Soccer is a classic outdoor sport. As such, it is prone to being exposed to rain. And moist weather conditions make a goalkeeper’s job even tougher.

In the rain, the conditions under which a ball has to be caught, change drastically. Water diffuses into the glove’s adhesive latex foam. The foam saturates, loses its grip and deminishes the goalkeeper’s chances of catching a ball substantially. Reusch’s Aqua Tech™ system stands up to the slip hazard.

The glove’s palm material is made of a special adhesive latex foam, which is "hydrophilated" in a unique process developed by Reusch. The latex is enhanced with millions of so-called Hydrograins™. When getting in contact with water, these grains move to the foam’s surface, where they deploy and unfurl countless tiny little latex “hairs”. The surface of the foam thereby expands considerably and becomes soft and handy, which results in the critical adhesion between ball and glove under wet conditions. This effect is enhanced by the fact that the Hydrograins™ form a delicate system of gaps in the palm’s surface. The water cannot form a closed unit and is better displaced at impact – aquaplaning on the palm doesn’t even occur.

For optimum performance, the gloves should be put in water some time before the match, so the Hydrograins™ can unfold their full performance. Warm water accelerates the reaction of the Aqua Tech™ palm and makes the glove a real ball-magnet. Thanks to the co-operation of AC Mailand’s goalkeeper, Nelson Dida, the Aqua Tech™ palm is available since 2004 in Reusch’s patented Duo™ construction for even more grip between glove and hand – and therefore better control of the ball.