Play Test: Sells Total Contact Exosphere GK Gloves
With pre-season getting under way for most clubs we decided it was time we took a trip down to the training ground, but instead of running round pitches or 3 hours of squat thrusts our aim was to take a look at one the latest glove from the Sells family, The new Sells Total Contact Exosphere.
A simple but effective looking glove worn by top flight keepers such as John Ruddy of Norwich and Celtic's Fraser Forster. The palm of the Total Contact glove features Adhesion Ultra Absolute latex which is designed for supreme grip in all round conditions, from extremely wet to completely dry conditions, it's this latex that puts the exosphere top of the tree in all Sells glove ranges.
The main new feature of the Total Contact is the cut; last season's models all had a different cut, the aqua was roll finger, breeze was negative etc but this season all gloves are featuring the expanse cut, where latex gussets down the sides of the fingers are designed to maximise the contact area on the ball as well as give it a more tailored fit.
We found this revolutionary new design from Sells particularly comfortable and especially well suited to the fingers. The tips of the fingers wrap over to increase the comfort and snugness of the fit, which we felt were especially helpful when making fingertip saves at full stretch. The slight wrap over thumbs sit well with the cut of the glove and finger tip effect to give added comfort. 
The wrist band is a 7cm neoprene bandage with elasticated straps between the latex. The latex sits in 2 places in almost panels if you like, one is right on the back of the wrist,which has a neoprene window making it easy to personalise and on the front of the wrist Sells have opted to go with an all latex panel as opposed to what a lot of other companies are doing these days which is extending the palm. Sells s method is simple and just as effective. The glove also comes with a pull on loop to ease getting the glove on.
Each type of glove in the Sells range as in Aqua, Terrain, Sub Zero etc features a different type of outlast material in the backhand, which is the material that can be seen between the latex and runs throughout the backhand. The Breeze is designed to keep the hand cool improve breathability. Sub Zero is fleece lined to keep the hand warm.
The Exosphere features Sell s top of the range backhand material, which is designed to keep the hand cool in the summer and warm in the winter, we did the playtest on a hot day and the hand stayed cool throughout, but to be honest we weren t keen on standing in a fridge for a couple hours to test the theory the other way! 
We started off this playtest with a few simple handling drills followed by some crossing exercises. When catching the crosses we found this glove to be particularly effective with the cut of the palm resulting in the fingertips having fantastic coverage on the contact areas giving us massive confidence, particularly when taking crosses right at that highest point.
The backhand of the glove features bioflex channels which are there to aid the movement which is especially helpful when clenching the hand or grasping action to catch the ball and more importantly clench your fist to punch crosses. The back hand also features Zorba Zones, which are raised padded embossing around the knuckles to act as a shock absorber when punching the ball, it comes complete with silicone gel to add abrasion which will improve punching accuracy and power.
We upped the training to put the gloves through their paces with a lot of footwork and diving through poles. From experience we're aware that when working on quick feet with saves thrown in the last thing you want to be worrying about is the grip of your gloves holding out and thankfully the gloves where superb.
The comfort and the grip were exceptional, but with the test being on a particularly hot day, we always soak the glove for the second half of it but this had no effect on the glove whatsoever as it held up to the challenge fantastically throughout.
Summary: It's easy to see how this new glove from Sells has taken the market place by storm and equally as easy to see how such a simple looking glove commands such a high price. The technology in it isn t completely obvious to the untrained eye but looking a little deeper into the outlast material, palm latex and research into the cut of the glove you can see how the price of the glove is justified as this is a product that will last if you look after it properley.
The Sells Total Contact Exosphere gloves are available to order now at selected online stockists including Pro-Direct Soccer.
