Durability
While I’ve had a relatively short time in the Guide mitt, so far so good—as I’d expect them to be for $170. The goatskin leather palm has held up to burr-filled edges without much wear, and I haven’t seen any decrease in waterproofing or warmth. Wool fibers occasionally fall out of the insulation and come out on my hand, especially when sweaty, but it’s barely noticeable and likely unavoidable given the boiled-wool structure. The seams in the palms are well designed, and those in high-impact areas (such as between the thumb and forefinger) are covered with an extra piece of leather to take wear and tear.
Waterproofing
Utah isn’t the ideal place to test waterproofing, as our snow is very dry and light, and my trips to Jackson Hole and Northstar both were met with extremely cold conditions and low moisture content in the snow. While these conditions aren’t wet by any means, it’s worth noting that I haven’t had any experiences with waterlogging or wet fingers after a long day. Again, the GORE-TEX XCR insert has worked well in this system.
Other Features
There are a few minor tweaks that I think could make the Guide Lobster Mitt even better.
The first is, admittedly, a matter of personal preference: the Guide mitt is designed with a small gauntlet closure to fit around the outside of the jacket cuff, and I prefer my gloves to go under the jacket cuff, which is cumbersome with narrower jacket sleeves. I had no problem getting the cuffs under my XL Patagonia Powslayer jacket, but it was nearly impossible to get them in the sleeves of the slimmer-fitting Lethal Descent 3L Eagle jacket in the same size. Again, this is merely personal preference, but I’d love to see a similar glove with a neoprene cuff and Velcro closure as a secondary, lower-profile option.
Second, the Guide mitt doesn’t have an elastic wrist strap for when the gloves are off. Anytime I wanted to take them off on a chairlift or during a hike, I needed to find somewhere secure to put them, and they’re too large to fit in any average pocket. I’m a fan of wrist straps like the one found on the Hestra Heli 3-Finger Glove, and I think a similar design would be a nice addition to the Guide Lobster Mitt.
Bottom Line
The Black Diamond Guide Lobster Mitt does everything BD claims. It’s a serious glove that is designed for the harshest, coldest, windiest, crappiest, conditions. It’s durable and well-engineered with top-of-the-line materials, so the $170 price tag seems reasonable.
For those who are looking for the outstanding warmth, waterproofing, and dexterity of a trigger-mitt design, the Black Diamond Guide Lobster Mitt deserves to be on your short list.
Gore XCR?? That membrane is nearly 2 generations old. BD, how about an update?
Of course, Hestra is also still using XCR in their Gore glove. So my questions are (1) how steep of a price bump would we see with an update and (2) exactly how much of a performance gain would you actually get? I have no idea, but my hunch is that (1) = a lot, and (2) = not enough to justify (1). But again, that’s sheer speculation.
Hey, First off, amazing job with all your reviews. I send all my friends here. I also bought a TNF Enzo based upon your great review. I really appreciate your in-depth analysis.
Here’s my question: My hands are always cold. I have used Hestra Heli 3 fingers, TNF Meru mitt, and others all with handwarmers and cannot keep my hands warm though colorado winters. I am fine with a mitten or a 3 finger. Do you have any recommendations?
-Jay
Hey Jay,
First off, thanks for the support. We really appreciate you spreading the word to your friends.
As far as your cold hands are concerned, have you ever tried using an additional pair of liner gloves? There are many different weights out there and I’ve found putting on a pair under my mitts makes a pretty significant warmth difference. My hands are almost always really warm, and sometimes hot, in the BD Guide- that said, I haven’t had the chronic issue with cold hands that it sounds like you’ve experienced. My guess is that if find a thicker pair of additional liners and size the Guide Mitt or another wool/heavily insulated glove according to your hand with the liners on, you should be good to go.
Thanks!
Jed