Berghaus SS26 Trail Collection: four hiking jackets worth knowing about

Berghaus has been making hiking and mountaineering gear in Britain since 1966. In the UK, the brand is as embedded in outdoor culture as Gore-Tex or Polartec but in North America, most people haven't heard of it yet; that is about to change.

The SS26 Trail Collection is Berghaus' first serious move into the US market, with four core jackets now stocked and available to buy at REI.com.

It is a very well-chosen introduction; a complete layering system built around the brand's core philosophy of gear that moves with you on the trail, lasts long enough to be worth repairing, and earns its place in your pack across every season.

I have had the collection in for testing and have been spending time with all four jackets (and other items) for the past month. Here is the breakdown.

The brand behind the gear

Berghaus has been making serious hiking and mountaineering apparel for 60 years.

A few things worth knowing if you're not already familiar with them yet:

They pioneered more than most

The world's first rucksack with an internal frame (1974), the first European brand to put Gore-Tex into a jacket (1977), the first integrated gaiter (1978), the first walking jacket with a zip-in fleece (1980s), and the first hydrophobic down insulation (2011).

These are the kind of innovations that changed how everyone else built outdoor gear.

Berghaus backs everything with Repairhaus, a free lifetime repair programme that is genuinely unusual in this category; more on that below.

The SS26 Trail Collection: four jackets, one layering system

The SS26 Trail Collection is built around a coherent layering philosophy. Each jacket has a specific role, the four pieces work together as a complete system, and the design language is consistent without being matchy.

REI currently stocks the men's versions of the four core jackets; women's versions are available directly from berghaus.com, alongside the wider SS26 Trail Collection including the Bowburn Tech Tee, Caldbeck Shorts, and Caldbeck Pants; all US-stocked and shipping domestically now.

Colours across the men's range include Jet Black, Northern Sky (a muted blue), Solar Flare (a bold yellow-green), Farne Blue, and Garbo Grey.

The women's range runs its own palette: Calgary Blue, Hale Navy, Sunburst, Light Electro, and Stratus.

The fit across all four is slim and active rather than boxy; these are hiking jackets engineered for movement under a pack, not for standing at a trailhead; and quality is all very premium.

Rain Motion Jacket — $300

The Motion Rain Jacket is the waterproof hardshell.

3-layer Pertex Shield fabric with a 20,000mm hydrostatic head and 20,000 g/m²/24hrs breathability rating, fully waterproof with PFC-free DWR treatment.

The Rain Motion is built for active hiking in genuine weather. The 3L Pertex Shield construction is lighter and more breathable than Gore-Tex at this price point, which is the right call for a hiking layer where you spend hours moving at a sustained pace.

The articulated pattern cutting delivers real arm lift so you can scramble over boulders, reach for handholds, and swing trekking poles without the jacket restricting your upper body.

The cap-style hood provides good peripheral vision without flapping in the wind, and the stretch-bound hems and cuffs seal against the elements without requiring constant adjustment mid-hike.

The internal zippered pocket doubles as a stuff sac with a carry loop; which is the right way to handle packability in a jacket you will pull on and off multiple times across a long day.

In the hand, the Pertex Shield fabric has the slightly crisp, technical feel that signals a proper performance membrane. It is noticeably lighter than Gore-Tex equivalents at this price, and the articulated arms are immediately apparent when you put it on.

Shop: Men's at REI | Women's at berghaus.com

Pendower Wind Jacket — $150

The Pendower Wind Jacket is the packable wind shell.

Lightweight ripstop nylon, 140g, 1.2 CFM wind resistance rating, PFC-free DWR for light rain shrugging, packs into its own zipped chest pocket.

The Pendower is the jacket that lives clipped to the outside of your pack and comes out on every exposed ridge, windy col, or cold summit block.

At 140g it adds almost nothing to pack weight, and the stuff-pocket system compresses crazy small.

The slim fit means fabric does not flap and billow when you're exposed on open hillside, and the articulated arm cut gives full range of motion when you're navigating or using trekking poles.

The 1.2 CFM wind resistance rating puts it firmly in the "highly wind resistant" category; not windproof in the absolute technical sense, but more than enough to cut the chill on everything short of a serious storm. The DWR coating handles light showers and drizzle adequately, which covers the most common shoulder-season hiking weather.

For the money, this is probably the most versatile piece in the collection. The pre-tensioned hood, elastic cuffs, and hem all close to a snug fit without fiddling, which matters when you pull it on quickly at a summit with cold hands.

