Pickleball Glove Buyers Guide
Benefits and What to Look for when Buying a Pickleball Glove
Many Pickleball players that have transitioned over from racquetball are very familiar with the many benefits that a Pickleball Glove can provide. You can read our Benefits Guide to learn more about why an improved grip leads to your Improved game play. But here we wanted to highlight the key elements of a pickleball glove and what you should be looking for when selecting the right glove for your game.
So, without further discussion, here are the key elements to evaluate:
Enhanced Grip and Control
In most cases, the material used on the palms and fingers are the most important for providing grip. But it is also important to maintain a sense of ‘feel’ between your hand and the paddle handle. Typically natural materials like top quality leather provides the best combination of feel and grip. Seek out products with the highest quality palm side leather available to deliver the best grip and feel.
With enhanced grip you can more effectively control a pickleball paddle while you are practicing or playing and improve your overall gameplay and winning percentage.
Size & Fit:
Wearing a glove that fits just right is vital to your performance. Ideally you find a vendor that offers multiple sizes. Brands that have one size fits all or only offer a few sizes are simply not focused enough on providing the proper fit necessary to deliver the necessary comfort and game play benefits. Additionally, wearing a poorly fitting glove is uncomfortable and limits the grip benefits that a properly fitted glove can provide.
Breathability:
Breathability in combination with Temperature Control is a key factor in getting the value out of a glove. Not only will it make the glove more durable but will also absorb sweat and keep your hands fresh throughout your play time. Most gloves with great breathability will likely use higher quality mesh materials with moisture wicking characteristics on the topside of the glove. Be sure to research the characteristics of these materials to find a glove that delivers the necessary breathability but also limits retention of bacteria that leads to stinky gloves.
Temperature Control:
The best pickleball gloves can control the effect of environmental temperature. Pickleball gloves are helpful in both cold and hot seasons.
If you are playing in cold conditions, then pickleball gloves can provide you warmth and make it comfortable to hit your shots. Cold weather contracts your muscles and causes them to be tighter, with warmer hands, muscles can become flexible and work more effectively when making quick paddle movements.
Hot summer weather causes your hands to sweat. Wearing a glove in pickleball is extremely good as gloves can absorb moisture caused by your sweat. This gives you relief from constantly drying your hands on an article of clothing or slowing play to use a towel. When searching for an ideal glove you may want to find ones that have designed specific features (built in sweat bands, cool print technology, etc.) that can best perform under these conditions.
Protection:
Beyond grip, Pickleball gloves offer your hand protection while you play. If you are an aggressive player who lunges and dives for the ball, it’s inevitable that you will take some tumbles. Wearing pickleball gloves helps protect your hands against hard court surfaces. Not only that, but pickleball gloves also protect your palms and fingers from blisters and general friction/wear-and-tear that some people suffer when holding a pickleball paddle for long periods. So be sure to find a well fitting glove with quality materials to maximize the general protection benefits.
Style/Aesthetic:
Something most people that play sports have in common is that they want to look good on the field and/or court. When buying a glove, you might want to consider thinking about buying from a brand that offers well designed features with a wide variety of colors that best fits your personal style.
Some Additional FAQ’s
What are Pickleball Gloves made from?
Pickleball glove palm materials are typically made from either leather of various types such as sheepskin, goat skin or other premium options and my be in varying thicknesses; or made from synthetic materials. The one benefit of a synthetic material is that it is easier to wash/clean the glove; but you typically lose the comfort, feel/fit and durability found in quality leather gloves.
The backhand of gloves is typically made from various different types of stretchy material (like neoprene and lycra) each with different characteristics for stretch, breathability, moisture wicking and protection.
When choosing your pickleball glove, opt for high-quality materials that will stand up to the test of time, if you decide to go for a cheaper option, you may restrict your access to the benefits of the best pickleball gloves.
What is the difference between Pickleball and Racquetball Gloves?
Players from both sports purchase the same gloves to help protect their hands and strengthen their grip. There are many similarities and until recently most available pickleball gloves were simply racquetball gloves with different branding. But new pickleball specific gloves are now entering the market. The key differences include reinforcement zones on the palm side and fingers of the glove that are specific to pickleball hitting patterns. Also moving away from the traditional closing mechanism over the top of the hand toward a wrist band design that incorporates comfortable, sweat protection while increasing the breathability and moisture wicking elements on the top of the hand.