Adidas World Cup Gloves 2014

In what can only be described as "I don't know how to describe it," Adidas has released one of their new gloves, and surely some will follow shortly after. Branded as the Predator Zone Pro, the only info i can give is that of what I see.

Palm - looks to be a multi-latex palm with a thicker added latex on the fingers, as well as a hardened material on the base of the palm for better wear and tear prevention. All in all, outside of the multi color look, I don't see this as a terrible design.

Backhand - its going with the total "Battle Pack" look that Adidas is going for for the World Cup, almost like a checkered pattern. It now also has what looks like a punch pad, maybe made out of rubber, or the same material used on the palm. Outside of the ridiculous pattern, again I'm a fan of the way it looks.

Enclosure - doesn't look like much has changed. Stretch strap, which I'm a fan of. And either Neoprene wrist enclosure, or a better material.

Cut - this one is a negative cut, which is typical of the Pro line in Adidas' glove range. The thumb is a wrap over, and the palm comes under the thumb a slight bit near the backhand. Latex gussets, again the usual.

The gloves look absolutely hideous if I do say so, but it does look like they made improvements on arguably their best gloves. Albeit, at an expense, as well as some ugly upgrades and colorways. Pricing wise, it looks like they'll come in at around $120, while the regular Predator Pro comes in at $85-80 depending on where you buy them. Again, they look awful, but if the improvements on the glove work as well as Adidas hope they will, I don't think I would have a problem with spending an extra $40. Anything is better than the Predator Horizon glove that no one wears, and has unnecessary features to it. Pictures below are taken from prodirectsoccer.com where I've been buying a lot of my own stuff as they have great deals on boots and multi buy discounts on gloves.

Nike Magista and Adidas Primeknit FS released [UPDATED]

Nike Magista

[UPDATED]

More Pictures
Inclusion of Black colorway
PREORDER - APRIL 29th 
RELEASE - MAY 22nd

It's been a while since I've updated anything, but I have been anticipating the actual release of the new Nike Magista soccer boot, which will be replacing the CTR360. Pictures of the blacked out prototype have been abound in the past few months, along with what is also assumed to be the new Mercurial Vapor, which may or may not be featuring a mid to high top lace up design. But that's another article at another time. Now there's a lot of information to digest. The main being that its a slide on shoe without the traditional tongue or generalized material/shape/linings/etc. It's a new looking material deemed Flyknit, which looks like twine type material. The sole is a basic sole. The ankle material seems to just be sock material, and is probably just an extra addition to give a fitted feel of the shoe. It generally looks like a sock with laces. It's yellow and pink, and some accents of black. I don't know how I feel about it. It's also rumored to have 4 different price levels. The top end being the Magista Obra, which is the mid top cloth looking one. It's also the only one that's been shown thus far. It's also supposed to retail around $300. The Magista Opus, which I'm going to guess is the normal top tier boot like a Vapor, or Phantom, and look like a regular cleat without the sock liner. And then the Orden, and Onda as cheap and cheaper, respectively. 

Overall, Nike is trying to be innovative. I mean I completely understand trying to be cutting edge. In my humble opinion, it's a lot better than what adidas has been doing with their collections and released new colors and designs and ridiculous patterns once every few weeks. It's impossible to keep up with adidas and their consistent urge to mash as much color into a shoe as possible. However, I don't know if I'm really a fan of this overall design. We won't really be able to put any weight behind whether it's a good shoe or not, as I probably won't see or get a hold of one for a couple months at least. I didn't see a release date yet, but it can't be far behind. And I'm sure they're going to be plastering this thing everywhere, as you can expect they're gonna want their pro players like Andres Iniesta to be wearing this thing in games ASAP. But until I actually get to see one in person here it is.

adidas Primeknit

In what was surely an attempt to take away some hype and publicity away from the Nike Magista reveal, adidas revealed on instagram about an hour the Primeknit FS. They already released the Primeknit, which looks like a fully knitted shoe that someones grandma would make.

So this thing was released and it kinda went away, because well it looks like what it does. They had Luis Suarez endorse it with his fingers wrapped around some string with the boot in front of him.

