BadLands Terra Glide Duffle Bag Review

Badlands Terra Glide Duffle Review

Editor: Randy Johnson
iReview Gear Lead Field Editor

High Desert Wild Sheep Guides
www.highdesertwildsheepguides.com
Alti2ude Outdoors Pro Staff

Basic Description:

The Badlands Terra Glide Duffle Bag is the perfect piece of luggage for the hunter on the road or the traveler looking for room and organization. Whether traveling domestically, internationally, or to a hunting camp the Terra Glide’s 4,500 cubic inches of storage and rugged design will stand up to the abuse of baggage handlers, rough truck beds, and also store all your gear, clothing and more!

The Facts:

I was amazed at how much gear I was able to pack into the very sharp Badlands Terra Glide duffel bag. The 4,500 cubic inches of storage features the same innovative organization and user-friendly convenience as the Badlands hunting pack. Please note the following features that separate this sharp duffle from all the others on the market today!

• Cavernous 4,500 cubic inches of storage
• Zippered, lower-deck compartment can fit up to three compound bows and all kinds of gear, equipment or clothing.
• Bag compartment lays flat when open for quick, easy access.
• Heavy-duty ballistic nylon will stand up to any abuse the airline handlers can hand out.
• Six exterior pockets leave plenty of room for small items, necessities.
• In-line skate wheels make it easy to pull across parking lots, gravel and through airport terminals.
• Will stand upright on bottom foot and wheels when not moving.
• High impact plastic protects the wheels and bottom of the duffle.
• Sturdy side carry handle and shoulder strap come in handy for lifting and carrying.
• Comes in Advantage Max-1HD camo or Black.
• Weight is 12 lbs
• Dimensions of 38” x 18” x 11”.

My Badlands Terra Glide Duffle standing upright after a recent hunting trip to New Zealand. It performed flawless!

Story:

As most of my iReview Gear readers and followers know I’ve been in the guiding/outfitting business for nearly 20 years now and spend most of my time out in the rugged mountains and canyons of Utah’s incredible but wild southern Utah terrain. I have had the privilege and fun opportunity of traveling domestically in the U.S. and internationally over the years to various hunting camps and countries feeding my “hunting appetite” to spend time “out on the mountain.” Believe me, I’m always looking for a better way to transport my gear safely and efficiently to hunting camps, through airports and back home safely.

Recently, I had the incredible opportunity of spending over a week in New Zealand hunting Bull Tahr, Red Stag, Chamois and Arapawa rams. What made this trip so unique was that I planned to export all my antlers, horns and capes back to the U.S. on the airplane with me! Although many folks said this couldn’t be done I pulled it off by taking care of the correct paperwork and by utilizing the services of the Badlands Terra Glide Duffle bag!

As many of you know, it is darn difficult getting all your gear in luggage for a trip of this length and the airport luggage handlers abuse is notorious for destroying luggage. I was searching for an extraordinary duffle that would meet my special needs and get me through the airport, customs, and to my hunting camp in New Zealand without failure. I looked at many different duffle bags but ultimately decided on the Badlands Terra Glide.

As I reviewed and looked at the Terra Glide specifications I was convinced that it was the ideal product that I had been searching for. Although it came in a very professional, classy black color for those travelers who may not want to be conspicuous I chose the MAX 1 HD camo because I’m proud to be a hunter! I also knew that I would be using this duffle in the future to transport gear to other hunting camps and I wanted something that would promote my hunting heritage that I’m so proud of. Believe me, I couldn’t have been happier with this product. Badlands really stepped up to the plate when designing the Terra Glide and hit a big home run in my opinion. It is very stylish and the 4,500 cubic inches of space was just what the doctor had ordered for all my hunting gear and clothing. I needed a duffle with length as well as depth and the 38” by 18” by 11” were perfect.

I found the bottom compartment of the duffle was easily accessible with a simple flick of my wrist in unzipping this part of the duffle to store many of my items such as hunting clothing and essential gear like trekking poles that some folks might view as different. The bottom compartment isn’t padded so if you were packing bows it might be wise to layer your clothing underneath. The edge of the bottom compartment is made of a rigid plastic for reinforcement. It worked well to protect the items I packed in this area.

The six exterior pockets of the Terra Glide provided me with ample space and easy access to store my boots, caping knifes, headlamp, ammunition and other essential items that I knew the custom agents in New Zealand would want to look at. Sure enough, they wanted to see them. Regarding boots, New Zealand likes to spray any remnants of mud off so that you don’t carry unwanted organisms into their country. I placed small padlocks on all the compartments of my Terra Glide to protect any hunting items from being stolen.

Well Thought Out Details do make a difference with any quality gear and I felt the team at Badlands did a very nice job with the Terra Glide. Although, it might weigh a little more than some might like I thought the Badlands logo on the outside of the duffle looked cool. I couldn’t believe that it was undamaged after my long trip to New Zealand. A sturdy lifting strap/handle on the outside of the Terra Glide allowed myself and any baggage handlers to “manhandle” the duffle when needed without damage. When I flew home my Terra Glide weighed close to 85 lbs. with the capes and horns from my Arapawa ram and Bull Tahr packed inside. Although I did have to pay extra because was luggage was overweight I was proud of how well it performed and it stood up to a severe pounding. The Terra Glide is not only sturdy but it is functional.

Packed and ready to fly home from hunting in New Zealand. Notice that my Terra Glide’s exterior compartments are bulging at the seams!

With all Badlands equipment the Terra Glide is covered by their famous warranty. “We will fix our gear free forever and if we can’t fix it, we will replace it.” What incredible customer service! I’ve used Badland Products for years and I can verify that they do stand behind this warranty. The Terra Glide duffle is currently selling for around $299.00 and is worth the price. I recommend the purchase of this duffle to hunters and travelers anywhere. Great product.

What They Could Do Better

• I would like to see the Badlands team install a couple of heavy duty compression straps on the outside of the duffle that you could tighten over the exterior compartments. I had the Terra Glide loaded to the “gunwales” and would have liked to have been able to compress and tighten everything up just a little more.