I bought the Micklagaard Hamra Professional pants for a November trip to the Sylvania Wilderness Area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I ordered the wrong size, struggled with an international return, and learned that the standard foam lining was too warm for the way I move outdoors.
That sounds like the beginning of a bad review. It is not.
Micklagaard gave me a discount to help offset the shipping expense, took my measurements, and built a new custom pair without the foam lining in time for my trip. The replacement fit beautifully. The pants are quiet, rugged and thoughtfully designed, and the service turned a frustrating mistake into one of the best gear-buying experiences I have had.
Micklagaard: a Swedish family workshop since 1993
Micklagaard is not a mass-market outdoor-clothing company. Jan and Anette Gullberg founded the business in 1993 after becoming dissatisfied with the poorly designed outdoor clothing they were wearing. According to Micklagaard’s company history, they bought the Swedish army’s remaining stock of wadmal and began designing and sewing their own hunting and outdoor garments.
More than 30 years later, the company is still based in Hagfors, Sweden. Jan and Anette remain involved in design and production, and Micklagaard describes itself as a family workshop rather than a factory. The company says its clothing is worn by Scandinavian hunters, North Atlantic fishermen and mountaineers, and that its gear appeared on the History Channel’s Alone in 2020.
That background matters because the Hamra Professional feels like a garment shaped by people who actually spend long days outside. It is traditional wool clothing, but the cut, vents, pockets and reinforcements are practical rather than nostalgic.
What wadmal wool is—and why Sweden kept wearing it
Wadmal, spelled vadmal in Swedish, is woven wool that is fulled with water and mechanical action until the fabric becomes dense and hard-wearing. It has a long Scandinavian history because the finished cloth blocks wind, handles damp conditions and remains quiet against brush.
Micklagaard’s guide to wadmal explains why wool has remained useful in northern climates: it regulates heat, continues to insulate when damp and can absorb considerable moisture before feeling wet. Wadmal takes those natural advantages and compacts the weave into tougher outerwear cloth.
The Hamra Professional uses Swedish-made wadmal that Micklagaard lists as 80% wool and 20% rayon at a substantial 840 grams per square meter. The company describes it as soft, non-itchy, breathable, quick-drying, wind-resistant and water-resistant. This is not thin merino. It feels like serious outerwear fabric built for weather, brush and years of use.
What the Hamra Professional actually is
Micklagaard calls the Hamra Professional a durable, silent wool hunting pant, and the construction supports that description. The company doubles the wool over the knees, inside the ankles and across the seat. Swedish vegetable-tanned reindeer leather reinforces and finishes the pockets, waist adjustment and belt loops. The zippers are YKK, the metal buttons are stainless steel and the thread is specified for heavy use.
The feature list is long, but it makes sense in the field:
- A high waistband with reindeer-leather adjustment strings
- Metal buttons for suspenders
- Two front pockets
- Two flapped leg pockets with push buttons
- An integrated knife pocket
- A back pocket
- Side YKK zippers for ventilation
- Double-wool reinforcement at the knees, inner ankles and seat
- A crease at the knees for easier movement
These are not lightweight hiking pants. They are substantial, structured trousers designed for cold days, rough cover and quiet movement.
Where I went wrong: I guessed at the size
I ordered my usual size instead of carefully measuring against Micklagaard’s chart. That was my mistake. When the pants arrived from Sweden, the fit was wrong, and I suddenly had to send a heavy wool garment back across the Atlantic with a November wilderness trip approaching.
The return was slow, expensive and frustrating. International shipping is a meaningful part of the total price, so an incorrect size costs more than time.
Micklagaard offers European sizes 44 through 60, but it also offers a true made-to-measure option. The company publishes separate sizing charts and a measurement guide with videos led by founder and cutter Jan Gullberg. Customers supply the measurements, and the workshop builds the garment around them.
My lesson is simple: use those guides. Do not assume that the size printed in your usual pants is enough information.
Great customer service rescued the order
This is the part of the story I want to emphasize most. Micklagaard did not leave me stranded with an expensive mistake. The company worked with me, gave me a discount to help offset the shipping cost, and agreed to make the replacement pair to my measurements.
They also completed the custom pants in time for my November trip to the Sylvania Wilderness Area.
That is genuinely great customer service. The company could have processed a routine return and left the rest to me. Instead, it helped solve the problem and produced a better garment under a real deadline. That experience is a major reason I recommend both the pants and Micklagaard.