And now they have released, at least a prototype hybrid thing, that I'm going to go out on a limb here, not many players will actually wear, that isn't actually anything yet. But it's hideous. And what happens when you have a Nike, or Puma, or Warrior, or Under Armour kit, and you're wearing this damn thing?

Again, I get that they're trying to be innovative, and that's all well and good, but this thing is an abomination no matter how they try to swing it. The Primeknit is enough of a sway in a different direction to warrant a try for the shoe, but the cleat that goes up to your calf? Personally I have big calves, and my calf socks tend to wear over time and don't stay up after a few months. So what happens if someone with bigger or smaller calves wants to wear this? They're kind of shit out of luck on both fronts considering there's no laces to tighten or loosen the material. 

It's still in it's hybrid stage, but I just don't think that one is going to work out. The regular design has a chance, but the FS seems like its going to fade away with the $400 elite carbon fiber body shoes, the padded head gear for everyday players, and the $250 goalkeeper gloves, and so on. Hopefully these things don't see the light of day.

Two releases today, and one a couple weeks ago. The Nike Magista Flyknit wins out visually, and not because I'm a Nike fan, but because it doesn't look like something my great aunt knitted me for Christmas, then the adidas Primeknit because it still resembles a soccer cleat, and then the Primeknit FS. If and when I get a hold of them, or a friend does, I'll try to write some type of review. 

Rich

Pictures from soccer.com nike.com footyheadlines.com 

adidas Goalkeeper Glove update Winter 2013/2014

adidas clearly has an agenda for most color updates in a set time period. Seems like every time I get used to noticing the 14 different boot and glove colors they have, they release a new set. The Predator Horizon, Predator Fingersave Ultimate, the Predator Pro exclusive color, and the rest of the line all have new colors. They are as follows -

Predator Pro exclusive color

 

Predator Pro Horizon

 Fingersave Ultimate

 All other glove colors

Nike's New Goalkeeper Glove Colors

After some research, and speculation, I think the images that have surfaced for the new colorway might be somewhat true. I saw images of David De Gea and a few other goalkeepers a little while back and thought nothing of it, as it was probably just another ad campaign for their new clothing with some flashy glove colors thrown in. I mean who thinks they'd throw out a solid colored backhand design after they've gone with the multi-colored split finger design for years to date. But I was snooping around today after finding the new Casillas Adidas SMU, which to be honest I'm a little upset I didn't wait for and bought the regular negative cut on an impulse, and found another picture of a different glove in their range with the same color scheme. And I kind of like it. Generally when I find offbeat color updates on various sites, they're just the cheap versions with the random colors thrown in. However, this was the Nike Gunn Cut, the kind worn by De Gea, as well as a few other Nike endorses, and I'm almost convinced this might be the official color release that will be shown in the next couple weeks. 

Below I will post images of the new adidas Casillas SMU, as well as the new Nike Gunn Cut images I found.The Nike photos are courtesy of ProDirectSoccer.com, and the adidas photo is courtesy of Just-Keepers.com. You can find the rest of the adidas 2013-2014 on the Just-keepers website, minus two gloves in the range - the Horizon, and the Ultimate.

Adidas Predator Pro 2013/2014 Review

The season is still going on, and adidas has released it's new color update for their Predator goalie range, as well as a new boot, and another redesign of the Predator boot. I ordered the gloves late Friday night last week from adidas' website, and they had arrived unexpectedly on Wednesday of this week. I think I actually have the gloves before some well known websites, as well as professional keepers. Anyway, to the glove. (Pictures are below)

Not much has changed, but if you purchased a pair of the Predator Pro around this time last year, and skipped the color update around Christmas time, there are some noticeable changes.I received the Iker Casillas exclusive SMU for my birthday, and they turned out to be one of my favorite gloves I've ever worn. They were like second skin, amazing grip, good durability(I'm still using them, and I must have played close to 50+ games in them), and I loved the look. With the new glove, everything feels pretty similar, but I guess I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur for fine gloves. 

