Black Diamond Guide Glove - Men's

Here's what I wrote BD (they never responded):

I purchased a pair of Guide gloves (the orange-y leather ones) last fall... They appeared to be hell-a-warm, and sturdy, and based on that I splurged and bought a pair. (At $160 they are more expensive than some TVs.) They held up quite well over the winter; I live and work in a ski resort town (Snowmass Village, CO) and regularly used them for skiing (including two backcountry hut trips) and occasionally wood splitting. Although there are some strange minor splitting or stress lines on the pad areas of two or three fingers, I expect they'll last quite a bit longer.

They are not, however, very warm -- I took to wearing wool liner gloves and my fingers were STILL cold on many days. I can't believe this is advertised as your warmest glove. There is certainly an opportunity to make them warmer: adding insulation to the outside (tops) of the fingers would help this issue without hindering dexterity or grip feel.

Furthermore, the cuff tightening system of elastic cord and cord-lock was so stiff and sticky as to be unusable. I've never encountered this issue with any other piece of equipment.

Also, there is no wrist leash. I find it curious that $160 doesn't afford a leash.

Honestly, considering all these qualities, I would not have paid more than half of what you charge. Worse still, unbeknownst to me, my wife had asked her mother for a pair of these gloves (though in grey) for Xmas. (I hadn't yet complained openly about them.) After receiving them she independently discovered the same faults in them as I did.

Between us, we own thousands of dollars worth of BD equipment: skis, poles, packs, etc. -- choosing BD was always a no-brainer for us. It's a shame we'll have to think twice about purchasing or recommending BD equipment in the future.

These gloves take over where full on mittens just won't do. You need real and deep cold though. I like them too because the finger lengths seem more real/standard. Could double as boxing gloves as well.

I rarely write reviews but I was compelled to do so after recently buying the Black Diamond Guide gloves. After suffering with frozen hands regardless of the temperature, I finally bought these gloves.

They are, in a word, simply awesome. They are super warm, dry and comfortable and a delight to use. I had no problem removing and reinserting the liners. They do not come with wrist straps but do have small loops where they can be attached. I removed the ones from my old gloves and placed them on the Guides for the perfect solution.

These things are warm. I'd lusted over them for two years before finally getting a pair. The removable liner adds tremendous insulation and, coming out allows for some versatility. WEaring the shells without the liners isn't a terrible option, but they become pretty floppy and dexterity is limited. Experimentation with fleece, wool or other thinner liners improves your options for different conditions.

My hands get cold EVERYWHERE so I opted for the warmest glove I could find. This is it and I'm pleased with it. Just don't ask me to tie a knot with them on.

everyone knows this is the best glove ever made. duh

after misery with a pair of Mountain Hardwear gloves, i wasn't going to waste my time with anything but a true performing glove. the BD guides have fit the bill. warm, dry, great dexterity, incredible durability. pretty awesome overall.

one nitpick. no leashes on these gloves. why? seems like a ridiculous oversight for a company like BD...

I can't move in these gloves unless it is well bellow freezing, which is why I bought them. They are incredibly warm on me and usually get put on if I am going to be static for a long time. If I have to do any strenous work in these, I take them off and stow them. I really can't complain about them, I knew what they did and I bought them for that reason.

After suffering the past 2 snowshoeing seasons with cold fingers, I decided to give these a shot. I wanted a warm glove which could take some abuse. These have fit the bill. The cozy wool lining, thick liner, and gore-tex/leather shell keep your hands have kept my hands warm and dry. At 10-degrees F, they can be almost too toasty. Others have mentioned trouble getting the liners back in after removing them, but I haven't had any trouble. I have no trouble turning the liners inside out to dry them and putting them back together afterwards. The shells have great padding and the leather palms appear to be work-glove quality. These a true winter outdoorsman glove.

These gloves are super warm and very well made. I had mountain hardware top mountaineering glove but was not warm enough. If you want a bullet proof glove to wear at sub zero temp on the hill, these are the ones!

Gloves provide great insulation in the cold. But, PrimaLoft insulation is not integrated into the liner. Thus, if your hands are sweaty or wet from dealing with snow or high output exertion, insulation will follow your hand out of the glove/liner, and getting it repositioned within the liner is extraordinarily frustrating.

Black Diamond says that this glove is rated to -40. Absolutely not. I ski at Schweitzer Mountain in North Idaho where it is not nearly as cold as AK or CO. It is usually wet and windy. I bought these gloves because I got frostnip last year due to inadequate gloves. These seemed to fit the mold for what I was looking for in a glove. They are rated to 10 degrees at best. Do not buy this glove unless you have a really high metabolism and produce a large amount of body heat or ski in regular, moderate conditions. The reason I give these gloves three stars instead of one is that they perform fantastically on regular days. They ventilate very well and being able to remove the liner is a very nice feature. They are a great glove. Just not rated to -40 as black diamond claims.