Custom sizing changes the entire experience
The replacement pair fits like trousers made for me because that is exactly what they are. The high waist sits correctly with suspenders. I have room to step over deadfall, kneel and climb without the fabric binding. The legs are neither sloppy nor restrictive.
That fit is the feature that separates the Hamra Professional from ordinary premium hunting pants. Materials matter, but a rugged pant you constantly adjust is still a bad pant. The custom Hamra disappears more than its weight suggests because the shape is right for my body.
If you are between sizes, have unusual proportions, or simply want to buy one excellent pair rather than keep compromising, the made-to-measure option deserves serious consideration.
The foam lining: warm was too warm for me
The original pair included Micklagaard’s foam-quilted lining. For the way I hunt and hike, it was too warm. November in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is cold, but I am often moving—still-hunting, tracking, gathering wood or carrying a pack. Once I started walking, the lined pants held more heat than I wanted.
For the custom pair, I asked Micklagaard to leave the foam lining out. That was the right decision. The dense wadmal is already warm, and the side zippers give me another way to regulate temperature. When I expect to sit for a long period, I can add a base layer instead of carrying the extra insulation on every mile.
This is not a criticism of the lining. A stand hunter or anyone spending long stationary hours in deeper cold may appreciate it. Choose based on activity level, not just the lowest temperature in the forecast.
What I love in the field
The silence
Wadmal does not swish the way many synthetic shells do. When I am moving slowly through brush, that quiet matters more to me than another camouflage pattern. The Hamra Professional is ideal for still-hunting and any situation where a noisy pant can give away movement.
The pockets
The pockets are genuinely useful. The flapped leg pockets hold small gear securely, the integrated knife pocket is in the right place and the front pockets are easy to use without feeling loose. The reindeer-leather trim reinforces high-use edges while giving the pants a distinctive Swedish look.
The protection
Double wool at the knees, ankles and seat adds confidence around rock, brush, wet ground and camp. These feel like pants that can become better with wear rather than merely survive a season.
The versatility
I bought them for hunting, but their best qualities carry into any cold-weather outdoor adventure: winter camping, bushcraft, late-season paddling, snowshoeing and camp work. Quiet, warm, breathable and rugged is a useful combination far beyond a deer stand.
The honest downside: price and shipping
Micklagaard publishes current pricing on the official product page, where you can also compare standard sizes against the made-to-measure option before you order.
These are expensive pants. International shipping makes them more expensive, and a return multiplies that pain. I think the materials, construction, fit and service justify the price, but only if you approach the order carefully.
Before ordering:
- Measure yourself using Micklagaard’s instructions.
- Compare every relevant measurement with the size chart.
- Consider made-to-measure before guessing at a standard size.
- Decide on the foam lining based on how actively you hunt or travel.
- Calculate shipping as part of the real purchase price.
Other Micklagaard products I am considering
The Hamra Professional is only one part of a broad wool-clothing line. Micklagaard also makes anoraks, jackets, shirts, capes, vests, trousers, knickers, mittens, hats, gaiters, blankets, packs, hunting bags and rifle cases.
The product I am most interested in is the Anorak Abisko, which Micklagaard identifies as its best seller. It is a roomy hooded wadmal anorak designed for hiking, hunting, camping and skiing, with hand-warmer pockets, a large chest pocket, side zippers and a made-to-measure option. I also plan to buy one of Micklagaard’s wool vests next year.
Planning another international order after dealing with a difficult return probably says more than any score could.
Verdict
The Micklagaard Hamra Professional is the best cold-weather hunting pant I own. It is quiet enough for careful hunting, rugged enough for hard outdoor use and, when made to measure, exceptionally comfortable. The pockets and reinforcements are practical, the Swedish wadmal is a remarkable material, and the unlined custom build gives me the warmth-to-mobility balance I wanted.
Most importantly, Micklagaard stood behind the order. The discount, personal sizing help and custom remake in time for Sylvania demonstrated the kind of customer service a small family workshop can still provide.
Measure carefully, think honestly about the lining and budget for shipping. If you do, the Hamra Professional is the kind of outdoor garment you buy once and look forward to wearing for years.
All product photos are from Micklagaard’s official Hamra Professional gallery and are rehosted by Wild10 for reliable display. This is an independent review based on my own purchase and field use.