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The 26 Best Techwear Brands Bringing Performance to Style in 2024

Plus a guide to techwear and gorpcore

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Arc'teryx, Patagonia

For years, aesthetic and performance in fashion were mutually exclusive. You had to pick one or the other to stay on top of trends. In the past decade and change, a new option has emerged: techwear. Built at the intersection of pragmatism and aesthetics, techwear allows those who buy a lot of outdoors gear (maybe for skiing) to treat their clothing as dual-use; a lot of outfits you wear for performance can easily be taken to the streets minutes after. The proliferation of gorpcore in recent years has only made techwear more popular. To help introduce the genre, we've compiled a list of the best techwear brands to take a look at today to get you started.

RELATED: The 23 Best Athleisure Brands for Men to Shop in 2024

What is techwear?

Techwear is an abbreviation for "technical wear," meaning it's a genre of clothing intended for a specific—or technical—use. Since its proliferation starting around 2010, it has come to refer to a pretty specific subset of outdoors gear. As brands like Arc'teryx began to find footing in mainstream fashion, preconceived notions of what brands were "cool" or "desirable" began to evolve. Take Salomon, for example. What began as a brand for hikers has ballooned into a mainstay of hypebeast and sneakerhead wardrobes globally.

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Getty Images

Don't sleep on Robin Williams rocking the Salomons all the way back in 2006.

26 Techwear Brands to Watch in 2024:

As the genre has gotten more and more popular, numerous brands previously relegated to the world of outdoor culture have escalated in terms of cultural popularity.

*Prices in this list are based on the most affordable men's jacket sold by the brand, to give a rough reference of overall price point.

1. Arc'teryx

SHOP NOW AT ARC'TERYX, $120+

2. Patagonia

SHOP NOW AT PATAGONIA, $109+

3. adidas Terrex

SHOP NOW AT ADIDAS, $46+

4. Nike ACG

SHOP NOW AT NIKE, $108+

5. ACRONYM

SHOP NOW AT ACRONYM, $592+

6. The North Face Purple Label

SHOP NOW AT FASHIONSHIP, $240+

7. Salomon

SHOP NOW AT SALOMON, $100+

8. A-COLD-WALL*

SHOP NOW AT A-COLD-WALL, $553+

9. Outlier

SHOP NOW AT OUTLIER, $175+

10. Merrell

SHOP NOW AT MERRELL, $70+

11. White Mountaineering

SHOP NOW AT WHITE MOUNTAINEERING, $351+

12. Nanamica

SHOP NOW AT NANAMICA, $340+

13. Goldwin

SHOP NOW AT GOLDWIN, $170+

14. Snow Peak

SHOP NOW AT SNOWPEAK, $190+

15. Topo Designs

SHOP NOW AT TOPODESIGNS, $59+

16. Uniqlo

SHOP NOW AT UNIQLO, $20+

17. Aztech Mountain

SHOP NOW AT AZTECH MOUNTAIN, $695+

18. KEEN

SHOP NOW AT KEEN $100+

19. Gramicci

SHOP NOW AT GRAMICCI, $85+

20. La Sportiva

SHOP NOW AT LA SPORTIVA, $75+

21. C.P. Company

SHOP NOW AT C.P. COMPANY, $500+

22. ISAORA

SHOP NOW AT ISAORA, $195+

23. RIOT DIVISION

SHOP NOW AT RIOT DIVISION, $75+

24. Ten C

SHOP NOW AT TEN C, $600+

25. HAVEN

SHOP NOW AT HAVEN, $350+

26. BYBORRE

SHOP NOW AT BYBORRE, $150+

Other techwear options on a budget:

A lot of vintage Patagonia, Gramicci and other classic hiking brands can be found in thrift stores and other resale locations. Also check out Grailed and look for the brands mentioned in this list—particularly Nike ACG, Arc'teryx and Patagonia. There is so much circulating from these brands that you can often find a good deal.

To learn more about hiking-influenced style, check out this intro to Gorpcore.

This article was updated on January 1.

RELATED: 30 Affordable Streetwear Brands to Check Out in 2023

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