When you find something you love–be it a climbing boot, small-batch beer, or just about anything besides people and love itself–then buy two or milk the one you’ve got as long as you can. Modern marketing demands a “new model” every year, which means often useless “improvements” and “upgrades.” This incessant meddling can render a solid product diminished, so I’m always nervous when I find a nearly perfect product like Dynafit’s TLT boots, Deuter’s Guide 45+ pack (review forthcoming!), or Black Diamond’s legendary do-it-all Kingpin glove.
I snagged a pair of BD’s Kingpins five-or-so years ago and they have done everything I’ve asked of them, and done it really well. Ice climbing, ski touring (great for the up or the down), changing a flat tire on a car (today, as a matter of fact), or as a lightweight glove for short-roping on snow–they break in quickly and they wear like iron. I eventually nuked two fingers on the left glove of my set and the capable folks at Perry’s Shoe Repair patched both of them and breathed new life into my beloved Kingpins.
Maybe I should buy another pair, just to start getting them broken in…. Having tried the cheaper, hardware-store route in leather gloves, I’m loathe to get an inexpensive pair and not like them as much. The BD’s have a plush interior liner (fixed, as in non-removable), and a low-profile wrist closure, so you can always get your jacket cuff over the glove. I tend to run warm, so a lightweight glove like this is often all I use in the winter.
So another cold season is ahead and I enter it with my perfectly broken in, lovingly restored, recently waxed Kingpins. Rejoice!
