Kathmandu has upgraded its UPF 50+ clothing range for summer 2026, positioning sun-protective apparel as an essential alongside sunscreen, hats and sunglasses as Australia heads into the warmer months.
New additions cover pants, shorts and tops. Trailhead bottoms styles use lightweight, quick-drying stretch fabric made with 94 per cent recycled material, with the tops covering short-sleeve, long-sleeve and hooded designs, with some of these using carbon-recycled material.
UPF, or Ultraviolet Protection Factor, measures how much UV radiation a fabric lets through to the skin. UPF 50+ is the highest rating for clothing, which blocks 98.2 per cent of UV rays according to Kathmandu.
“We’ve been building UPF 50+ protection into our fabrics for more than 25 years,” Kathmandu head of commercial innovation and materials Chad Leeder said.
“As a brand that urges people to spend time outdoors for all its benefits, it’s important that we help protect people when out there too. Sun protection through UPF 50+ clothing and accessories continues to be a long-term priority for Kathmandu and a strong focus area for fabric and product innovation.”
The launch comes as El Niño builds to near-record strength. The Bureau of Meteorology’s latest data shows the weekly relative Niño3.4 index at +2.81°C, the highest in its weekly records dating back to 2008, with models forecasting tropical Pacific warmth to peak around November or December and persist into autumn 2027.
However, the bureau cautioned that a strong El Niño signal does not necessarily mean strong impacts on Australian rainfall and temperature, as it is only one of several factors influencing the country’s seasonal climate.
Kathmandu reported that its UPF fabrics were independently tested by accredited laboratories, including SGS and Intertek, to Australian Standard AS 4399:2020, with its product development team also designing garments to meet the standard’s body coverage requirements.
The brand added that most of its UPF 50+ garments achieved their protection through fabric construction rather than added chemical treatments.
The UPF 50+ styles are available online and in store across the Trailhead, SUN-Stopper, Ridge and XT Series ranges.
The summer push follows a full year in which warm weather weighed on the brand. In its FY26 results, parent company KMD Brands shared that Kathmandu’s fourth-quarter gross margin was impacted by an unseasonably warm winter on Australia’s east coast.
Kathmandu lifted sales 11.1 per cent to NZ$402.3 million for the year ended July 31, despite operating four fewer stores. Same-store sales, including online, rose 8.2 per cent, while online sales grew 9.6 per cent to NZ$57.1 million. Underlying EBITDA swung to NZ$16.1 million from a NZ$1.3 million loss.
KMD Brands reported that Kathmandu’s momentum had continued into the new financial year, with same-store sales up 7.4 per cent in the first seven weeks, and that it expected further growth driven by seasonally relevant product flow.
The group, which also owns Rip Curl and Oboz, posted a statutory net loss of NZ$414.4 million for FY26, including a NZ$462.7 million impairment, of which NZ$147.5 million related to Kathmandu. Its board noted it was continuing preliminary discussions with a small number of parties that had made approaches about the business.