New this year, the Craghoppers Kiwi Pro Cargo trousers are simple, affordable and functional hillwalking trousers offering solid all-round performance at £55.
Made from a 96% recycled polyamide and 4% elastane blend, they’re comfortable, robust and only slightly stretchy – less so than higher-end rivals such as the INOV8 Venture Pan, for example.
The fabric incorporates Craghoppers’ H2OShield plant-based water repellent, SolarShield UPF50+ UV protection and NosiDefence insect barrier technologies, making them practical for everyday outdoor use.
They feel traditional rather than technical, but dependable and hard-wearing.
The fit is true to size, with a men’s 32” regular (400g) offering a balanced cut that’s neither tight nor baggy.
The waistband is slightly elasticated, with six belt loops, a zippered fly and button closure.
LFTO/Tom BaileyPros
- Superb value for money
- 5 pockets
- Comfortable fit
- Competent all-round performance
- Good size range including short and long leg lengths
- Feel robust
Cons
- No ankle adjustment
- No belt included
- Some hardware feels a little basic
- Can’t compete with Decathlon on price
- A little heavy
- Cargo pockets not big enough for OS map
- Not the stretchiest
| RRP: | £55/$75 |
| Men’s sizes: | 30”-42” |
| Women’s sizes: | 8-24 |
| Leg lengths: | Short, regular, long |
| Weight: | 400g/14.1oz (men’s 32” regular) |
Five pockets provide good storage: two zippered hand pockets, one rear zip pocket and two side cargo pockets with press-stud flaps, though the latter aren’t deep enough to fully enclose an OS map.
The trousers are available in short, regular and long leg lengths, offering a broad range of fit options.
Overall performance is competent rather than exceptional.
The Kiwi Pro Cargo feels more traditional and less athletic than some modern designs, but for most hillwalkers it delivers comfort, practicality and excellent value for money, scoring positively across all metrics.
Design and fabrics
These simple, no-nonsense trousers are good all-rounders at an affordable price of just £55.
They aren’t ever spectacular and you won’t find yourself getting too excited about them, but they quietly achieve almost everything you need from a pair of hillwalking trousers at a sensible cost.
Out on the hill, they feel comfortable and the fit works well in my experience.
©LFTO/Tom Bailey
New for 2025, the Craghoppers Kiwi Pro Cargo trousers are made from a blend of 96% recycled polyamide and 4% elastane.
That small percentage of elastane gives the fabric a touch of stretch, but not nearly as much as many competitors.
In fact, of the several pairs we’ve tested recently, this is the lowest elastane content.
The Decathlon Simond MT500 Durable Trekking Trousers use 12–15% elastane in different zones, the INOV8 Venture Pant includes 12% and the Keela Peru has 7%.
As a result, the Craghoppers aren’t particularly stretchy, and they lack the athletic, dynamic feel of more modern designs.
For some hikers, that will be a deal-breaker. For others, it won’t really matter.
Ultimately, this design and fabric choice gives the Kiwi Pro Cargo a more traditional, slightly stiffer and straighter feel.
They’re not especially progressive or fashion-forward, but they have that classic Craghoppers DNA – simple, reliable and functional.
The Kiwi range has been a big seller for years, and with good reason.
At Trail magazine and Live For The Outdoors, we previously rated the Craghoppers Kiwi Pro II 80% in 2023, while the winter-ready Kiwi Pro III Thermo also earned an 80% score in our 2025 winter trousers group test.
Our overall view of the Kiwi range remains consistent: it’s a solid performer and a dependable choice; nothing too exceptional, but functional performance at a sensible price.
©LFTO/Tom Bailey
There are a few other things to note about the fabrics and materials.
The pocket bags and trims are made from a different fabric, consisting of 65% recycled polyester and 35% cotton, while across the seat and knees you get a double layer of the main polyamide-elastane fabric for added durability.
Heel tape reinforcements at the ankle cuffs also increase the robustness of these trousers.
If you face inclement weather while wearing these trousers, the main polyamide-elastane fabric is also packed with several of Craghoppers’ signature technologies, designed to enhance practicality and everyday outdoor performance.
The material features H2OShield, a plant-based water-repellent finish that’s bonded onto the fabric from a renewable source, helping rain bead and roll off rather than soak in.
There’s also SolarShield technology, which has been tried and tested to provide UPF 30–50+ protection from harmful UV rays – useful for long summer days out in the hills.
In addition, the fabric incorporates NosiDefence, a tightly woven construction that forms a robust barrier too tough for insects such as mosquitoes to penetrate.
Altogether, these technologies combine to create a UPF 50+ sun-protective, insect bite-resistant, stretch fabric that’s durable and water-repellent thanks to the H2OShield finish – making for a practical, all-round pair of trousers for everyday outdoor use.
In my opinion these technologies give you a nice dose of reassuring ruggedness, robustness and weather protection, but ultimately they are only useful for light downpours.
When the rain gets heavy, you’ll definitely need to pull on a pair of waterproof overtrousers for full protection.
Fit and comfort
I’m 68 kg and 178 cm tall, with a slim and athletic build, and I tested the Kiwi Pro Cargo trousers in my usual size – a men’s 32-inch waist with a regular leg. The fit was absolutely fine for me, and in my opinion, these trousers run true to size.
