How the clothing sector is bringing innovation to shooting

When you think about the most innovative sectors in the hunting and shooting market, where does your mind wander? Maybe it’s optics. Perhaps it’s precision rifles. One category you may not have thought of, that goes under the radar in this regard, is clothing.

Written by David Guest

Close-up of a grey-green Darn Tough performance sock with reinforced foot section and orange knit zones, displayed on a wooden table

While it may not be considered as exciting a sector compared to some of the very cool toys our industry gets to play with, clothing is pushing its own boundaries of what is possible and producing products that offer new ideas, wider useability, and an improved experience for hunters and shooters. We scoured the show floor at IWA OutdoorClassics 2026 to get a close-up view of the smart solutions entering the market through the world of clothing.

Put a sock in it

If you’ve done any amount of hiking in your life, which you probably have if you are involved in hunting and the outdoors, then there’s a good chance you will have heard of Darn Tough. The Vermont-based sock producer has been manufacturing its premium-quality socks in the United States since 2004, and has a very strong following in hiking and general outdoors. The company came to IWA OutdoorClassics this year to try and open new doors for its brand and showcase that looking after your feet is one of the most vital things shooters can do to improve their overall experience.

“We sell plenty of our socks in this industry, because there is naturally a lot of crossover,” explains Darn Tough’s Director of Government Sales, Katie Roberts. “Being here at IWA isn’t just a case of us showing our existing products and seeing if hunters and shooters like them, we have created product lines that are designed to suit their needs and tastes. So far, it has meant we’ve had a really successful showing in Nuremberg.” 

Different socks displayed on the Darn Tough booth at IWA OutdoorClassics 2026 — Darn Tough has made innovative tweaks to its already successful product to meet the needs of shooters.

Examples of that include socks in hunting-friendly colours, socks with different thicknesses of padding and protection in different areas of the foot depending on the kind of hunting people are doing, and even a sock with an expandable mesh panel at the rear of the calf.

“We found that this is particularly useful in shooting and also the tactical market because of the very wide range of calf sizes of users in that market,” says Katie.

Attention to detail like this is a sure-fire way to showcase to an industry that you understand its end users and that you are doing everything in your power to make their hobby easier and more enjoyable. The small details often add up to make bigger changes. 

Suited and booted

Staying with footwear, and historic British boot brand Grubs was another name that covers a wide spread of different industries and use cases but was finding particular traction (pun intended) in the hunting and shooting world at IWA. It was showcasing its new Bearline 8.5 boots, that feature a raft of technologies that bring strong innovation to the feet of hunters.

“There are really three main things these boots focus on that can benefit hunters and shooters,” explains Grubs CEO David Foster.

“The first is comfort. They benefit from our 8.5mm Insufoam-Ultra, which wraps around the foot to offer great warmth and insulation in the harshest and coldest environments – down to -40C. They also feature Ultra-Bounce technology that absorbs shock and allows for comfort even on long days.

“The second thing they offer is grip. The Bearpaw sole is crafted from Dry-Rubber sheets and textured to give it the same roughness of a bear's paw in order to deliver ultimate performance on slippery surfaces. The final thing they bring is protection. A Hard-Toe technology protects your feet from any impacts or rough ground you may encounter.” 

The technology in Grubs boots is cutting-edge, but its roots come from a long and proud history. The Foster family have been in the footwear game since 1776. David’s great grandfather, Joe Foster, made shows for the Olympic stars of 1924, while his father and uncle founded sports brand Reebok in 1960.

David and his wife Jan helped launch the neoprene booty revolution in agriculture and country sports back in 2000, and the pair still have a passion for bringing innovation to footwear that can be seen in the current range. This kind of innovative brand is the perfect demonstration that clothing cannot afford to simply be ‘just clothing’ anymore – it must offer smart benefits, intelligent technology, and above all reliable and high performance. 

David and Jan Foster standing on the Grubs booth at IWA OutdoorClassics 2026 @ David Guest — David and Jan Foster show off the Grubs Bearline 8.5 boots, which are packed with innovative technology.

Heating things up

The longer you stay comfortable while out on a shoot or a hunt, the higher your chances of success will be. Not only that, but if you’re new to the one of the shooting sports, you’re much more likely to keep going back out there if you manage to stay warm and dry even without success.

Austrian brand Alpenheat is a specialist in helping outdoors men and women stay warm and comfortable while pursuing their passions, and it showcased many of its latest innovations on that front right here at IWA OutdoorClassics. The Fire Fleece is a great example. This washable and versatile vest contains a rechargable heating element that offers four different levels of heating that can last up to eight-and-a-half hours. The heating element can be controlled via a discreet button on the vest or via connectivity with the Alpenheat App. 

Alpenheat General Manager Tanja Gragl wearing a Fire-Hunting heated glove @ David Guest — Tanja Gragl won’t be cold with the Fire-Hunting gloves from Alpenheat.

“We have had a lot of interest in this product from many different people here in the show,” explains the company’s General Manager Tanja Gragl.

“It’s a very versatile product because of its low weight and ease of use – hunters, sport shooters, anglers, horse riders can all find this a very useful product. While this is a generic product, we have tried to apply our technologies to more hunting-specific items too, such as the new Fire-Hunting gloves. These feature flexible heating elements situated on top of the fingers and on the back of the hand. The gloves have openings both on the right and left hand, to allow you to use your index finger for shooting. The finger can be folded back and fastened with the magnetic button so that it is not in the way when you are shooting.”

Offering up to 12 hours of heat with just a four-hour charging time, make these gloves a smart and effortless way to keep those all-important digits warm when out on a hunt – because you never know for sure when the time to pull the trigger will come. 

Innovation from a century of learnings

Last year at IWA, historic Norwegian clothing brand Bergans made a triumphant return after many years away. The company has been pushing the boundaries of hunting clothing and equipment since 1908, but its appetite for producing products that offer new and interesting twists has never waned.

Such a long history has cemented the importance of endurance, precision, and absolute reliability in every single product Bergans makes – and that was evident to see with its new Hogna 2.5 L shell jacket and pants.

“Of course, we can talk about the headline technology with this product – such as the 2.5-layer construction, equipped with the Bega Membrane Balanced and PFAS-free waterproofing,” says Bergans Sales Manager South West, Marcus Ehlig.

“But a lot of the time, the features that impress people are the small details – hunters are the kinds of people who notice and appreciate them. Things like the soft inserts at the chin to stop you getting rubbed, the ventilation zippers under the arms for when you are on the move and start to heat up, and the well-designed pockets with antenna openings and cable routing have all been highly praised by visitors to IWA.” 

Bergans is a great example that innovation doesn’t have to come in the form of fancy technology or a new product category – sometimes, innovation is best showcased by smart and considerate design. Design that has been carefully thought out by people who hunt and shoot themselves – the kind of design that you barely notice because it makes a piece feel like a second skin. Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes, and most of those can be seen in the clothing category. 

The Bergans Hogna 2.5 L shell jacket on a mannequin at IWA OutdoorClassics 2026 — The Bergans Hogna 2.5 L shell jacket features many design innovations that hunters appreciate.

Author

David Guest

IWA OutdoorClassics