What Is Sizing Like at Craghoppers?

By Ella Blake – Fashion Stylist | Tellar Fashion Hub – Always honest, unbiased & unsponsored

Craghoppers sizing is generally true to size on most items, but — and this is an important but — it varies noticeably across garment types, and if you're a woman with a defined waist-to-hip ratio, you'll want to check your measurements before clicking buy. I've been recommending Craghoppers to clients for years, particularly for travel and countryside walking, and the one thing I always say is: brilliant brand, just check the specifics before you order. Let me walk you through exactly what to expect.

The Craghoppers Brand: What You're Actually Buying Into

First, a bit of context. Craghoppers has been a British outdoor clothing institution since 1965 — which, if you've ever been caught in a downpour on a Scottish hillside or sweating through an August hike in the Lake District, you'll know is no bad thing. They specialise in technical outdoor clothing: waterproof jackets, insect-repellent trousers (their NosiLife range has an almost cult following), fleeces, and travel-ready basics that are far more stylish than they used to be.

This is important for sizing because outdoor clothing is designed with a specific purpose. Craghoppers garments are cut with movement and layering in mind — meaning the fit philosophy is quite different from a fashion brand. That's not a criticism; it's just useful to know so you're not surprised when a jacket feels roomier than your usual size 12.

Jackets and Waterproofs: Size Down if You're Between Sizes

This is where I'd urge the most caution. Craghoppers waterproof jackets and heavier outer layers are cut with layering underneath in mind, so they tend to sit on the generous side — particularly through the chest and shoulders. Customer reviews back this up: women who ordered two sizes to try found the smaller one fitted perfectly, having assumed they'd need the larger.

My advice:

If you're between two sizes in jackets, go down — you want a fit that still allows a midlayer underneath, not one that swamps you
If you're buying purely for mild weather or layering over just a base layer, definitely size down
The women's jackets can cut narrower through the hip, so if you carry more weight there, check the hip measurement in the size guide carefully
Waterproof trousers also tend to run slightly generous — comfortable for moving, but worth measuring your waist before ordering

Trousers: True to Size — But Measure Your Waist in Inches

Here's a genuinely useful quirk: Craghoppers lists trouser waist sizes in inches as well as UK sizes, which is a gift when you're trying to be precise. Their trousers — including the legendary NosiLife range and the Kiwi walking trousers — are generally true to size, and the waist measurement is accurate. Where it gets trickier is if you have a more pronounced hip-to-waist difference. Several customers (and a couple of my own clients) have found the waistband fits perfectly but the hips and thighs are snug, because Craghoppers tends to cut a relatively straight leg.

The stretch fabrics in the newer ranges help enormously with this — anything with elastane in the fabric composition is considerably more forgiving, and I'd always steer curvier clients towards those styles specifically.

NosiLife trousers: True to size — measure your waist in inches to be precise
Kiwi walking trousers: True to size, but slightly straight-cut — if you have fuller thighs, check the hip measurement too
Stretch trousers (elastane blends): More forgiving — these are my go-to recommendation for curvier frames

Fleeces and Midlayers: Go True to Size, or Size Down for a Neater Fit

Craghoppers fleeces are cut with a relaxed, slightly boxy fit — which is perfect for layering under a jacket, but might feel voluminous if you're wearing it as a standalone piece and want something more shaped. My experience with clients is that women who want a neat, fitted look through the body consistently prefer to size down one in the fleece range. If you're buying it purely for layering warmth, go true to size and you'll have exactly the right amount of ease.

