Whether it’s a jacket, a backpack, a pair of gloves or a wallet, we’ve all got those trusty old bits of kit that only get better with age. Fading, scuffs, dents and repairs become campaign scars from a life well lived, and people start to admire your beat-up gear in a way they never did when it was new.
At WildBounds, we’ve got a real soft spot for that kind of clobber. Partly because it makes us feel like the grizzled adventurers we long to be, but also because it’s just a much more sustainable way to live an outdoor life: buy the toughest equipment you can afford, and see if it wears out before you do. Plus, the old faithfuls are usually comfier too – since materials like waxed cotton, denim, canvas and leather tend to get softer and more supple with plenty of wear.
Here’s a quick round-up of some of our favourite brands making rugged, hard-wearing stuff that stands the test of time.
Based out of Seattle, Filson cut their teeth outfitting Klondike gold prospectors in the late 1800s. For well over a century, they’ve been the go-to gear brand for pioneers, hunters and career outdoorsmen – with strong ties to the lumber camps of the Pacific Northwest. All of which means that their products are built to take an absolute hammering.
A mainstay of Filson gear is their original oil-finish ‘Tin Cloth’ – a heavy waxed cotton canvas that starts out stiff but wears in beautifully with age, rather like leather. They use it on everything from jackets to backpacks, and it’s one of the most robust outdoor fabrics we know. One of our team has a much-loved Tin Cruiser jacket that’s just starting to get nicely worn in after 15 years and a couple of re-waxes.
And it’s not all about the Tin Cloth. Filson also do a great line in lumberjack-style flannel shirts, brawny Cordura canvas bags, rugged twill duffels, and chunky mackinaw wool jackets built for Alaskan winters. It sells out almost as quickly as we can get hold of it, and it’s pretty obvious why.
Start scrolling through Amundsen’s distinctly aspirational Instagram feed and it won’t be long before you’re Googling ‘cheap Scandi mountain cabins’ and wondering if 35 years old is too late to take up Telemark skiing.
Named for one of the greatest Western explorers of all time, this Norwegian brand makes incredibly covetable gear with heritage-inspired design. Part golden age of adventure, part 1970s ski resort, part mid-century safari, they’re all about kit that doesn’t look quite right until it’s battered and filthy.
They love old-school materials like boiled wool, corduroy, Ventile, waxed canvas and faded cotton twill – but they’re also not afraid to mix things up with more modern fabrics like merino, stretch nylon Cordura or polyester fleece blended with 40% virgin wool.
Every time we get a new drop of Amundsen stuff, we want it all – but a perennial favourite here at WildBounds are their fantastic Field Shorts. Constructed in flexible Cordura and Scottish waxed cotton, they’re daringly short and distinctly Scandinavian. Wear them all summer, wash them as little as possible, and you’re well on your way.
Rugby shirts aren’t just for playing rugby. We’ve sailed in them, climbed in them, worn them around campfires and on overnight buses through the Atacama desert. Made to be comfortable and warm – and tough enough to withstand a 20-stone barbarian swinging you around by the collar – a rugby shirt is the ultimate hard-wearing outdoor garm.
Anyone who ever played the nasty rough game at school or uni probably has a couple of old ones still doing regular service, softened and faded with age – but what if you didn’t? In that case, may we introduce you to Black&Blue 1871?
Inspired by the original roster of 21 Victorian rugby clubs who founded the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in 1871 – many of them now long defunct and forgotten – Black&Blue rugby shirts are a pleasing short-cut to old favourite status. Made in heavyweight slub cotton with heritage colour dyes and distressed washes, their vintage-style jerseys look worn-in straight out of the box, and they’ll be even better once you’ve put a few years on them.
It’s also worth taking a look at the brand’s outdoor heritage capsule collection, which are directly inspired by the unusual culture clash between rugby and rock-climbing. The story goes that back in the late 1970s, while visiting Scotland on a climbing trip, legendary Yosemite climber Yvon Chouinard bought himself a striped rugby shirt. He thought these heavyweight jerseys looked ideal for surviving rock rash, and also found that the sturdy collar did a great job of preventing a heavy sling loaded with climbing hardware from rubbing against his neck. Inevitably, a host of other Californian climbers subsequently followed suit, co-opting the classic rugby shirt as their climbing attire of choice.
You might have seen some recent pap shots of Hugh Jackman looking impossibly rugged in a henley/denim shirt combo on the set of his upcoming film, Three Bags Full. He is, in fact, dressed pretty much head-to-toe in a get-up from UK brand, &Sons.
Walking that middle-ground between outdoor gear and workwear, &Sons do a seriously handsome line in vintage-inspired apparel for workshops and road-trips. Think 14oz heavyweight selvedge denim jeans, chunky fisherman knit British wool cardigans with elbow patches, carpenter-style twill chinos and oiled leather wallets that'll mould to the shape of your backside. This is stuff that's built to be used and abused for years on end.
It's another one of those brands where we could happily empty out most of the warehouse stock into our own wardrobes, but we’re particular fans of their versatile ‘Sunday shirts’ and workhorse cotton chore jackets.
One of our all-time bestselling brands, KAVU kit has a very different vibe to most of the other stuff on this list. They’re less about the gnarly back-country thing, and more about a kind of easy-breezy, road trips and beers on the beach aesthetic.
With a penchant for bright colours and punning product names, Seattle’s funnest outdoor brand also has a soft spot for relaxed fits and natural fibres. We're talking baggy corduroy dungarees, brushed cotton shackets, flannel lumberjack shirts and yarn-dyed cotton twill shorts that straddle the line between beachwear and loungewear. Comfort is king, and the more you wear this stuff, the softer and cosier it'll get.
One of their most iconic bits of gear is the KAVU rope bag – a hippyish sling pack with a distinctive braided rope strap that sits over your right shoulder. They make these in a dizzying range of fabric combos and colourways, but our favourites are the colourful cotton canvas ones. Give them a few years of salt staining and sun-fading, and they’re going to start looking really ace.
Back to Scandi-land again. This time to Jonsered in western Sweden, where they make some of the toughest and best-looking leather gloves in the business.
Constructed in premium cowhide or sometimes even elk skin, Crud's gloves go through an eight-stage finishing process using a secret traditional mix of pine-scented waxes, oils and fats. By the time they leave the workshop, they’re incredibly hard-wearing and waterproof, and some models have fleece or Kevlar liners for extra reinforcement.
But that's just the start. Once that pair of spruce-smelling gloves lands on your doormat, it's your job to put them to work in the great outdoors, building up a unique patina of scars, burns, dirt and scrapes.
Crud's motto is 'let the gear tell your story', and in some ways that’s the essence of worn-in-not-worn-out stuff. In a throwaway world where everyone’s obsessed with grams over grit – and where fast and light so often seems to trump strong and steady – it’s nice to buck the trend with gear that’s built to last.