Sizing - I wear a size 9 usually, and I was skeptical about getting a 9 in the new style because I was at a local soccer shop and tried on the Manuel Neuer exclusive SMU and they were a bit big. I had tried on the size 8, and was better rewarded for my downsize. There is noticeable bunching in the palm and lower hand around the wrist strap. It is noticeably bigger all around, it does actually feel a little bulkier. Not heavier though, just a little extra to the glove. So if you wear a size 9, get an 8, or an 8.5. The problem with American soccer shops is that we don't carry half sizes. Try an English website, like great-save.com or just-keepers.com when they do eventually drop on their website. They're usually a little cheaper, but shipping is a little costly.

Wrist Strap/Enclosure - The enclosure is the same, which is a good thing. It's made of a neoprene material that is stitched all the way up to the latex part of the glove. They included a pull loop as well this time around. I actually don't know if they had it on the last color update, but it's a nice addition considering the neoprene is a pain to get a hold of, especially around half time when you put your gloves back on. The wrist strap looks different. It's hard to see it, but it is the same stretchy material as the previous models.One thing I don't like, is that the Velcro first strap, the one half way along the wrist strap, is a solid piece of Velcro. They did this on the Neuer pair as well. I feel like it takes a little bit away from the fitting as it feels awkward on the wrist. The Casillas pair was cut into three strips and felt much better when getting the perfect wrap. The personalize window on the back is also a little different, not anything major, but it looks a little cheap. I prefer the plain black of the Casillas. 

Grip - The grip is great. It's tacky from the unwrapping, and I can't wait to put them to use. It's definitely a softer latex, which is a welcomed addition. The Casillas era was a little harder, but it paid off in the long run as it didn't wear as fast. It's a negative cut model, meaning the palm is stitched on the inside of the glove to a gusset, then stitched to some neoprene, then stitched to the backhand. I love adidas' take on the negative cut. The thumb is wrapped under and over and is the only thing not negative, but making a negative cut wrapped thumb is a difficult task, and it usually comes out awkwardly large and ugly.

Backhand - The backhand has been redesigned. I'm not a big fan of it, but i do like the color scheme. I guess adidas is going with some kind of X pattern for next season, as the same thing appears on the Predator boots. It's an all latex backhand as well. Some embossing was done, nothing like the predecessor, its just mostly done on the fingers.

Overall, the glove is great. It fits a little big, so definitely go down a size if you have the option. If you can't you'll be OK in your normal size. It does feels like it was made cheaper, and I was afraid of that when I tried on the Manuel Neuer pair. Understandably, the glove retails for $80, and is the best bang for you buck purchase for goalkeepers, bar none. So if you're in the market for a new pair of gloves, and you don't want to break the bank, say on their new Horizon model which retails for close to double this one, the adidas Predator Pro is absolutely the glove for you.

I would rate this glove...

9.5/10

(quality isn't the best, these were loaded from my phone)

 Comparison - it is a bigger overall glove

Palm and Wrist Strap

Backhand and Wrist Strap

New personalization window and solid Velcro strap

Backhand

Palm - being worn

Thumb - being worn

Backhand, gussets, strapped fully

Backhand with noticeable bunching

Bending at the wrist, you can see the material start to wrinkle together

Gussets. You can also see the neoprene stitching behind the gussets as well as the bunching in the palm

The embossed fingers and new backhand design.

adidas Predator Pro Goalkeeper Glove Color Update

It appears as if the adidas website has released the new color update for the famed Predator Pro Negative cut glove. The backhand of the glove is extremely different from what it has been the past couple colorways, and is vastly different. Spotted on Iker Casillas on the Real Madrid Facebook page, but I don't think anyone expected it to be available so soon, as it's not yet out on Soccer.com, or any other notable product website. I will be buying these as I'm due for an update, and will have a new review up soon after a few games. Check the link below for full details, and purchasing from adidas themselves.

adidas Predator Pro Negative Cut 5.16.13

Rich

EDIT*

It looks as thought they've added in a completely new glove to the range called the Predator Horizon. Seems to be a more form fitted glove, longer at the enclosure, and with a different wrist strap coming in at a whopping $150.

Check that link below

adidas Predator Pro Horizon