Shop: Men's at REI | Women's at berghaus.com

Staindrop Hike Jacket — $120

The Staindrop Hike Jacket is the stretch midlayer fleece.

Micro-grid fleece in 94% polyester / 6% elastane with four-way stretch, athletic fit, 340g, merrow-stitched seams for low bulk.

The Staindrop is the midlayer that earns its keep across more hiking days than any other piece in the collection, it's also one of my favorites in the collection, for its versatility. Worn between a base layer and a shell on cold starts, or worn alone on mild mornings when you need active warmth without a waterproof outer.

The micro-grid internal structure traps warmth while allowing moisture to move outward, so you don't overheat on long uphill sections. It is breathable enough to keep wearing through the climb rather than stopping to pull it off.

The four-way stretch is fantastic; the jacket follows your arms and torso through every movement without any of the resistance you get from woven midlayers. Pockets are positioned to stay accessible under a pack hipbelt, and the stretch-bound hood and cuffs seal well. The merrow seams sit flat against skin for all-day pack comfort.

At $120 this is the most accessible piece in the collection and the one most day hikers will reach for first.

Shop: Men's at REI | Women's at berghaus.com

Kinetic Powerstretch Jacket — $180 (Hoody: $200)

The Kinetic Powerstretch Jacket is the technical Polartec midlayer.

Polartec Power Stretch Pro; dual-surface knit, anti-pilling, four-way stretch (available as a full-zip jacket or a hoodie like mine).

Polartec Power Stretch Pro is one of the most capable active midlayer fabrics available, and it is not commonly found at this price point. The dual-surface construction puts a smooth, stretch nylon face on the outside and a soft, insulating backer on the inside.

The outer face resists light wind and moisture while the inner layer moves sweat and provides warmth. The fabric's shape recovery means it holds its form through the length of a multi-day hike and repeated washings without bagging out.

Where the Staindrop is your go-to warmth layer for most hiking days, the Kinetic is the choice for higher-output hiking where you cycle quickly between working hard on sustained climbs and standing exposed on summits.

The lighter, more compressible construction and superior breathability make it the right pick for faster-paced days when you cannot afford to overheat.

The hoody version adds a snug-fitting hood that seals well and sits properly under a hardshell hood. Layering compatibility matters on genuinely cold mountain days.

Shop: Men's at REI | Women's at berghaus.com

How the four pieces work together

The layering logic is coherent and covers most hiking conditions across three seasons:

Mild day hike, settled weather: Staindrop over a base layer or worn alone.

Breezy exposed ridge, no rain forecast: Pendower over a base layer, Staindrop in the pack.

Full wet weather day: Rain Motion as the only outer layer, breathability handling internal moisture from sustained hiking.

Cold mountain start, serious elevation: Kinetic Powerstretch as the midlayer, Rain Motion over the top, Pendower stuffed into a lid pocket as summit backup.

The consistent slim, active fit across all four means layers actually stack cleanly; you are not forcing a boxy fleece under a close-cut hardshell. That fit compatibility is not a given in multi-jacket collections and it matters when the weather changes mid-hike and you need to add or remove a layer quickly.

Repairhaus: the feature most brands won't match

It is worth being explicit about this because it genuinely is unusual. The Repairhaus program means that if the zip on your Rain Motion fails after five years of mountain use, Berghaus repairs it free of charge. If a seam starts delaminating, they re-tape it. If you wear through the elbows of the Staindrop (which can happen to any fleece that sees real use) they patch it. Free. For life.

You pay tracked delivery to their Sunderland repair centre. Turnaround is up to 21 working days. If the item is genuinely beyond repair and within its reasonable product lifetime, they replace it. For US buyers, it is worth confirming international shipping logistics with Berghaus directly as their North American distribution builds out.

The practical implication is that these are jackets designed to be kept for a decade, not replaced after three seasons. A $300 waterproof jacket you maintain and repair over ten years is a very different calculation from a $300 jacket you replace when the DWR washes out and it's cheaper to buy new than get it treated.

Why this hike collection and Berghaus' entry to the US is worth your attention

The short version is sixty years of British mountain engineering in a four-jacket layering system that stacks really well, at a price point that makes sense.

For most hikers, the Staindrop and Pendower together ($270) cover the majority of trail days. Add the Rain Motion jacket when the weather gets serious, and the Kinetic Powerstretch if you run hot on long climbs.

The men's versions of all four jackets are available now at REI. The women's jackets and the full SS26 collection are available at berghaus.com. Let me know if you have any questions on any of these new drops; I'm actively using them all and happy to help out.

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