The Adidas Ace15 Zones Pro Goalkeeper Gloves are the latest incarnations of the Adidas professional glove line. Featuring design updates to the foam and latex that are meant to allow for greater stopping power and grip, the Adidas Ace15 Zone Pros made their in field debut with Barcelona’s Marc- Andre ter Stegen on Jun 6, 2015 during the UEFA Champions League in Berlin. Since then they’ve continue to grace the hands of some of the best keepers in the world including Iker Casillas, Manuel Neuer, and Petr Cech.
But how do the Adidas Ace15 Zone Pro Goalkeeper Gloves stack up for the average player? Today we’re breaking the Ace15 Zone Pro’s performance after two weeks of intense training on primarily grass fields.
FIT
When talking fit and comfort I have to say that the Ace15 Zone Pro’s fit almost exactly the same as my previous pairs of Adidas negative cut goalkeeper gloves. This isn’t much of a low point though, as, just like the previous predator zones, the Ace15 Zone Pros feature arguably the tightest and best fitting negative cut glove design on the market. The negative latex cut itself is ridiculously tight on the finger area and leaves almost no negative space between the palm of the glove and the keeper's hand. For enhanced breathability and grip Adidas decided to use latex gussets instead of the traditional mesh. Add that to the new control web design on the backhand and the result is a highly flexible glove with the ability to conform itself fairly well to the keeper's hand. The Ace15 Pros come equipped with a neoprene wrist feature that shrinks well to most any wrist size. Coupled with the customizable wrist strap, the Ace15 Pros offer one of the tightest, if not the tightest fit out there.
GRIP
Although the fit of the Ace15 Zone Pros expectedly mirrored that of Adidas past models, I was shocked by the improvements in the latex. The team at Adidas included three different styles of latex in the Ace15 Zone Pro’s. First, we have the 3.5 mm of grippy latex located on the palm of the glove, which is adds some serious shot stopping power and weight to the glove. Then we have an upgraded abrasion zone on the side of the palm. Since this is the area where the gloves are likely to suffer damage after sliding on the ground during those low dives, the new abrasion zone allows for added durability. And last but not least, there’s the 4 mm nova latex on the fingers. It sticks to the ball very nicely and is one of the most impressive grips I’ve come across in all my time reviewing goalkeeper gloves.
DURABILITY
After two weeks of training with these gloves, I noticed very little damage to the backhand. I’d read some reviews prior to trying them out in where some keepers complained about their Ace15 Zone Pro’s tearing after one or two uses. Every goalkeeper's diving technique is different though, and sometimes we may just have a stroke of poor luck. Upon closer inspection of my Ace15 Zone Pro’s, I did notice several tiny tears mostly along my dominant hand. These will probably continue to get worse over time, but that will depend on how often I palm the ground and abuse the latex. The web design on the back of the fingers held up extremely well, I even tried to pull it off deliberately to see how easy it’d be and all I managed was a tiny piece of the rubber. The addition of the updated abrasion zone also make this glove the most durable of the Adidas Zoe line.
COST
For the premium price of $114 USD or £73 I would recommend the Ace15 Zone Pro’s as a pair of game gloves to any keeper looking for a proper fit and excellent grip. The durability, grip, and fit make these one of the best gloves on the market and as long as you take good care of them, they won’t let you down during those high stakes games. As far as using them for training, I’d opt to use a different, less expensive pair as the performance of the Ac15 Zone Pros is something you really want to take advantage of during games instead.
Have you guys used the Ace15 Zone Pros? What did you think of them? Leave a comment down below and let me know!
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