CanvX ULTRA
Heavier coating, built for the hardest use. This is what goes into Trade trousers, HD Dreadnoughts and our equipment. Minimum 4,000mm hydrostatic head. Minimum 1,800N breaking force.
CANVX
Our canvas fabric family.
Built to outlast everything you put it through.
Thick, tight-woven, and treated to be water-resistant. Our 52% Polyester, 48% cotton blend -cotton for strength and feel, polyester for durability and faster drying. Two versions, same base cloth, different finish.
The toughest version
CanvX Premium
Lighter coating makes it more pliable and comfortable as outerwear. Same base cloth, same waterproof rating on paper - in practice it measures around 8,000mm. Goes into our jackets and Supertrousers.
SAME Strength, more wearable
WATERPROOFS
Not all waterproof fabric is the same. Every jacket in our range uses a different construction depending on what it needs to do - how much weight it can carry, how breathable it needs to be, and how hard it'll be pushed.
3-Layer
Across our 3-layer range we run two fabric weights - a lighter 180gsm for high-output, high-movement use where breathability matters most, and a heavier 250gsm where maximum weather protection is the job. Same construction principle, different balance of performance
2-LAYER
A membrane bonded to an outer fabric. Lightest and most packable construction - best when low weight and small pack size matter most.
How do we test this?
The Hydrostatic Head (HH) test pushes a column of water against the fabric until it leaks. The height of that column in millimetres is the rating.
Breathability is measured by Moisture Vapour Transfer Rate (MVTR) - grams of moisture that pass through a square metre of fabric in 24 hours. Higher is better.
DWR & PFAS - an honest note.
DWR is the treatment that makes water bead and roll off fabric. The most effective versions use PFAS - chemicals that don't break down in the environment. We're testing alternatives, but none yet meet our standards for durability and longevity. We'll move when we find something that genuinely works.
INSULATION
Warmth comes down to trapped air. Whether it's down clusters or synthetic fibres, the job is the same - create small pockets of air that hold your body heat close. The difference is in how well each material does that, and in what conditions.
DOWN
We use 750 fill-power goose down, 90% down to 10% feather. Fill power measures how much space 1oz of down takes up - higher means more loft, more trapped air, more warmth for less weight. Goose down clusters are larger than duck, which means better loft and better recovery after compression. The fill weight (how much down is actually in the jacket) is our own secret formula.
SYNTHETIC
Synthetic insulation mimics the structure of down - trapping air to hold heat - but uses man-made fibres instead. It won't match down for warmth-to-weight, but it keeps insulating even when wet and dries fast. It's also more forgiving to store - down compresses well but can be damaged by long-term compression, where synthetic holds its loft and stays durable over time. A better option for anyone who wants an animal-free alternative too.
DOWN VS SYNTHETIC
Down wins on warmth-to-weight and compressibility. It lasts for decades with proper care. The catch: when it gets wet, it loses its loft and takes a long time to dry. Synthetic insulation keeps working when wet, dries fast, and doesn't need careful handling - but it's heavier for the same warmth, and loses performance over time. Our down jackets use hydrophobic-treated down to reduce (not eliminate) the wet-weather weakness.
MERINO
Merino wool regulates temperature, wicks moisture and resists odour - all at once. It's not the toughest fibre, so we blend it where needed, but for base layers and mid-layers, nothing else comes close.
Base Layer
Temperature regulation, moisture wicking and odour resistance. We add nylon for durability and elastane so it moves with you.
Mid-Layer
Heavier weight for real insulation, knitted in a way that holds its shape and doesn't stretch out over time. Built to layer, built to last.
Not CanvX
Not everything needs canvas. Across our trousers and equipment we use fabrics chosen for what each product actually demands - stretch, structure, strength, or all three.
CNC
It's technically a canvas weave, just not as heavy-duty as CanvX. Great hand-feel — comfortable enough to wear all day, tough enough to back it up. Colour stable, strong, and sits at a lighter weight than our canvas range.
SOS
A twill weave with mechanical stretch - so it has some give without needing elastane. Lighter than CNC, good colour retention and surprisingly strong for its weight.
Denim
94% cotton, 6% Dyneema - a synthetic fibre that's 15x stronger than steel at the same weight. Dark wash only, and it fades slowly to a classic light blue over a long time. Denim, but significantly harder to wear out.
C-Fabrics — what goes into our packs and gear
Our pack fabrics are nylon or polyester oxford weaves, polyurethane coated for water resistance. We grade them by denier - a measure of yarn thickness. Higher denier means thicker, heavier, more durable fabric. We use four weights depending on where in the bag the fabric sits and how much punishment that part takes.
