Trail Badges
written by Fred Ginsburg
Jeep Badge of Honor program
In addition to the “Jeep wave” and a row of dashboard ducks – the Jeep culture is fond of displaying engraved TRAIL BADGES signifying that their vehicle has completed a well known offroad trail. Although the “Trail Rated 4x4” and “TRD” emblems come as part of the manufacturers branding, these “Badges of Honor” have to be individually earned by the driver.
The original “Jeep Badge of Honor” series are distributed by Jeep, through their app. Jeep has selected a large number of offroad trails across the United States, and deemed them as badge worthy. Some of these trails are pretty easy; some are difficult. No one seems sure as to what the criteria is for designating these honor trails.
To receive a badge, first you must download the Jeep Badge of Honor app onto your phone or device. Then you “check in” at the trailhead, and run the trail. Sometimes you only need to check in either at the start or the finish; sometimes you need to check in at both ends. After that, just wait for your badge to arrive in the mail.
Examples of trail badges produced for Desert Wranglers Jeep Club
Because these official honor trails are scarce and can often be a long distance away, many of the better organized jeep & offroad 4x4 clubs offer their own, custom made trail badges designed to mimic the official ones. Very often, the only visible difference is that they are engraved with the club or association name, rather than “Jeep Badge of Honor”.
Some critics call them counterfeits or cheats; others applaud the spirit. So long as they do not claim to be the official Jeep Badges of Honor.
When I was president of our Jeep club, we had a member who was a talented (hobby) fabricator, with a well equipped home workshop. He offered to produce Trail Badges for the club, which in turn we sold at nominal cost as a morale builder (and minor fundraiser). At the time, we sold them for just slightly above cost. These badges became very desirable and collectible –mainly because most of our members were too distant from the official trails.
Example of badge for the multi-day trip we led through Escalante Utah. This badge represents three days of trails!
Although some of the regional events (Jeep jamborees and safaris) sell trail decals or stickers (fine for vehicle interiors, but they don’t last long mounted outside) – these hard engraved badges are able to withstand harsh weather and trail abuse.
If you search trail badges on ETSY, you will find dozens of cottage badge makers.
“We personally recommend the shop operated by our fellow club member and close friend, Eric Nix. His work is excellent, his prices are affordable, and he will work with you to design whatever you need. His reviews and reputation are five star.”
His ETSY shop is called “TheCraftyBastardShop”. Here is the link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCraftyBastardShop
Our friend and fellow club member Eric Nix operates this excellent source for custom trail badges and offroad related stuff.
