ThruDark and Musto Unite to Launch Nautikos, the Most Technically Advanced Offshore Collection in Musto’s History
British performance pioneers pair six decades of ocean racing pedigree with Special Forces-tested design, debuting Dyneema® reinforcement on a Musto range for the first time
LONDON – Oct. 26, 2026 – ThruDark, the British performance apparel brand founded by former UK Special Forces operators, and Musto, the world’s leading performance sailing brand, today announced Nautikos, a collaborative offshore collection built to endure the most extreme conditions at sea. Pairing Musto’s GORE-TEX® PRO™ shell technology with ThruDark’s uncompromising design detailing, Nautikos is the most technically advanced offshore range in Musto’s history.
The sea is familiar territory for ThruDark’s co-founders. As Royal Marines Commandos turned Special Boat Service operators, they spent decades operating beneath dark skies and even darker waters before channeling that experience into high-performance clothing built for mountains, desert, jungle and ice. Musto’s story is rooted in Olympic sailing: founder Keith Musto, a silver medalist at the 1964 Tokyo Games, helped redefine the sport in the 1960s, and for nearly 60 years the British brand has set the standard on the high seas.
Water softens, dissolves and erodes, but for both brands it has the opposite effect. The sea is the most merciless proving ground there is: master your craft here, and you can do it anywhere.
New Territory, Same Standard
While offshore racing is a new product category for ThruDark, the brand brought its eye for detail and emphasis on uncompromising design to complement Musto’s existing pedigree. The result is what Musto calls its most durable range ever.
Building on Musto’s use of GORE-TEX® PRO™, ThruDark added Dyneema® – the world’s strongest fiber, 15 times stronger than steel at equivalent weight – to create high-endurance waterproof jackets and bib pants. It marks the first time Dyneema® has been used on a Musto range, reinforcing the seat, elbows, knees and hem to protect the highest-wear zones of foul-weather gear. A removable, modular pocket system allows storage to move effortlessly between layers, while D3O® knee pads deliver class-leading impact protection and photoluminescent reflectors provide high visibility in low light and storms.
“We are meticulous in our choice of partners, and Musto has long stood out to us for its proud British heritage and leading technical performance,” said Louis Tinsley, ThruDark co-founder. “For Musto, that means decades of experience on the water; for us, that means decades of experience in and under it. We’ve taken the best of what Musto does and made it as durable as possible using stronger-than-steel Dyneema® reinforcements and design techniques honed by our diverse, real-world experiences.”
“This collaboration made complete sense from the moment we started talking,” said Nick Houchin, marketing director at Musto. “ThruDark brings a Special Forces background that demands exactly the same things we do – kit that works without compromise in the most extreme conditions. Function and style shouldn’t be a trade-off, and with Nautikos, they’re not.”
Professional offshore sailor Will Harris was part of the test team for the collection. “For me, the Dyneema reinforcement is the standout,” Harris said. “When you’re offshore, you’re constantly on your hands and knees, bashing into things. Having that next level of protection at the elbows, shoulders and seat is exactly what we need. And the modular pocket system means you can clip everything on and know it’s with you before you leave the cockpit. It’s Musto in stealth mode.”
The Nautikos Collection
Outerwear: The Nautikos GTX Jacket (£1,500 / $TBC) and Nautikos GTX Trousers (£1,200 / $TBC) form the hard-weather shell of the system, constructed with GORE-TEX® PRO™ for sustained severe-weather offshore use. The Nautikos Trident GTX Jacket (£450 / $TBC) and matching Trident GTX Trousers (£450 / $TBC) extend the system into modular layering, built for variable conditions between passages.
Mid-Layer: The Nautikos Stormfleece (£225 / $TBC) provides core thermal retention and serves as the system’s insulating bridge between shell and base.
Base Layer: The Nautikos T-Shirt (£70 / $TBC) is built on S.Café® fabric technology, a process that infuses fibers with used coffee grounds to deliver UPF 50+ sun protection without chemical treatment. It is quick-drying, durable and expedition-ready for extended time on the water.
Headwear: The Nautikos Cap (£70 / $TBC) takes Musto’s proven waterproof MPX construction and elevates it with ThruDark’s custom reflective camo artwork across the peak and rear panel. Fleece-lined at the collar with the same triangle fleece used in the Nautikos GTX Jacket, it is engineered for visibility in low light without conceding a single detail to aesthetics over function.
Nautikos is available now at Musto.com and ThruDark.com. High-resolution images are available here.
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About ThruDark
ThruDark is a high performance clothing brand founded by former UK Special Forces operators Anthony “Staz” Stazicker CGC and Louis Tinsley. The British brand launched in 2018 with a bespoke summit suit that broke world mountaineering records before launching a limited range of cold weather expedition gear. Since that time, ThruDark’s outerwear offering has expanded to include the latest in activewear innovation, hot weather clothing, combat sports attire and premium apparel alongside its continued development in the world of winter wear. All of ThruDark’s technical products are tested personally in real world conditions by its founders, using their combined 28 years of military experience. For more information, visit www.thrudark.com.
About Musto
Musto is the world’s leading performance sailing brand, founded in 1964 by Olympic sailor and engineer Keith Musto following his silver medal in the Flying Dutchman class at the Tokyo Games. Six decades on, the London-based brand remains the benchmark for technical sailing apparel, worn by the British Sailing Team, the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, Clipper Round the World Race crews and the best ocean racing sailors in the world. In 1994, Musto became the first sailing brand in the world to partner with GORE-TEX®, a standard the brand has built on ever since. Musto’s product range spans ocean offshore racing, inshore and dinghy sailing, performance lifestyle and countrywear engineered to perform in life’s extremes. For more information, visit www.musto.com.
