Black Diamond Rebel Review

Performance Comparison

Dexterity

The Black Diamond Rebel has excellent dexterity and could accomplish medium and even most of the more challenging tasks like taking a photo with a camera, unlocking a car and even tying shoes with ease. When it came to the most complex tasks like writing it started to suffer a little but over all it had some of the better dexterity in our review. We thought it was just behind the Rab Guide Gloves, Mountain Hardwear Jalapeno and our OutdoorGearLab Editors' Choice, the Arc'teryx Alpha SV Glove, in dexterity - but just barely. We did think it was more dexterous than the Outdoor Research Northback Sensor or the Outdoor Research Southback and more dexterous than the Black Diamond Legend or Black Diamond Squad. The Rebel got even more dexterous after it broke in for a few days.

Water Resistance

This glove was one of our top performers for water resistance in both our side-by-side bucket of water comparisons and in real world testing. The Rebel uses a Gore-Tex insert along with some of the most water resistant leathers we've tested. Even after several days of use, as of yet we don't feel the need to treat it again, something that several other contenders like the Mountain Hardwear Jalapeno, Hestra Heli and Rab Guide can't say the same for. While it scored our highest possible for water resistance and we wouldn't even hesitate to use them during some of the wettest Pacific Northwest winter storms, we didn't think it was quite as water resistant as our OutdoorGearLab Editors' Choice the Arc'teryx Alpha SV.

Warmth and Breathability

We thought the Rebel was average in warmth during our side-by-side testing. It features 142 grams of PrimaLoft One insulation on back of the hand and a fleece lining on the palm. It was a little less warm and had a little less insulation than either the Black Diamond Legend (133g on palm and 170g on the back) or our OutdoorGearLab Top Pick, the Outdoor Research Magnate (133g on palm 266 on back). The Rebel was however very comparable in warmth to the Outdoor Research Northback and Southback and though it had less grams of insulation, we felt the thick leather shell and foam helped make up the difference. We did think the Rebel was warmer than other completely leather designs like the Mountain Hardwear Jalapeno, or the Rab Guide.

Durability

The Rebel was easily one of the most durable challengers in our review. It is completely covered in a beefy but fairly subtle goatskin leather with EVA compression molded foam padding to protect your fingers, increase warmth and add a little durability. While it did have some break in time before the leather softened up, it wasn't nearly as long as the others like the Black Diamond Guide or Legend. We thought it was easily as tough as our award winners the Outdoor Research Magnate or the Black Diamond Guide.

Features

The Rebel is a relatively simple under the cuff length ski and snowboard glove that doesn't have a lot of extras. One feature that the it did have that helped it stand out was its polyester cuff. While this feature might seem a little unimpressive or even old school at first, it not only helped keep our hands a warmer, but also did a fabulous job at keeping all the snow out of our gloves even during the worst falls. The polyester cuff could get a little damp during extremely wet storms if your jacket sleeve got pulled up for an extended period of time, while this is possible, it never happened to us.

Value and the Bottom Line