Craghoppers celebrates sixty years of adventure

Craghoppers is an unmistakable household name – and even a household item, too, as many of us have its jackets hanging on our pegs, or its trousers in our drawers.

But what you might not know is that it all started out in the mountaineering heyday of the 1950s, with two competitive brothers and an “I bet you can’t” attitude.

Based in the hills of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, the Clarke brothers realised there was growing demand for outdoor kit, but not many manufacturers. So the ‘Craghoppers’ brand was born, with a breech made from the finest Derby tweed, worn for all kinds of mountain sports.

It wasn’t until 1965 that the business was officially founded, by the similarly Yorkshire-based Brian Gaskin and Roy Holmes. Their mission? To provide the ultimate clothing for the harshest of outdoor adventures.

As an advert from around this time reads, “Insist on Craghoppers breeches when you want the best”. True to this word, just a decade after the brand was founded, the legendary mountaineer Junko Tabei wore Craghoppers hiking trousers on the first female ascent of Everest in 1975.

Pioneers for 60 years

The much-loved British brand has a 60-year-long legacy of firsts, starting with the CagJac in 1973, one of the world’s first modern waterproof jackets.

Just over twenty years later, the immensely popular Kiwi walking trouser was launched. As a leader in legwear in the outdoors market, Craghoppers sells roughly one pair every 30 seconds. LFTO’s deputy editor Rob Slade bought a pair of Kiwis as his first walking trouser, which looked after him for years, including Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions and an adventure-packed road trip around New Zealand.

At the turn of the millennium, Craghoppers developed its own waterproof technology, AquaDry, which has come to define the brand. Today, AquaDry also features H2OShield, a PFC-free water repellent finish which has a minimum of 50% plant based content.

One of its most well-known innovations is Nosquito which was introduced in 2002 as one of the first permanent insect-repellent clothing ranges. Now known as NosiLife, this award-winning technology is trusted by adventurers in the most extreme conditions. It even protected celebrities from insect bites in the Costa Rican jungle on Bear Grylls’ Netflix show, Celebrity Bear Hunt.

Responsibly made

Alongside its deep-rooted commitment to innovation, Craghoppers is grounded by a strong ethos of making great products in a responsible way.  Rather than working against each other, these two values work hand in hand, driving the development of new technologies.

Craghoppers also partnered with the climate tech company Lanzatech to create CO2Renu, a pioneering technology that intercepts carbon from the atmosphere, ferments it into liquid ethanol, then polymerises it into a fabric. This means that everything in the CO2Renu collection, from fleeces to jackets and trousers, is made from pollution.

And it doesn’t stop there. Lamenting the fact that traditional leather tanning uses immense amounts of water, Craghoppers developed its NewHide tanning process, which uses 60-80% less water. The NewHide boots and shoes offer protection, comfort and durability against the elements.

But what exactly are the classic Craghoppers products, and what new ranges are shaping the future of the brand? As Craghoppers enters its sixth decade, and looks forward to the next, here are some top offerings.

4 iconic Craghoppers products

How things have changed in the last 60 years! As Gordon Conyers, who worked with Brian and Roy in the early days and consulted with Craghoppers over the years, points out, “from polyurethane and neoprene coated nylon to breathable membranes and coatings; simple nylon fabric to microfibre; voluminous non breathable cagoules to zip fronted, breathable, all weather jackets. Whilst I'm very much a waterproofs man myself, I can also appreciate how the brand has grown and evolved in new directions."

For more reminiscing of innovations over the past 60 years and looking forward to new and exciting ones to come, follow the journey on craghoppers' Instagram.