Published June 2, 2012 by

New Badlands Hunting Apparel – First Impressions of the Badlands Momentum Pants

A couple weeks ago I posted my first impressions of the new Badlands Ion pants and I was impressed to say the least. I was sent a size XL, but I have been training hard for elk season and my waistline has shrunk so I sent them back for a smaller size. Yesterday I received a package from Badlands and inside were the new Badlands Momentum pants instead of the Ions. No worries here as I am very excited to test the Momentums out. Please keep in mind, this is not a full review. Right now I am only sharing my first impressions. 

Upon pulling the pants out of the box, I noticed the increased weight as compared to the Ion pant. They are slightly heavier than the Ion pant, but not over-the-top and certainly not bulky.

The pants are well constructed and I felt in order to do them justice I had to put them on right away. They fit like a glove! Seriously, they go on easily and hug your body. What I wasn’t prepared for was the built-in removable gator. This was a nice surprise! I’ll be doing more testing on it in my full review later on, but these have promise!

A good pair of hunting pants needs to allow you to move freely in highly technical terrain. They must breathe well and withstand what could be considered 10 years of use in a single weekend. All of this while making your butt look small.

I don’t know about making my butt look small (I don’t think anything can do that), but the Momentum pants do allow you excellent range of motion. The articulated knees gave me the freedom to crouch and crawl without having them bunch up or get too tight and uncomfortable. In fact, they were super comfortable and I can’t wait to get them out in the field!


The interior of the pants were the highlight of my first impressions. The Hex-Lite fleece liner is not only going to help keep me warm on those cool days, but the material is the most comfortable lining I’ve ever worn. I take comfort very seriously when you are talking hiking miles not yards in the high desert of SoCal. These pants are VERY comfortable. The one feature I am looking forward to testing is the breathability of the pant.

Like the Ion pant, the Momentum pant utilizes re-enforced zippers covered with the same style waterproofing system as on the Badlands packs. They open very quietly and close with ease on most occasions. I did have to work a bit when using one hand to open. I imagined a bowhunting situation where I may have my bow in one hand and need to access a pocket. I’ll be sure to further test that out.

Again, like the Ions, I like the strong nylon re-enforced belt loops. You can clip something onto any of the loops for additional space for carry your small hunting items.

After walking around for a bit I noticed the pants are VERY quiet. Even when the material rubs against itself it was quiet. Major bonus points for that. I forcefully scuffed the legs together as I walked to try to get a coarse, scratchy noise, but that didn’t work. Well done, Badlands, well done. I’ll be testing these out over the next few weeks. Be on the lookout for a full review later on.

Be sure to check out my buddy Mark’s first look at the Badlands Velocity jacket, and my buddy Ryan’s first impressions of the Badlands Inferno jacket. These items are set to hit the market on July 1st, so it’s time to do some testing.

Al Quackenbush

Al Quackenbush

Al Quackenbush has hunted and fished for the better part of 40 years. He shares his knowledge to better the sport of archery, hunting and to help educate others.

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