Hockey palms can be made from either genuine leather or synthetic leather. They will vary in thickness and durability. The synthetic leather options will be generally more durable than genuine leather. Their grip will depend on whether there is an additional adhesive or pattern added to the material and if also using an overlay.
Genuine leather palms used in hockey gloves mostly come from goatskin. Common natural leather options are digital, mustang, and kangaroo. Those names are given by the manufacturer and does not relate to their source animal. They tend to be labelled as “performance” materials as they are not intended to be durable palms. Another drawback is that they may have irregularities from being a natural hide. These palms are not usually found on stock retail gloves because of their lower durability. Rather, they’re found on gloves for players who request it, whether it’s a pro or a regular customer.
Synthetic leathers are man-made. Common synthetic leather options are nash, clarino and ax suede. In general, they are made to look like genuine leather but with improved durability and stain resistance. Based on their features, synthetic leathers are found not only on most (if not all) retail stock gloves, but usually on pro gloves, too. Hockey companies are always looking for the optimal synthetic palm material that is thin, durable, and soft.
Replacement palms are available for genuine leathers and synthetic leathers.
GENUINE LEATHERS
Digital: • Comes in various colours, subject to availability from supplier. • Goatskin or Sheepskin • Considered a “performance” leather. • Properly known as Digital textured leather. • Can be used as a base palm, and often used as an overlay for grip. • Has a pattern stamped onto the material to provide grip. • A common option for custom gloves at the pro and consumer level for its grip and tactile feel. • Break-in time is from first use.
Digital Tacky: • Comes in various colours, subject to availability from supplier. • It is Digital (as above), but it is treated with an adhesive/glue to make it stickier. • Generally used as an overlay only for added grip.
Mustang: • Comes in grey, yellow, kangaroo, black, mocca, mid blue and beechnut. Subject to availability from supplier. • Suede goatskin • Considered a “performance” leather. • Was a popular option mostly for custom Warrior gloves. • Supple and grippy material. • For a tactile feel, durability increased over other hides, soft feel, and grip. • Break-in time is from first use. • Kangaroo and yellow mustang have a relatively lower durability compared to the rest of the genuine leathers.
Horsehide and cowhide: • These palms are (presumably) made from their respective source animals. • They’re usually very thick and most often used by players who prefer an old-school style of glove. • Horsehide is reportedly not as durable as goatskin. • Not a common option.
SYNTHETIC LEATHERS
Nash & Clarino: • Comes in beige, white, ivory, light grey, dark grey, light blue, dark blue, light brown, dark brown, red, and black. • Synthetic suedes can be made by a variety of companies with a variety of thicknesses, quality can vary depending on the supplier. • Thick and durable palm material, usually same thickness as Goatskin • Can be used as a base palm for a durable palm and/or as an overlay for additional durability. • Pro players may prefer to use this palm because it’s common and they are used to it. • Compared to clarino, nash will last longer but will become more brittle and hard when dried. • Break-in time for nash can take several uses to break-in, usually one of the longer palms to break-in. • Nash is made with a water-based adhesive, sweat will eventually soak into the palm and break down the bonds, which leads to pilling and splitting. • Clarino is a non-woven bundle of intertwined microfibers that is buffed, napped, and dyed to become a soft and supple suede-like product that resembles genuine leather. • Clarino is similar to nash but has a different construction that makes it more soft when dried but less durable. • Clarino has an easier to break-in usually within 1-2 uses. • Clarino has been used by Bauer, CCM, and Warrior for a pro feel.
AX Suede: • Polyester suede, which allows for a variety of colors, subject to availability from supplier. • Used by Bauer, Easton (before Bauer bought them), Warrior, CCM, STX and True. • For a tactile feel, abrasion resistance, durability, soft feel, and grip. • Break-in time is from first use.
DURABILITY From the most durable to the least durable: • cowhide • nash • clarino / AX Suede • mustang • goatskin (digital) • horsehide • sheepskin (digital)
THICKNESS Does the thickness of the material play into the durability? Yes it can. The trade off is between performance, how you feel the stick in your hand, to giving up feel for longevity of the palm.
In general, most palms are durable. It depends on how you take care of your gloves. Do you take them out of the bag to air out after use, how you sweat, etc.; everyone is different. Cowhide palms traditionally get crusty and then crack because people don't take care of their stuff, but, it is a very durable palm.
OVERLAY
Is an additional layer of material that goes overtop the base palm, typically over the middle portion of the palm but can also be found on other parts of the palm like the thumb.
One reason for an overlay is added durability. The overlay can be the same material as the palm to double the thickness of the palm. Another configuration is to have a thin palm but a thick overlay for a mixture of feel and durability. Some players might order without an overlay, therefore creating a single-layer palm, for increased feel. This single layer is sometimes referred to as a Pro palm.
Another reason for an overlay is added grip. The middle of the palm is where the stick rests in the hands, so that’s where the grip is added to the palm. In this case, materials that are used are often Digital, or Tacky.
With us, you can customize your overlay or add additional grip to areas.
Information credit to Pat Rivest, B Lemieux and Junkyard Athletic
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