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Swany Legend II Mitt - Women's Review

This mitten-glove hybrid is perfect for the ladies looking for warmth, dexterity, and fancy features all in one neat bundle
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swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review
Swany Legend II Touch Screen - Women's
Credit: Swany
Price:  $130 List
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Manufacturer:   Swany
By Amber King ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Feb 21, 2017
64
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Warmth and Breathability - 25% 8.0
  • Water Resistance - 25% 4.0
  • Dexterity - 25% 6.0
  • Features - 10% 7.0
  • Durability - 15% 8.0

Our Verdict

The Swany Legend II stands out for its unique construct and fancy features. With a thin mitten leather exterior and an insulated gloved interior, this mitten does not only provide great dexterity but also decent warmth. It features a peek-a-boo zipper pocket in the leather shell that allows easy access to the touch-screen compatible liner. This is a great feature that allows you to keep your hands warm while using your phone outside.
REASONS TO BUY
Warmth of a mitten
Dexterity of a glove
Quick vent for fast breathing
Good value
REASONS TO AVOID
Not breathable when zipped
Sub-par durability
Lacks water protection
We also liked this zippered pocket for quick and easy ventilation. Even though this mitten-glove hybrid has many benefits, we do have a couple of caveats. First, the glove is not very water resistant, unlike the Dakine Tundra Mitt - Women's. Second, even with the pocket, the whole mitten is not extremely breathable without unzipping the pocket. As a result, we think the Swany Legend II is a great resort option in dry climates. It's also perfect for any lady looking for a unique combination of good dexterity and warmth!

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Legend II Glove by Swany provides great warmth and dexterity throughout the day, provided you're in dry conditions.

Performance Comparison


swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - the swany legend ii is an all-leather hybrid mitten that features a...
The Swany Legend II is an all-leather hybrid mitten that features a sewn in polyester glove interior. This mitten combines warmth and dexterity for comfort and versatility on the mountain.
Credit: Amber King

Warmth & Breathability


Featuring a unique construct, the Legend II mitt is a great option for ladies looking for the warmth of a mitt with the dexterity of a glove. This contender features a leather mitten outer with a gloved lined interior. The Insuloft 80 Swany dry polyester insulates on warm days while the zipper allows quick venting options.

swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - this gloves features a mitten leather shell with a sewn-in glove...
This gloves features a mitten leather shell with a sewn-in glove liner. The mitten provides additional warmth while the glove provides dexterity. The zippered vent can be used for quick breathing or even an additional handwarmer!
Credit: Amber King

This is not the warmest mitten out there. During warm or aerobic days, we found our hands getting swampy with the zipper zipped up. Towards the end of the day, we found our hands to be colder than other gloves put in a similar situation. If you plan on doing aerobic activities or if you ski on a warm day, remember to unzip the mitt for proper ventilation.

Water Resistance


Of all the mittens tested, this proved to have the worst water resistance. While the leather does a decent job at keeping moisture out, we found that even with regular treatment, the mitt became saturated after long, wet days on the mountain. In addition, during our dunk tests, this mitten leaked at the water resistant zipper after just eight squeezes. After our dunk tests, it held a whopping 12.8 oz of water! As a result, we can't recommend this glove for wet climates.

swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - we see a water droplet leave the gloves after our dunk test. after...
We see a water droplet leave the gloves after our dunk test. After just eight squeezes, this glove flooded through the zipper, holding approximately 12 oz of water afterward! We conclude this glove is one the least water resistant gloves tested, and not recommended for super wet days on the mountains.
Credit: Amber King

Dexterity


Many of our female testers liked this mitt for both resort and backcountry skiing. We loved the thin, gloved interior that made it easy to handle tasks like zipping up a jacket or taking off a pair of skins. We also liked the thin leather outer that, even without the gloved fingers out, allows us more dexterity than other mitts. That said, we didn't like that the zipper was a little sticky and got stuck often, making it hard to unzip and rezip the mitt.

swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - annie plays with some screws after a friends binding falls apart...
Annie plays with some screws after a friends binding falls apart while hiking up hill. The Swany Legend II did a great job when she had to manipulate small objects. Most importantly, she didn't have to take off her mitt!
Credit: Amber King

Features


If you love features, this mitten may be a perfect fit! It has many unique features; a touch-screen compatible liner, a wrist cinch strap, quick pull, and release cinches, and a mitten clip loop.

swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - the liners of this glove is also touch-screen compatible. a huge...
The liners of this glove is also touch-screen compatible. A huge plus if you plan on texting on the chair lift!
Credit: Amber King

The only thing that could really round out this mitt is a removable glove liner. Many of testers mentioned that taking the glove on and off was a pain as the liner would stick to their fingers. With the removable liner, this would offer a little more versatility and a little less frustration on the mountain and before heading out the door.

swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - the zippered exterior pocket in addition to cinch straps provide...
The zippered exterior pocket in addition to cinch straps provide more versatility on the mountain. Add hand warmers to the pocket, or use the zipper for quick venting options.
Credit: Amber King

Durability and Construction


While the leather outer of this glove is fairly durable, we noticed it losing color and cracking a little easier than other gloves and mitten tested. We also noticed the insulation to be slightly packed out after just a few days at the resort. We also wished the warranty would be greater than one year.

swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - over the testing period, the swany legend ii proved to get the most...
Over the testing period, the Swany Legend II proved to get the most trashed, even with limited use. As a result, it didn't earn top points in durability.
Credit: Amber King

Given that this is mitten has an all-leather construct, be sure to treat it throughout its lifetime. Failure to treat the leather will result in cracking and loss of its protective properties.

Best Application


While resort skiing on cold days is probably its best application, we also thought it had the potential for mellow backcountry ski terrain. The versatility of this mitt provides great warmth and dexterity in both environments. Additionally, because of its lack of water resistance, we think it's best for dry climates that won't saturate the mitten throughout the day.

swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - here annie tests the swany legend ii mittens on a snowy day in the...
Here Annie tests the Swany Legend II mittens on a snowy day in the San Juans of Colorado.
Credit: Amber King

Value


We think this glove is a great deal if you're looking for a unique fusion between glove and mitt. It is a little less expensive than higher performing contenders and its price reflects the value of the product.

Conclusion


This hybrid glove-mitten contender is perfect for ladies who are looking for a product that has it all! Warmth, dexterity, and fancy features! Just be sure to avoid buying it if you plan on skiing in super wet weather.

swany legend ii mitt for women ski gloves review - not only is this glove great for skiing, but it does a great job for...
Not only is this glove great for skiing, but it does a great job for performing household chores as well!
Credit: Amber King

Amber King