Performance Comparison
The most legendary aspect of this glove is its dexterity.
Dexterity
The Legend features some of the better dexterity among models we tested. These gloves use a sheepskin leather on the palm, which is incredibly soft and broken in straight out of the box. Unfortunately, the thumb on the Legend is huge and floppy. It was frequently caught in buckles and carabiners but still proved extremely dexterous for everyday resort skiing use.
During both real-world use and in our side-by-side motor skill comparisons, we compared each model's ability in allowing the wearer to write their name and manually unlock a car door. The Legend was certainly above-average overall and equal to several other more expensive models. The Legend offers a higher level of dexterity than the Gordini GTX Storm Trooper, but were slightly stiffer and not quite as dexterous as the Hestra Fall Line. Comparable in performance to some of the highest performers, the Legend remains among the most nimble gloves.
The Legend handles technical tasks requiring finger mobility well.
Warmth
This glove is among the warmer under-the-cuff style gloves. Our testers were comfortable wearing this glove in 5-10F - as long as it wasn't excessively storming. Compared to over-the-cuff/gauntlet style gloves, these gloves are similar to the Outdoor Research Revolution. They were noticeably less warm than the Hestra Army Leather Gore Tex or Black Diamond Guide.
Water Resistance
The Legend glove severely lacks in water resistance. Multiple times during our test the glove soaked up water into the palm, and the stitches would have a line of frost on them. The gloves were treated with the supplied leather treatment and seemed to also absorb that rapidly without increasing water resistance. The saving grace is their Gore-Tex liner which allowed them to do well in the bucket of water test and when the leather was fully soaked. We believe this glove needs some redesign as it would not be suitable for multiple days of use during a ski tour. The Legend performs toward the bottom in this category.
Wetting out in the Legend gloves after relatively few days of employment.
Durability
The BD Legend was redesigned (Winter 2018/'19) with a significantly softer and already broken in style of leather. This has also brought durability concerns with it. The glove's stitching being exposed in the high wear area of the palm is also a big concern for us. We often grab ski edges and reinforcement in the palm is standard for a glove in this price range. The Legend performed poorly in our durability testing and showed noticeable wear and tear after eight days of skiing.
Features
The neoprene cuff is one of our favorites, especially among the under the jacket cuff models we tested. It seals tightly around the wearer's wrist, with a Velcro closure keeping snow out and reducing volume. This makes it easy to pull your jacket sleeve over the top of the cuff of the glove. The nose wipe worked for our nostrils!
The Legend has many of the features most people look for the most in a ski or snowboard glove, but the cuff is our favorite of them. Jussi Tahtinen appreciating this glove while making his way to the top of a steep boot pack.
Best Application
The Black Diamond Legend is best used by skiers and snowboarders who want a lower profile under-the-cuff option that's still pretty warm and has very good dexterity. It is an extremely dexterous glove that will find its home doing tasks that require a large amount of dexterity in fair weather conditions. The glove is also quite warm for its weight and will do the job in conditions down to 10F. The glove's leather on the palm lacks any reinforcement and is extremely supple to begin with, indicating this glove will not wear well over time.
Especially in fair weather, the Legend is equally at home ripping groomers, cursing in the backcountry, or attempting technical descents. Photo: Brian Muller skiing RFS in these gloves near Thompson Pass, AK.
Value
If our concerns about durability are not found to be true, the glove would be an excellent value. However, our test model did not hold up well during our trial period.
Conclusion
Compared to its closest competitor, the Hestra Fall Line, the Legend misses the target. The Black Diamond Legend is a good glove, but for a few dollars more, the Fall Line performs better. We do not feel like the leather Black Diamond employs is of as high of quality.
