Legend Armband Review

Bare Lee

Barefooters
Jul 25, 2011
6,103
6,617
113
Saint Paul
First of all, apologies for taking so long to review this item. It's been 5-6 weeks since I won the contest in dominating fashion with my multiple toes (http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/t...y-expires-tuesday-october-6th-noon-est.18720/). Since I can no longer run, I intended to use the armband for rowing, but for various reasons, I haven't rowed in a while, until yesterday.

Second, I only received one armband. No problem, it was the men's size. I asked for a women's armband for my wife simply because the contest awarded two armbands, but there was little chance my wife would've used hers anyway, since she hasn't yet converted to any of the many fitness cults available. In any case, Legend offered to send the second armband once they found out about the problem.

I already own a Stalion Armband (http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UGI932M?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage), so I will compare the two, to facilitate the review.

The Legend armband's main advantage over the Stalion is its lighter weight and greater thinness, which are also the company's main selling points.

Both measure about 15 inches in circumference, but the Stalion has much more stretch to it, because its strap is made of neoprene. My left biceps are almost exactly 15 inches around (just measured it), and it's a little difficult to get the Legend on, especially since the strap doesn't unstrap. I have to wiggle it back and forth as I move it up my arm. The Stalion unstraps and also has about 1-2 inches of stretch in it, so it's easy for me to put it on even without unstrapping it.

Also, since the Legend doesn't unstrap, to adjust it to a smaller circumference, the strap has to double over on itself on the inside, while the velcro on the outside pulls the two sides closer together. I would imagine this inner lump could be annoying for some people. The Stalion, on the other hand, has a conventional hole for the strap to loop through, so any excess is doubled over on the outside of the strap, with the inside remaining smooth and seamless.

The Legend has two holes on both ends to accommodate just about any headphone jack. The Stalion only has two holes and, bizarrely, they're on the bottom.

The Stalion has a little pocket for a locker key, or perhaps a few folded 20-dollar bills for cab fare home when your ITBS flares up, but not enough space for more than that. The Legend has no pocket, which helps it remain true to its ultra thin and light design.

The Stalion has a vinyl material framing the phone pouch, which may protect it a bit more. The Lengend offers no protection, but once again, that's necessary given its design goal of being ultra thin and light.

Neither one of the armbands provides access to the mechanical volume control on the side of my Samsung Galaxy phone, so I have to use either the touch screen volume control or earphones/earbuds with a volume control built into it somewhere.

It's hard to know which armband will be more durable over time, both seem well-constructed but I know in the past I've had a CD player with a neoprene strap that eventually wore out, so perhaps the Legend's material is an improvement. Only time will tell.

In general, if you want an ultra thin and light armband, and your biceps are 15 inches or less around, then the Legend is the way to go. Personally, I don't know if the small difference in weight or bulk really matters, given some of the disadvantages in the Legend's design, especially the unstrappable strap.