Black Diamond's Transition Glove offers a great combination of durability and dexterity by using many different layers of goat skin. The leather is thicker in the high-use areas and thinner in the low-use areas. They challenge the Mad Rock Wall Glove for having the best articulated fit and dexterity. The goat skin makes them soft and comfortable right away; they don't require a long break-in period.
The Mad Rock is a little cheaper and faster to get on and off. This glove has a tighter fit around the wrist. Both offer a very tight and precise fit. Try them both and see what works best. If you want a glove for more heavy use belaying, we would recommend just a cheap pair of leather gloves or the Metolius Belay Glove.
See how this compares to other products in our complete Climbing and Belay Glove Review
Hands-on Gear Review |
Compare belay & rappel glove ratings side-by-side >
|
Street Price:
Varies from $38 - $50 | Compare prices at 6 resellers
Pros: Great dexterity, soft, precision fit Cons: Expensive, bulky wrist closure, not most durable Best Uses: Best for belaying and moderate rappelling.
Overview
Compare top rated competitors side-by-side >
OutdoorGearLab Editors' Hands-on Review
Likes
These are some of the best gloves for belaying that we tested. The goat skin gives them great feel for ropes and carabiners. The articulated fit means there is very little "dead space" in the finger tips and they grab things nicely. When you put them on they seem "pre-curved" so as to be ideally designed to hold biners and ropes. Dislikes Other than being expensive, there are not many dislikes. The Velcro wrist closure is a little more bulky than it needs to be, but that is not a giant deal. They are not incredibly durable; just middle of the road durable. The finger tips will wear out before a glove with cowhide. Best Application These are ideal for belaying. They are a little expensive for using in super heavy use situations. We would not use these for heavy rappelling or heavy sport crag use. They are better for more intermediate use such as giving an extra tight belay, multi-pitch climbing, etc. Value The downside is that at $45 they are the most expensive belay glove I have seen. — Chris McNamara Compare this product side-by-side to top competitors >
OutdoorGearLab Member ReviewsMost recent review: March 22, 2010
|
|
 Black Diamond Transition Glove Credit: Chris McNamara
Where's the Best Price?
*Help support OutdoorGearLab. If you click on one of the seller links and make a purchase, a portion of the sale helps support this site
Related Best-in-Class Review
Helpful Buying Tips
Get More OutdoorGearLab
Follow us on Twitter, be a fan on Facebook!
Related Gear Reviews
Other Gear by Black Diamond
Recent Best-in-Class Reviews
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
