Within the wide world of lacrosse exists many different gear trends and preferences. Each gear alteration and customization offers players specifically tailored gear to their game. One main gear alteration we often see is the cutting of palms from lacrosse gloves. If you’re like me, this trend may seem a bit mysterious at first glance.
Should I Cut The Palms Out of My Lacrosse Gloves?
I first learned about lacrosse players cutting the palms of their gloves while watching the pro game in my high school years. I couldn’t help but notice that many MLL and NLL players had no palms in their gloves.
Originally, I searched for this alternation as a stock style in gloves before realizing that this was a custom choice many players made. Soon after that discovery, I asked my high school lacrosse coach if I could cut my glove palms out. That was a hard no. This crazy and unique gear trend seemed to be reserved for the pros or those who already finished their college ball. That made it all the more desirable to a high school player.
Now looking at this gear trend years later, I see it in a whole new way. Not only do I find this customization to be convenient, but I also see it offering many advantages in certain pairs of gloves. I have more recently been playing with palmless gloves in the box game, and I must say they catch on fast. After several games switching between palmless and standard palm gloves, I feel that I have a solid grip (no pun intended) on the pros and cons of cutting your glove palms.
Below you will find my compiled thoughts that will hopefully help you decide if palmless gloves are the way to go for you!
Cutting Lacrosse Glove Palms: Pros
Cutting the palms out of your gloves will more often than not offer added grip from glove to stick. However, I have noticed that if you cut the palms in lacrosse gloves that may be a bit large, it offers the most comfort and grip. Cutting the palms from gloves that are tight or too tight can still work, but I just haven’t seen the same results thus far.
One major obvious pro of cutting the palms is ventilation. We have all played with gloves that don’t breathe well and result in an uncomfortable experience. Cutting the palms out of gloves ensures the best possible ventilation.
But the largest pro of all in my mind is the added touch of natural stick feel. The less gear I have to wear, the more in touch I find myself with the game. Cutting the palms just allows that much more of a natural feel for the player as if they were playing wall ball or shooting around in the backyard without any gloves at all.
Cutting Lacrosse Glove Palms: Cons
Cutting palms takes a bit of expertise and a calm hand. While some palms are easier than others to cut down, each will offer their challenges. I would highly suggest looking at how other players have cut their glove palms or even taking your pair to a coach or someone else who has cut palms out of gloves before.
One of the biggest cons around palm cutting is legality and regulations. Where I grew up in Ohio, high school lacrosse had a strict ban on cutting palms out. Do not cut your palms for high school play. In most states, if not all, it is not allowed, so don’t even bother.
While palmless gloves aren’t legal in high school or college games, many other playing levels do allow them. Most box lacrosse leagues, including the IBLA, allow for palmless gloves and almost seem to encourage the idea at times. Obviously, the pro game is also an exception as most players seem to cut their globe palms as soon as they get a new pair. From what I’ve seen, men’s league and post-grad leagues also seem to allow palmless gloves. Regardless of what level you play, I highly encourage giving your rules a read before chopping your newest pair of gloves.
Just like any other gear trend in lacrosse, it’s up to the player and their preferences. I have personally enjoyed trying out palmless gloves and think it’s worth giving a spin if you have an extra pair laying around. Have some fun and see what you think!
