Best Waterproof Overtrousers for Walking UK

The best waterproof trousers are usually the pair you forgot were in your bag until Britain remembered it was Britain.

For most walks, we would rather wear comfortable quick-drying trousers and carry waterproof overtrousers than spend the entire day inside a membrane. Overtrousers are less glamorous, but they solve the exact problem: rain has stopped being theoretical and your normal trousers are about three minutes from becoming a wet flannel.

This guide is for proper UK walking rather than commuting. We want something that can live in a backpack, go over walking trousers and boots without a wrestling match, and keep doing its job when rain turns persistent.

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1. Berghaus Deluge 2.0: Best Overall

The Deluge 2.0 is not the lightest waterproof trouser and not the cleverest. It is the one we’d be happiest throwing into a bag before a wet Lake District day and forgetting about until required.

Berghaus uses its Hydroshell fabric, and the big practical advantage is the long side opening. That makes getting them over muddy boots much easier than cheap overtrousers with tiny ankle zips, where the final ten minutes before a downpour are spent hopping around on one leg while swearing at waterproof fabric.

Independent walking tests have also consistently rated the Deluge 2.0 as a strong mid-range choice for serious day hikes. The trade-off is pack size: at around the mid-300g mark depending on size, they’re heavier and bulkier than ultralight shells.

For typical UK walking, we think that compromise is fine. Reliability beats saving 100g if the rain is actually coming sideways.

2. Quechua MH500 Waterproof Overtrousers: Best Value

Decathlon’s MH500 waterproof overtrousers were £39.99 when we checked, placing them in a very useful middle ground: cheap enough to buy as backup, but designed for proper hiking rather than being a disposable emergency layer.

They are lightweight, waterproof and intended to go over hiking trousers. Customer feedback is particularly positive about being able to get them on over boots, which is one of those details that sounds boring until you’re standing in a field while the rain moves horizontally.

This is the pair we’d look at if £80 for the Berghaus feels unnecessary but you still walk often enough that the £15 bargain option might eventually irritate you.

3. Quechua NH500 Imper: Best Cheap Emergency Pair

At £14.99 when checked, the NH500 Imper is the sort of product that makes sense even if you only use it twice a year.

This is not what we’d choose for regular mountain days in awful weather. It is what we’d choose for the person who currently owns no waterproof trousers because spending £80 on something that lives in a backpack feels offensive.

For local walks, holidays, festivals, easy routes or keeping in the car, the price is difficult to argue with. It gives you an actual waterproof barrier without turning the purchase itself into a financial weather event.

The main compromise at this level is usually breathability and refinement. Cheap waterproof layers can get clammy once you’re working hard. For occasional use, that may not matter very much.

4. Craghoppers Kiwi Pro II Waterproof: Best Wear-All-Day Option

This one is slightly different. The Kiwi Pro II Waterproof is a proper walking trouser with a waterproof membrane, rather than an overtrouser you carry separately.

Craghoppers gives it a 15,000mm waterproof rating and 10,000g/m²/24hr breathability rating, with stretch, zipped pockets and a soft lining. For people who know the entire day will be wet, that can be more comfortable than wearing two separate layers.

The downside is exactly why we normally prefer overtrousers: on a dry or mild section of the walk, you cannot take the membrane off and stuff it in your bag. You’re wearing waterproof trousers whether you need them at that moment or not.

Overtrousers or Waterproof Walking Trousers?

• Overtrousers: best for changeable weather, backpacking and carrying as insurance
• Waterproof walking trousers: best when you expect to spend most of the day in wet conditions
• Softshell trousers: best when it’s cool and breezy but not genuinely wet
• Jeans: best when you have misunderstood the assignment

How Waterproof Do They Need to Be?

For walking, construction matters as much as a headline waterproof number. Sealed seams, sensible zips and a fit that doesn’t pull tight over the knees are all important.

You also need enough room to wear them over the trousers underneath. Too tight and movement becomes irritating. Too loose and you’ll spend the entire route producing the sound of a crisp packet being carried down a staircase.

Side Zips Matter More Than You Think

If you wear walking boots, long side or ankle zips are extremely useful. Ideally you want to pull the overtrousers on without taking your boots off.

Removing muddy boots in heavy rain so that you can put waterproof trousers on is one of outdoor life’s more beautifully designed circular problems.

This is why the Berghaus Deluge’s long openings and the Decathlon MH500’s boot-friendly design matter more to us than a lot of technical brochure language.

Breathability: The Unavoidable Compromise

No waterproof trouser is as breathable as not wearing waterproof trousers.

That sounds obvious, but it is the reason we don’t recommend putting them on at the first grey cloud. If you’re climbing hard, you generate a surprising amount of moisture from inside. A waterproof layer has to balance keeping rain out with letting some of that escape.

Premium membranes generally do this better, but there is no magic fabric that makes uphill walking in waterproof trousers feel like linen shorts.

What We’d Buy

For regular UK day walking, we’d buy the Berghaus Deluge 2.0 if the budget allows. It is robust, easy to use and proven enough that we don’t feel the need to make waterproof trousers more complicated than they already are.

For value, the Decathlon MH500 is the interesting one. £39.99 is a sensible price for a real hiking shell, especially if it spends most of its life in the bag.

And if you’re only trying to stop yourself getting soaked on a handful of easy walks each year, buy the cheap NH500, keep it packed, and enjoy the smugness of having remembered it when everyone else didn’t.

FAQs

For the trousers underneath, see our best walking trousers UK guide, our budget picks under £50, or the Kiwi Pro II review.