Women's Sizing Specifically: The Waist Issue

I'm going to be straight with you here because it's something that comes up repeatedly. Craghoppers' women's sizing can be slightly inconsistent in how it accounts for an hourglass shape. The brand is primarily designed for outdoor activity and function, and the women's cuts — while much improved in recent years — still tend to be cut for a more athletic, straighter figure rather than a pronounced waist and hip. This means:

Skirts and fitted tops can feel tight at the natural waist even when the bust and hip measurements match your size
Dresses are more relaxed and tend to be more forgiving
Always check both your bust AND waist measurement against the specific size guide for each garment — don't just go on your usual dress size

It's not a dealbreaker — especially since most Craghoppers women's pieces aren't particularly structured — but it's genuinely worth knowing before you order.

Brands Worth Knowing Alongside Craghoppers

If you love Craghoppers' practical outdoor approach but want a bit more variety in fit and style, these are the brands I'd point you towards. I've been recommending them to clients for years — some well-known, a couple you might not have come across:

Fat Face — A brilliant British outdoor-casual brand with a more relaxed, lifestyle-leaning aesthetic than Craghoppers. Their sizing is consistent and they do a particularly good job of cut for a fuller bust and hip. The fleeces and waterproof jackets are excellent quality for the price.
Seasalt Cornwall — One of my absolute favourites for practical-meets-stylish outdoor dressing. Seasalt's sizing is reliably true to size, the prints are beautiful, and their waterproof and thermal ranges are surprisingly impressive. They also fit a womanly figure very well — much better than many outdoor brands.
Joules — Perfect if you want the outdoorsy functionality without looking like you're about to summit a mountain. Joules sizing is consistent and generous through the hip, and their wellies and rain jackets have a genuine following for very good reason.
White Stuff — Comfortable, well-made, and designed with an actual adult woman's body in mind. Their outdoor and countryside pieces tend to sit beautifully on curvier frames, and the quality of fabric and finish puts them a step above fast fashion alternatives.
Barbour — The gold standard for British country dressing. Sizing runs true to size on most pieces but jackets are designed for layering, so follow the same advice as Craghoppers — check the measurements and consider sizing down if you're between sizes. Worth every penny for the quality.
Boden — Particularly worth considering if you want outdoor-adjacent styling that translates seamlessly to everyday wear. Boden's sizing is excellent and consistent, their knitwear and waterproof-casual jackets are great quality, and the prints and colours are far more interesting than most outdoor brands.
Lands' End — Hugely underrated for outdoor and practical dressing. Great size range, reliable fit, and genuinely good quality on their waterproof, fleece, and base layer pieces. Sizing is consistent and they're particularly good for petite and plus sizing.

And two independent brands I think deserve far more attention:

Finisterre — A Cornwall-based outdoor brand with a serious commitment to sustainability and a very strong women's range. Their sizing is accurate and their fit is far more considered for a feminine shape than most technical outdoor brands. The waterproof jackets and midlayers are exceptional quality, and the aesthetic is genuinely beautiful — think fewer beige zip-offs, more considered design. Worth every penny.
Passenger Clothing — A brilliant independent outdoor-lifestyle brand, again rooted in sustainability, with a relaxed and genuinely stylish take on outdoor dressing. Their sizing is true to size and the fit works well across a range of body shapes. If you want outdoor-appropriate clothes that don't look like you've raided an expedition equipment catalogue, Passenger is the answer.

Stop Guessing Craghoppers Sizes — Use Tellar

Outdoor clothing is one of the hardest categories to size online — the fit philosophy is completely different from fashion brands, and getting it wrong means a miserable walk or a soggy return parcel. That's exactly where Tellar.co.uk comes in. It's the UK's leading free sizing tool, matching your exact body measurements to over 1,500 brands instantly — including Craghoppers.

Here's how it works:

Measure once — your bust, waist, and hips. That's genuinely all you need.
Use the Store Size Lookup tool to get your precise size across any brand — Craghoppers, Barbour, Seasalt, Finisterre and 1,500+ more. No more size guides, no more returns roulette.
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The Tellar Fashion Hub is also home to hundreds of free, honest, unsponsored posts covering every brand and every style question you've ever had — written by real stylists with no brand deals or bias getting in the way.

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