I wash mine and I keep oil in the pores. That is maintenance, not magic.
Notes: Advantage Goalkeeping, 2021. Mark Caron, Decoding Soccer. Caron, Soccer Parent Coach. The One Glove latex guide. DZL grip guide.
Contact
Look at the photo. That black foam is Contact on the palm of a Hexagon Black glove. This is the foam I am talking about when I say Contact. It sits on your hand. The ball hits that foam.
I have used Contact for years. It is tacky when I take it out of the bag. It is durable. I play it, wash it, and keep oil in the pores. Shops still print wear charts that say Contact dies faster than cheaper foam. Those charts are not the truth about Contact.
Shops put Contact at the top of their grip lists because the foam is soft and sticky when the weather is dry. Advantage Goalkeeping calls that mix German Contact or Supreme. West Coast uses Supreme or Professional Contact for the same foam. Soft foam wraps the ball. That is why they treat it as a match palm.
West Coast also says the foam still works when it is wet, and that white lasts longer than other colors. The One Glove puts their pro Contact on gloves their keepers play in the Premier League. They say it still works in rain if you towel the standing water off first. DZL says the same thing. I towel mine for the same reason. Standing water is a wall between the foam and the ball. You wipe it, then the foam can grab again.
Hexagon Black has a Contact palm. The cut is negative, which means the seams sit inside the fingers, so more of that foam sits against the ball. That is the glove we sell. White and Gray are still being built.
Notes: Advantage Goalkeeping, 2021. West Coast latex comparison. The One Glove latex guide. DZL grip guide.
Giga-Grip
The white foam in the photo is Giga Grip on the fingertips of a goalkeeper glove. I keep that pair on the bench so I can see the roll and the grain.
Giga Grip is a step firmer than Contact. Advantage Goalkeeping parks Mega Grip and Giga Grip under Contact. That is the foam a shop sells when they want more grab than a junior palm and more life than a match palm. The One Glove puts Giga on their game-level gloves and calls it a work-horse. West Coast says the grab comes from the foam being naturally soft, and that you have to keep it a little damp so the tack chemicals wake up.
If the foam is bone dry, those chemicals sit there. A little water opens them. That is why a Giga palm that feels dull in the bag can start grabbing after you wet it.
I have held Contact and Giga next to each other. Giga is softer than a training foam and firmer than Contact. If a shop tells you Giga is almost Contact, put both palms in your hands before you pay. The sticker on the strap is not the foam.
Notes: Advantage Goalkeeping, 2021. The One Glove latex guide. West Coast latex comparison. DZL grip guide.
Supersoft
I do not have a Supersoft photo yet. The foam still belongs here because you will see the name on junior and amateur gloves.
Uhlsport built Super Soft for juniors and amateurs who train every week. Keepersport’s guide says the foam is supposed to grab well enough to catch and stay tough enough to last. West Coast says Super Soft has fewer tack additives, so it feels firmer. Some brands even put that mix on the backhand because it does not tear as fast. DZL rates the grab below Giga.
The name is not a promise. Two gloves can say Super Soft and feel different.
When a seller calls every cheap palm Supersoft, they are selling a word. Real Super Soft is mid foam. You can catch with it. It lasts if you wash it. It will not feel like Contact coming out of the bag.
Notes: Keepersport uhlsport grip guide. West Coast latex comparison. DZL grip guide. A photo is still coming.
Rain palms
Rain changes the job because water sits between the foam and the ball. A dry-weather palm can still catch if you towel the standing water off. A rain palm is mixed so the water is part of the grab instead of a wall in front of it.
Aqua Grip and Storm
Uhlsport mixes Aquagrip with adhesive particles so rain is part of the grab. Keepersport calls that foam the first choice when the weather is bad. The One Glove sells the same job as Cyclone. They tell you to wash it before you play, then keep it damp if the sun comes back. They also tell you not to leave a layer of water sitting on the foam. The particles need to meet the ball.
DZL says Aqua grabs hardest in heavy rain, and that you should keep that foam wet in dry weather so it does not tear itself. Storm is another rain name shops put on the same job. I keep a rain pair in the bag. I do not pretend a dry Contact palm is an Aqua palm when the box is a pond.
Quartz
DZL puts Quartz between Giga and Contact. They mean one palm for a season that keeps changing, not a panic rain glove. That is a shop chart, not a lab paper.
Notes: Keepersport uhlsport grip guide. The One Glove latex guide. DZL grip guide.
Turf and hard-ground palms
Artificial grass and hard courts eat a match palm because the surface is rougher than grass. The foam tears when you plant a hand. The answer is a firmer foam that does not rip as easily.
Graphite and Resistance
West Coast groups Mega and Graphite as harder training foams. They work when they are slightly damp. They last because they are stiffer than Giga. Uhlsport built Resist for artificial turf and hard courts. Keepersport says that foam is there to take the load, not to be the stickiest palm in the bag. You give up some grab so the palm survives the surface.
Soft Grip
Advantage Goalkeeping puts Soft Grip on junior and first gloves. The foam is cheap and durable, so a keeper can learn to catch without destroying a match palm in two sessions. Hexagon has not published a Graphite model or a Soft Grip model.
Notes: West Coast latex comparison. Keepersport uhlsport grip guide. Advantage Goalkeeping, 2021.
Brand names on palms
You will see brand names on palms that are not Hexagon. Those names are still foam on a glove. I am going to say what the maker claims, then what that means when the ball hits your hand.
Uhlsport Absolutgrip
Uhlsport puts Absolutgrip on palms they want to last through dry weeks and still catch when it gets wet. They say the mix is patented, and that it trades a little grab so the foam can take more scuff. On the hand that means a firmer catch than their tack foam. The ball still sticks. The palm is built to survive more abrasion. They say it shows its best in dry weather and will not quit in the wet.
Uhlsport Supergrip+
Supergrip+ is uhlsport’s sticky palm. They mix undyed natural latex with adhesive particles they made themselves. Those particles are what you feel when the ball hits and stays. They say the foam holds in dry weather and still works in rain. Uhlsport built Absolutgrip so the palm lasts. They built Supergrip+ so the ball stays on the hand.
Reusch Gold X
Reusch puts Gold X on Attrakt palms. They say the foam is very soft and that it grabs hard. Soft foam wraps the ball. That is why they sell Gold X as a match palm. When a shot hits, the foam is supposed to give and hold, the same job Contact does on my Black glove.
Reusch Fusion
Reusch puts Fusion on Fastgrip palms when they want one foam for weather and for wear. They say it grips in rain and in dry weather, and that it lasts. On the hand that means you give up some of Gold X’s soft wrap so the palm can survive grass and turf in the same week.
adidas URG
adidas numbers the foam on the palm. URG is their name for Unrivalled Grip. Keepersport says 1.0 is the softest mix, the one that grabs hardest and wears fastest. Keeperstop puts 1.0 on match day for that reason. 2.0 is the middle number. Keeperstop says most keepers who buy their own gloves should live there, because the foam still grabs and it lasts longer than 1.0. 3.0 is the training number. It is firmer, so it survives volume and youth use, and it will not feel as sticky when the ball hits. Read the number on the palm. The color on the strap does not tell you which foam you bought.
Notes: uhlsport Absolutgrip. uhlsport Supergrip+. Reusch Gold X. Reusch Fusion. Keepersport URG 1.0. Keeperstop URG grades.