Nikwax: care for your outdoor gear instead of throwing it away, new at SportFits

For almost 50 years, British brand Nikwax has been producing care and waterproofing products for outdoor gear. From the very beginning, it has avoided something that was long standard in the industry: fluorochemicals (PFAS/PFCs), aerosols and solvents. Instead, Nikwax consistently uses water-based formulations that care for technical clothing, footwear and gear without harming people or the environment.

In 1977, Nick Brown was 22 and had a problem: his leather mountaineering boots were getting wet. So he mixed his own waterproofing wax in the kitchen, one that worked without damaging the leather. Nikwax grew from that single wax.

Over the following decades, Brown continued to develop the range, moving from leather waxes to water-based waterproofing and cleaning products for textiles, membranes and gear. He always remained true to the founding principle that still shapes the company today: no fluorochemicals, no solvents, no aerosols. Long before PFAS entered public debate, Nikwax had already removed them from its entire range.

Brown deliberately kept the company privately owned, without shareholders or pressure for short-term profits. In 2017, Nikwax went a step further, becoming the first outdoor company to account for all of its CO₂ emissions since its founding and fully offset them through forest conservation projects run by the World Land Trust.

Nikwax follows a simple principle: clean first, then reproof. Dirt and detergent residues are often why a jacket or shoe no longer repels water. It is not because the membrane is damaged, but because the surface is clogged. Washing with the right product is often enough to restore water repellency.