Seemed like an awesome set of gloves, but the XL pair I received was too small for my XL hands. I am normally a true XL in most brands, so if you suffer from "manos grandes" like me, you should avoid these.

After 3 cold days on the hill at Park City, the gloves are performing very well, although I have to say that I've found them pretty warm but certainly not toasty 100% of the time.

Very well made and liner is easy to remove/replace.

These gloves are really warm. However, you need to adjust your ski poles' straps (make them bigger) to fit these gloves. Good construction and materials. Too brand new to rate how they'll hold up in the long term.

After working as a ski instructor and in the mountains for years, I always thought that I would be stuck with Kinco insulated gloves. After you handle kids skis all the time, and shovel tons of snow throughout a season your gloves are completely shot. Not the case with the Guide glove.

Keep it up Black Diamond!

Oregonoutside

I've put at least ten days on them with no signs of wear. They are super warm. I carry a lighter weight glove as well, but always keep these handy if I start getting cold.

Got these gloves after my hands froze on a day of skiing in mid teens temperatures. Super warm fleece and wool lining that is incredibly comfortable. The natural color looks really good in person, and I am excited to test the durability of the leather palms. The elastic cord for tightening the cuff of the glove is attached by a semi-flimsy looking nylon loop and doesn't provide great adjustability. I am concerned this area of the glove might fail after really yanking on the cord.

I used the BD Prodigy last season and have had EMS and Patagonia two piece, insulated, waterproof gloves in the past. I have extra thick hands and finding ones that fit is a challenge.

I like BD because the leather is the highest quality I have found. I plan to use snoseal on it, because the Prodigy gloves would get wet and the sumptuous leather drank in a lot of H20. These liners are a step up from the Prodigy, the insert comes out and there is a nylon feeling shell filled with Primaloft and your hand is wrapped in a pile material. The Prodigy kept me warm on a 0 degree day and I expect these can go lower.

I suspect that the liner being removable will allow the gloves to recover better if you need to dry them overnight for consecutive days on the mountain. There is a good chance that your hands will sweat they are so warm.

I plan to get some mid-weight fleece gloves to use in lieu of the liners. The gloves are very warm and the outside of the glove would be more serviceable for me above ~20 degrees with different stuffing.

Another review complained of the frustration of getting the liner back in comfortably. I had that issue with the Prodigy - part of why I handed them down to my son. His hands are smaller and he hasn't noticed the issue. I had the biggest problem with one of the pinkie fingers. I think that a weaker finger can have hard time forcing the liner into place in a tight glove.

I have been on a seemingly endless search for the perfect glove, and finally found it in the Guide. I work as a snowmobile guide and ski on my days off, so essentially I am in the elements all day every day and now I do so without frozen digits. If you want warm hands without going to mitts, get this glove. I usually wear size large gloves, but went for the medium which fit a little snug at first, but packed out a bit and the leather stretched slightly to be my perfect fit. Initially thought the cuff was too big, but have grown to love it. I can't say enough good things about this glove.

i have many pairs of ski gloves. When the weather gets cold these gloves come out, period. They fit very well. They feel great. they are tough as can be. they last forever and they are warm.

best of the best. you get what you pay for. very warm, dry, durable yet remarkably good dexterity. the natural color makes you look like a pro. easy to disassemble and assemble for drying. liners stay put when you yank 'em off. i have used these everywhere from lifts of vt to heli in alaska and bc. best used below 20 degrees and by folks who can't tolerate mittens.

These gloves are sick. Soooo warm, comparable to mittens. The liner removes in two seconds and goes back in in two seconds, never pulls out accidentally and never bunches up. They are really waterPROOF. And the color rules. The leather is top notch too.

Maybe the only downside is they are very bulky and the wrist part won't stay under your sleeve if you like wearing gloves like that. These things will take you backcountry all day and dry out in an hour at night, ready to rip the next day.

Don't get cheap on gloves. They'll last a couple seasons and you ALWAYS pay the price for going cheap.

I used them for the first time out skiing yesterday and despite the blowing wind as long as I kept my fingers moving a little bit (like you have to with every glove) my fingers were toasty! I had to take the glove off a number of times to fiddle with stuff like my camera, lift ticket, etc. but when I put my FREEZING fingers back in the glove it only took a few minutes and my fingers were fine again! Highly recommend!

Sorry to say, but they do not keep my hands warm. They do keep them dry. Would not buy them again.

this glove is super warm and versatile with its removable liner. big cuff fits over sleeves well and keeps snow out. take the liner out after a long tour and the sweat will dry much faster.

I have horrible circulation in my hands, so finding a glove that keeps my hands dry and warm was a bit of a challenge. Mostly the warm bit. These gloves do the job very well. Kudos to BD for a great glove.