With many new people “heading to the hills” to find clear air as well as improve their overall mental and physical fitness hiking is becoming a pastime of choice.
While gear for those first hikes might not be a consideration for newcomers, once hiking becomes a part of their life it is time to make some sensible choices about the gear they are wearing and taking with them.
A consideration of the pros and cons of what to wear has likely included a question of “Where is it made?” Normally this is a matter of a quality decision, however, with so many fellow countrymen and women being out of work or experiencing business downturns the rating of the importance of buying local has increased.
Also, with the pandemic causing international freight delays, “Buying local” affects delivery time as well as after sales service and warranty performance.
We thus thought it useful to capture a list of Australian and New Zealand made hiking related products. The description of country of manufacture does not reflect the fact that these companies may also sell in other countries. Eg Aussie made ArmaSkin has local resellers in USA, UK, Europe.
This list of 50 companies/products is derived from a desktop review of websites including a very helpful blog from Hike Australia and New Zealand. Some manufacturers may be getting part of their products or range made offshore. We may have missed some local manufacturers who just did not come to our notice. By including a company on the list, we are not attesting to their quality.
The list provides Company Name which has a live link to each website, their Location plus a short product description.
We welcome corrections or additions to our list as we will be updating this blog post from time to time.
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COMPANY |
MADE IN |
PRODUCTS |
New Zealand |
Back packs |
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New Zealand |
Freeze dried meals for the trails. |
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Australia |
Lightweight hiking chair |
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Australia |
Makers of a range of freeze-dried meals. |
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Australia |
Anti-blister liner socks, nutrition carriers, anti-chaff merino base layer |
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New Zealand |
Lightweight freeze-dry food |
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Australia |
Merino Outdoor Clothing & Accessories. |
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New Zealand |
Clothing, packs and bags, and a range of bike accessories. |
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Australia |
Hiking food that is lightweight, nutritious, and tasty using local ingredients. |
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New Zealand |
A wide range of jackets, tops, and other clothing items aimed at serious hikers |
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New Zealand |
Ultra-lightweight packs, pouches, and bags. |
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Australia |
Lightweight food brand |
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Australia |
Healthy freeze-dried hiking fruit and snacks. |
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Australia |
Hard copy hiking magazine |
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Australia |
Cooking equipment and accessories. |
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New Zealand |
Packs of all kinds including for hunting, tramping, expeditions etc |
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Australia |
Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) |
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Australia |
Merino wool socks, beanies and alpaca scarves |
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New Zealand |
Vegan dehydrated tramping meals |
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Australia |
Mongrel Boots are made for industry but may suit some hikers. |
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Australia |
Hard-wearing clothing with hunting being a focus. |
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Australia |
Wide range of gear and selling it and other peoples' gear in their own shops. |
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New Zealand |
Merino wool socks, beanies and wind breakers. |
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Australia |
Gourmet Meals for The outdoors- Real Food not dehydrated. |
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Australia |
Ultra-durable backpacks and quality sleeping bags, Products that are made in Australia are clearly labelled. |
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Australia |
Ultralight backpacks and daypacks for your city hiking and bushwalking adventures in nature. |
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Australia |
Merino wool t-shirt |
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Australia |
Backpacks, bags, and pouches with a hunting rather than hiking focus. |
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Australia |
Paddy Pallin shops (franchises) sell a full range of hiking gear. The 'Paddy-Made' gear is made by the background Paddy Pallin company, but they handle a huge range of other brands as well. |
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Australia |
Qualitops makes a range of clothing, including t shirts, vests, skivvies and safety gear. |
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New Zealand |
Nutritional freeze dry food. |
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Australia |
Repair gear such as packs, tents, sleeping bags, down clothing, rainwear and other minor items. |
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Australia |
Shoelace locks |
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Australia |
Merino clothing |
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Australia |
A range of dehydrated ingredients to cook a fresh meal with full flavours. |
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Australia |
Rugged backpacks and daypacks |
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New Zealand |
High performance, technical clothing and gear. Some gear is made in NZ; other products are made elsewhere. |
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Australia |
Tarps, bags, pouches, quilts, and a range of bike packing accessories. |
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Australia |
Innovative hiking trailer |
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Australia |
Hiking and camping gear from down quilts to hammocks to tarps. |
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Australia |
Hiking Guides and Checklists |
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Australia |
Merino wool for hot spot and blister prevention |
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New Zealand |
Gaiters, chaps, belts, packs and pouches as well as tactical style stuff. They also offer a repair service. |
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Australia |
Ultralight dry bags, pouches, and wallets |
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New Zealand |
Down jackets and vests. |
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Australia |
Hard copy hiking magazine |
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Australia |
Lightweight outdoor gear. |
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Australia |
Large range of clothing and socks made of merino wool and merino wool blends. |
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New Zealand |
Canvas gaiters. |
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Australia |
Snowshoes |
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New Zealand |
Colourful leggings and activewear. |