Soccer Cleats 101 Soccer Cleats News and Reviews
I have had the privilege of testing out some new keeper gloves over the past few weeks. As every keeper knows, there are several key factors when determining the right glove to buy and go with. After all, once that glove is selected, the bond should be like that of an Avatar and its horse or flying creature—super strong and to the death. A keeper’s glove can be the difference between feeling confident and feeling like you have grease all over your fingers. Also, whether we say it or not, unless you have a glove sponsor who produces unattractive gloves, we all want to look dashing in goal!
I believe the key factors in reviewing a glove are these, in no particular order:
- Look
- Cut
- Durability
- How they feel on your hand during training/a match
- Grip, under all conditions
I am going to try and write the reviews as if a young man or lady was reading, keeping it very simple and straight-forward. No one is going to understand if I begin going on about the foam being made in Taiwan but developed in Germany but processed in a micro-fiber plant in Bangladesh. I want the reader, you, to feel as though you have the gloves right there in front of you, so your decision and knowledge about the glove is as good as it will get without clicking buy or handing the cashier your card!
This review will cover BOTH, the Aviata Stretta Salvo Pro V3 Hybrids, and the Aviata Stretta Roll Pro V3. Aviata is a relatively newer company who has only been around a few years, but already are making waves with their representation of several MLS keepers and their more famous sponsored player, Pinto from Barcelona!
The guys at Aviata have kept a similar feel to their lines of gloves, and their Stretta series has really caught the attention of many goalkeepers I know. The gloves are sick and I was super excited to test their new models out.
I am going to write one review for both since I received both together and tested side by side!
#1 – The look
Aviata did a great job in designing the look of the gloves. The Salvos are super awesome, with a big white palm and a dark gray/lime green backhand. The backhand on the Salvos is similar to the look that Aviata uses on many pairs of their gloves, which give the gloves a very modern and tough look. I happen to really like the branding, and the green “A” on the back is eye-catching. They also do a great job mixing different color schemes, and the green and gray looks really good. The patterning and design is the same as the Salvos, and I love the sleek and hand-molded design of the gloves.
Also, the wrist strap on both gloves is really cool, with the serrated cut on the front. I give the look of the Salvos a little higher rating, because of the color, than the Rolls.
The Salvos get a 9.5/10, while the rolls get a 9/10. (I am a huge fan!)
#2 – The Cut
The cut of the gloves is where we see our first difference. The Salvos are very unique in that they have two kinds of cuts, which I have never worn or tested this mixture before! The thumb, pointer finger and pinky are all square-tipped rolled finger, while the middle and ring finger are negative cut! The rolls have a very fierce look, with a black and royal blue color. I am not sure exactly as to why the company did this, but I will say that for ALWAYS having been a roll-finger fan primarily, the hybrid mixture of the cut has greatly impressed me! I loved the solid contact in catching balls with the two middle-fingers being a bit flatter and directly contacting on the catch, while the rolled outer fingers gave me a solid all-around cushion on contact. I do not know if I would ever choose a complete negative cut, but I will say the Salvos have been one of my favorite gloves I have ever tested and worn.
I have typically always been a fan of pure roll, all the way back to my days when I used to wear Sells and their roll-finger hardgrounds, but I will say that these gloves provided a lot of cushion during handling in training. I still like the Salvo cut much better though, and I think I am turning a new page in my preference for cut!
The Salvos get a 10/10 on their cut, and the Rolls a 9/10!
#3 – The Durability
In terms of durability, this is where I have been very impressed so far. The Salvos have been used in two or three intensive training sessions on grass, and in one match on turf. I have kept up pretty intently on washing them under cold water after each session, and letting them air dry. I have yet to see any significant tearing, only a small bit on two of the fingers on my right hand. In terms of the Rolls, I haven’t got them in a match yet, but wore them in a few more training sessions (and believe me, the boys and I get AFTER it in training!) and they are holding up great! No major tears and the Velcro is still solid for both. Again, I wash under cold water and wring out the dirt and grime, and let air dry in my apartment.
The Salvos and Rolls both get a 9/10 for durability!
#4 – The Feel
How the gloves feel on my hand is also slightly different. I think the Salvos may rival the previous gloves I tested, the Lanzeras, on best fit. I take out the finger-save spines on every glove I wear, and once I did that, the gloves felt like they had been my best friend since I was a little kid, AKA they fit fantastic. The different cut took a little getting used to, but at the end of the first training session I was sold.
The gloves are still a tinyyyyy bit tight, but many keepers I know dig the snugness. I still would prefer a bit more malleable feel to my glove of choice, so because of that, I give the Salvos a 9.5/10 on feel, and the Rolls an 8.5/10.
#5 – The Grip
The grip for both gloves has been solid so far. Today, for instance, I trained in the Salvos when they were still damp from the previous wash. The grip on the gloves today was phenomenal, and I felt like I could not drop anything! I always keep the gloves a bit damp anyways, and the Salvos have held up well being used a little wet.
The Rolls also did well when damp. I have trained several times and they have been solid on handling. I will say that them being wet loosened them up a little as well, which I liked.
The Salvos get a 9.5/10 for grip, and the Rolls an 8.5/10!
Summary
By far, the Salvos would be a definite choice for day in and day out match-gloves for me. Coming in at a whopping 9.5/10 average, I would recommend this glove to any top keeper looking for trusty, reliable and sticky gloves!
The Stretta Rolls are also a solid glove. 8.8/10 is definitely worthy of a recommendation from me, however I would probably use the gloves more for training myself. I just CAN NOT get over how amazing the Salvos felt, looked and performed! Not to say that the Rolls are a step down, but for me the Salvos were amazing. Either way, the guys at Aviata are consistently upping their game and turning out TOP quality gloves for us keepers to dominate with!
Both gloves can be found over on the Aviata website.
Remember, we did not choose the glove life…the glove life chose us!
Keep ballin!
AP
