Play Test: Nike GK Gunn Cut Gloves
We've been back on the training ground this week testing out a few new gloves but top of the agenda was the latest offering from Nike - the Gunn Cut roll finger. The new bright yellow design should give this glove a massive on pitch presence and will be worn in the Premier League by keepers such as David de Gea, Tim Howard and Wojciech Szczesny.
The Gunn Cut has long been one of the UK s most popular models being Nike's main Rollfinger glove and over the years has been the glove of choice for keepers such as Paul Robinson and is currently worn by Reading's Adam Federici, but what is it about this glove that makes it such a hit on these shores?
Our first impressions of the new design were fantastic, the colour really strikes out, we wouldn t say we're huge fans of black palms but they suit this design down to the ground and give the glove a really strong solid look.
The wrist strap on the glove is what Nike call a half-wrap wrist belt, which to be honest isn t our favourite type of wrist strap, but Nike have tied it in with an extended palm which as you can see extends right down the wrists and is designed to aid the grip as distribution.
The glove also features a wrap over thumb or as Nike call it a finger cap solution on the thumb . The main thinking behind it is to prevent seems rubbing on the thumbs, which as we all know, can be one of the most frustrating things as a goal keeper. It's also designed to enhance grip on the ball.
We found this was the case when we got going and the handling was spot on. They were especially snug and the extended palm fitted in well.
We soon started smashing volleys and the gloves held up to the test fantastically. The design of the palm was a big feature in this with the articulated 4mm contact latex on the palm as well as the backing foam providing shock absorbtion which worked perfectly for this part of training. We were rifling the shots in but the gloves held up fine and offered complete confidence in our sometimes suspect handling ability.
When conducting this play test it was scorching - high 20's - and that s where another feature of the glove really came into play. The backhand and thumb gusset features a mesh material which allows an airflow throughout the back of the hand to keep it cool and improve breathability.
We found this a huge help as we all know when your hands get sweaty it can be a real distraction as well as being uncomfortable. As a little bonus Nike claim the backhand can be used to wipe your brow which is something we'd never really thought of before but having seen it we can see how that little tweak does work quite nicely.
The cut of the glove, as well as obviously being a Roll Finger, comes with pre-curved bio align technology, which is designed to hold your hand in an almost semi clenched position so it's always ready and closer to the catching position. Top design in our opinion as it relaxed the hands and was useful when we upped the pace a little further along in the session with footwork and catching whilst diving. 
We moved through the gears finishing on crosses and distribution, handling wise the performance on crosses was spot on, The pre-curved palm is made for catching crosses and dropping the ball wasn't an issue. The backhand features molded latex to aid abrasive qualities when punching and this more than adequately makes up for the lack of a specific punch zone.
On the distribution side we experimented throwing the ball at targets using several different techniques. Throughout the javelin throw the gloves worked absolutely fine and stuck right with the ball until the point of release. With the overarm bowl we could see how the extended wrist really comes into play and that was a massive factor in improving accuracy. 
Summary: Nike know what works for them on the glove front and they very rarely stray too far from the main 4 styles. This one is no different but at the end of the day if it's not broke why try and fix it. They ve redesigned the backhand and given it a black palm opposed to the last couple of releases. There's no doubt these gloves will fly out as soon as they hit the shelf but it's nice that it will be as much to do with the quality of the glove as opposed to the tick on the back of it! 
The Nike GK Gunn Cut gloves are available to order now at selected online stockists including Pro-Direct Soccer.
