Comfortable, camouflage apparel for the hot, arid climate of Southern California can be difficult to find. When Badlands came out with their new apparel line in 2012 I was one of the fortunate ones to be able to test it out. For the past few weeks I have been field testing the 2013 Enduro Pant and I am impressed!
Out of the box they felt extremely comfortable and offer a wide range of motion. The pockets allow my hands to easily go in and out and there is a great zip up pocket on the right hand side that fits my phone perfectly. My first thought was that these pants would be entirely too warm for hunting in SoCal. They have the Biothermic shell and I normally wear a much thinner pant for hunting in the high desert. So I wore them to the archery range when it was hot and humid. I chose the archery range because I wanted to get a feel for the pants as I shot my bow. I was very pleased that even though they felt a bit warm, I was never uncomfortable.
Now was going to be a true test – wearing them out hunting in the desert. I chose a day to wear them that most people would think I was crazy. The weatherman forecasted a temperature of 95-100 degrees. Insane, right? What I was about to do was a bit on the extreme side, but we hunt in extreme temps out here.
When I hit the trail, I had my snake gaiters over the top of my pants covering my shins. We hiked and hiked. At around two miles in we stopped to make a plan. I had been paying attention to the pants the entire hike. Very easy to walk in, no noise at all (major plus), and even though I was sweating the pants kept me cool. I liked that and was hoping it would carry on throughout the day.
While this might come out funny, the one thing that I noticed was the crotch seems to fit a bit tight where it doesn’t allow full range of motion. I attributed that to a brand new pair of pants that need to be broken in a bit more.
Hiking through the brush the pants were quiet, there were no snags, and they were some of the most comfortable pants I have worn. Normally i will get a pair of pants and they will fit in the waist and the legs will be too large. Or the legs fit well and the waist is too tight. The Enduro pant fit me both in the waistline AND the legs giving me a near perfect fit.
As we hiked out in the near 100 degree temps the pants kept me cool and felt great. I will be field testing them more throughout the season, but my first impression is that the new Enduro pant is a keeper and something that is very versatile. I can’t wait to get out there and wear them again!
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