We brought the Dakine Titan into our review among dozens of strong competitors in its price range because of its stacks of features and above average warmth. While the Titan has those attributes going for it, we found it to have slightly below average durability among gloves in our review and the fit a little bulkier and less dexterous.
Performance Comparison
While the DaKine didn't score near the top of our review, we still think it's a solid glove for the price and we selected it among over 50 gloves considered in its price range for its balance of price while still offering a host of sweet features, along with solid warmth and weather resistance.
Warmth
These gloves provide solid warmth at an incredibly low price. At $65, they are easily as warm, or warmer than several other models that are much more expensive. Our testing team found they could easily ski down to around 15-20F without the liners and down to 10F as long as it wasn't too stormy. Overall, we found they were similar in warmth to the Burton Gore-Tex and the Gordini Storm Trooper II, and a little warmer than the OR Revolution - as long as we wore the liners. If we didn't utilize the liners, they were slightly less warm than the previously mentioned models. If you're on the hunt for the warmest pair of gloves or mittens no matter the price, the Black Diamond Mercury Mitt, Hestra Army Leather Gore-Tex, and Black Diamond Guide scored perfect 10 out of 10s.
We did find the Titan was slightly warmer-than average overall and we liked the versatility that the included polyester touch screen sensitive liner creates. You can choose to wear the liner and the glove on colder days or leave the liner at home for warmer or spring days.
Dexterity
The Titan offers average dexterity, scoring a 6 out of 10. Our testers agree that while it is better than most other models in its price range, it just wasn't as good for performing fine motor activities. It did well during our side-by-side testing, and we were able to write our name and manually unlock a car door, but the performance didn't blow us away. Our review team found the Titan had equal dexterity to the Burton Gore-Tex, with the Outdoor Research Revolution and Gordini Storm Trooper II outperforming it.
A Note on Fit
This was the widest glove we tested. It was marginally wider than the Burton Gore-Tex, slightly wider than the Outdoor Research Revolution, and noticeably wider than the Gordini Storm Trooper II.
The Dakine Titan offered respectable weather resistance among models in our review but very good weather resistance when compared to other gloves in the $90-and-under category. The Titan features a Gore-Tex insert and relatively weather resistance exterior that we found did a solid job of keeping their wearers hands dry on stormy resort days.
Water Resistance
The Titan uses a Gore-Tex insert, which we found to provide solid water resistance for use during near-freezing storms or simply when you are out riding all day. Our review team found that these gloves kept their hands fairly dry, scoring respectably well in our side-by-side bucket of water comparisons. lt's worth noting that when compared to other models in a similar price range, our review team felt the Titan easily performed better than some, such as the Columbia Tumalo, and scored similarly to the Burton Gore-Tex. Two exceptions in a similar price range, which performed slightly better, were the $70 Outdoor Research Revolution and the $65 Gordini GTX Storm Trooper II, scoring 8s out of 10s, compared to the Titan's 7 out of 10.
The Titan has all the features and more that you'd expect in a ski glove. However the feature that we liked the most is the Titan comes with a touch screen sensitive liner. While we loved the versatility this creates and find it a nice perk that the liner is touch screen sensitive several of our testers wished the outer of the of the glove is what was touch screen sensitive.
Features
This metric is where the Titan really excels. Like the Burton Gore-Tex, it sports an included pair of liner gloves. What's different about these two models is that the Burton Gore-Tex offers touchscreen sensitive tips on the ends of all its fingers, while the Titan features touchscreen sensitivity on the thumb and index finger of the liner glove. While we certainly liked having touchscreen capability on any glove, we found the Burton's touchscreen sensitive fingers to be more useful, as we didn't need to take off a glove to skip a song or answer a phone call. We didn't find ourselves using the liner gloves at all times, particularly if it wasn't as cold. Our team enjoyed several other features on this glove, like its oversized hand-warmer pockets and easy-to-use gauntlet cinch, which helped keep snow out. Due to the included liners and the touchscreen capability, the Titan earned a 9 out of 10 in this category, with the Black Diamond Mercury Mitt being the only contender to score a 10 out of 10.
Durability
Not that these gloves fell apart, but along with the Columbia Tumalo, we found that these were among the least durable gloves we tested. This glove showed wear on the seams around the fingers, and we even discovered several small cuts on the insides of multiple fingers simply from handling ski edges. When compared to other similarly priced gloves in our review, the Titan offered decent durability, but weren't quite as tough as the Burton Gore-Tex and even less durable than the Gordini Storm Trooper II, or Outdoor Research Revolution.
Best Applications
The Dakine Titan is a great all-around resort glove for resort bound skiers and snowboarders. Its touchscreen sensitive liner glove is a sweet addition, and we loved several of the features that this glove offered, which set it apart from other gloves in its price range.
Value
Among the hundreds or more gloves in the $70 and under category, the Titan stands out as a higher performing glove. It provides decent fit, solid weather resistance, and above average warmth.
Conclusion
While the Dakine Titan is a solid contender, the Burton Gore-Tex offers many of the same features at only $5 more; we also found the Burton glove to be more durable. The North Face Montana Mitt and Outdoor Research Revolution were our two Best Buy winners, scoring highly, while ringing in at $69-70.
