New Hunting Gear 2026 - Explore Hillman's Clothes, Boots and Equipment

The entire boot lineup has moved to 2.0 versions, with meaningful updates across fit, membrane performance, and sole construction rather than just a new name. Wide-fit versions of both the Aerogel and Dryhunt are new additions for hunters who've never found standard boots that work properly. The 6OL jacket and trousers represent the current ceiling for cold-weather performance, and the ChairPack is genuinely unlike anything else in the hunting pack market.

For most British hunting, the 5WL covers the majority of what you'll face without the premium. The 6OL earns its place in genuinely extreme cold, exposed high seats in January, Scottish hill stalking in hard frost, or any situation where you're stationary for hours in conditions that push past what a standard insulated jacket manages. If your worst day is a wet pheasant drive in November, the 5WL handles it well at considerably less cost.

Each numbered layer does a specific job. The 1UL bamboo shirts handle moisture closest to the skin. The 2BL merino base layers add insulation and odour resistance. The 3ML hoodie bridges warmth and breathability as a mid-layer. The 4IL down jacket adds serious warmth when needed. The 5WL handles rain and wind. The 6OL covers extreme cold with insulation built in. You rarely need all six at once. The point is building the right combination for the day rather than wearing everything or guessing.

If you spend hours standing at a peg waiting between drives with nowhere comfortable to rest, yes. The integrated polymer seat supports up to 129kg and the waterproof construction means wet ground stops being a problem entirely. The gun-carrying system and waist pockets with ammo holders are genuinely useful additions rather than marketing features. For someone who covers ground constantly and never needs to wait, the extra weight is harder to justify.

Wide fit in the correct length, rather than sizing up, is how these are meant to work. The construction is wider through the forefoot and toe box while maintaining the right heel fit. Sizing up in standard boots to accommodate wide feet creates heel slip and toe bang on descents. If you've been doing that for years, the wide-fit versions will feel immediately different in the right way from the first outing.

Down to around 5°C on its own, yes. Below that, it works best as a mid-layer under the 5WL or 6OL. The Synertech merino-bamboo blend handles the transition from a hard active approach to standing still better than a standard fleece manages, which is what makes it useful specifically for deer work, where exertion and inactivity happen in the same outing.

The boot discounts are the standout. Both the Aerogel 2.0 and Dryhunt 2.0 are reduced significantly from their regular prices, and at that performance level, the saving is meaningful. The 5WL jacket and trousers represent solid value at current prices for fully waterproof hunting-specific construction. Whether the timing matters less than whether the product suits what you actually hunt.