During my test hikes around my home in northern Cumbria during October, I found them perfectly comfortable.
They didn’t feel especially agile or athletic, as discussed earlier, but the cut and articulation were good, and they moved well enough during typical hillwalking activity.
Craghoppers describes the cut as an “active fit”, but it feels more traditional to me compared to many other brands.
©LFTO/Tom Bailey
The waistband fit me well without the need for a belt, and the leg length and volume were both spot-on.
I’d describe the overall fit as a well-judged middle ground – there’s a touch of extra roominess for comfort, but they’re neither baggy nor restrictively tight. It’s a nice, practical balance that feels right for general walking use.
Generally, I didn’t really notice or think about the trousers while wearing them, which is usually a good sign in terms of fit and comfort.
The only minor niggle for me was that the fit around the backside felt (possibly) a tiny bit tight where the seam runs from the coccyx to the gusset.
That might just be a quirk of my own body shape – I’ve got fairly well-defined glutes from marathon running – but it’s worth mentioning in case others find the same.
The Kiwi Pro Cargo trousers weigh 400g in a men’s 32” regular, which is pretty average and mid-range for this price bracket. It’s nothing excessively heavy, but they’re certainly not ultralight either.
For comparison, the Keela Peru trousers come in at 331g and the Inov8 Venture Pant at 391g.
A few grams here and there isn’t something you’ll notice while hiking, but if you choose an ultralight pair like the Arc’teryx Incendo Pant (171g in a men’s small), the difference in weight and feel compared to the Craghoppers is immediately obvious.
It’s also great to see Craghoppers offering such a broad size range, with short, regular and long leg length options.
This means hikers can choose a more bespoke fit to suit their individual body shape, which is a real positive at this affordable price point.
Features: pockets, waistband and ankle cuffs
These trousers are not overly complicated or excessively feature-heavy. You don’t get a hybrid construction, there’s no included belt and there’s no ankle adjustment.
But overall, I’d say you get a fair and practical set of features for the affordable £55 price point, and I don’t have any major complaints.
The waistband is slightly stretchy, though not as elasticated as on some more performance-focused trousers, but the fit is pretty much spot on.
If you do need to tighten things up, there are six sturdy belt loops. The waistband closes with a simple plastic button and buttonhole slit above a zippered fly.
Some of these hardware components – such as the button and zipper – feel a little on the basic side, but that’s entirely reasonable given the price and positioning of the Kiwi Pro Cargo within the market.
©LFTO/Tom Bailey
In total, you get five pockets, offering a decent amount of storage.
There’s one zipered pocket at the rear, located on the right buttock, and two zipered handwarmer pockets at the front.
The angle and positioning of these front pockets make them better suited to securely holding small valuables than for actually resting your hands inside – though, realistically, how often do you actually do that while hiking?
The signature features, however, are the two cargo-style pockets on the sides of each leg. These give the trousers both their product name and their distinctive look within the Kiwi range.
Each pocket has a flap closure secured by two metallic press-stud buttons.
The pockets are generously sized, though not quite large enough to fully enclose a waterproof OS map – the width is fine, but the depth isn’t sufficient to close the flap when a map is inside.
That might be a minor inconvenience for traditional hillwalkers who like quick access to a paper map, but for most users, the layout is functional and practical.
Overall, the feature set feels balanced and fair for the price.
Price and performance
Craghoppers describe these new-for-2025 trousers as follows: “Everything you already love about Kiwi Pro – but in a classic cargo design. These technical trousers are made from UPF50+ sun-protective, insect bite-resistant stretch fabric, making them lightweight, durable and water-repellent – thanks to the H2OShield finish. Practical, agile trousers for the everyday outdoors.”
©LFTO/Tom Bailey
In my view, the Kiwi Pro range remains a safe bet – solid, functional performance that ticks most of the boxes at a very fair price.
Of course, the performance and comfort aren’t as technical or refined as you’ll find in pricier trousers in the £100+ bracket, but for general hillwalking, these do the job perfectly well.
They feel a touch more traditional and less athletic than some of the more modern, high-stretch designs out there, but for the vast majority of hillwalkers that won’t be an issue. They’re dependable, practical and sensibly priced.
Perhaps the more relevant question is which pair from the Kiwi range to go for?
The standard Kiwi trousers (£35) are the cheapest option, but also the most basic. The Kiwi Pro III trousers are an excellent middle-ground choice at £45.
This new Kiwi Pro Cargo version adds two side cargo pockets for an extra £10, bringing the total to £55. If you’ll make regular use of those cargo pockets, the upgrade makes sense.
If not, you can save yourself a tenner and stick with the standard Kiwi Pro III – the overall performance is very similar.
Verdict
©LFTO/Tom Bailey
A solid all-rounder pair of trousers from Craghoppers’ reliable Kiwi range – but they aren’t the stretchiest.
About the author
©James Forrest
James Forrest writes regular features and route guides for Trail and has been one of our main gear testers for the last few years. James is based on the edge of the Lake District so when he isn’t off on his latest crazy adventure or challenge, he’s walking in his local fells.
