Have you noticed the ACG logo on the chests of Team USA athletes on the podium at the Winter Games?
Nike’s ACG, short for All Conditions Gear, is getting a refresh and a recommitment in 2026. While the brand never officially went dark, it has undergone several transition periods. This included a shift toward becoming a lifestyle brand as “gorpcore” took hold. Dictionary.com defines the trend as wearing practical outdoor clothing as stylish urban outfits, but in 2026, ACG is recommitting to its outdoor roots.
What better place to reintroduce an outdoor brand than the Italian Alps during the Winter Olympics? As Team USA racks up more medals, more people are noticing the logo opposite the Team USA crest.
Nike unveiled the Team USA collection on Jan. 28 ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics and reintroduced the outdoor brand on Feb. 2.
According to data from analytics firm PeakMetrics shared with Business Insider, conversations on X mentioning “ACG” and the “Olympics” increased 273% between Jan. 30 and the Feb. 6 opening ceremony in Milan. Google searches for “Nike ACG” also spiked during the first week of February, according to Google Trends.
“This is a defining moment in ACG’s history — a recommitment to all conditions and an invitation to athletes: unplug, get outside and explore," Scott LeClair, vice president and general manager of ACG said in a statement. “ACG has the foundation to shape the future of outdoor performance while pushing into spaces that feel fresh and unexpected. It is going to be a fun ride.”
What is ACG?
According to the brand, ACG is dedicated to outdoor-performance “for all athletes who seek the challenge, adventure and connection of thriving in the wild.”
The brand has been around for nearly four decades. Its 2026 reintroduction marks the company’s renewed focus on technical gear for athletes.
ACG’s history
What began as a goodwill gift to a pair of hikers climbing K2 sparked the creation of an innovative hiking shoe.
As Nike tells it, the company gifted Rick Ridgeway and John Roskelley each a pair of the Long Distance Vector, the brand’s top long-distance running shoe at the time.
“What was really cool about those LDVs is that you need to hop around on rocks. This was a rough hike so you could boulder hop. They breathed better. They were functionally superior to the more rigid traditional trekking shoe,” Ridgeway told Nike.
The climbers wore those shoes through their whole climb, but by the time they returned, the shoes were in bad shape.
So, the duo sent feedback to Nike on how to make the shoe more durable for mountain terrain. This became the catalyst for the category. In 1987, after several rounds of trial and error, Nike formed a team to officially start its outdoor efforts. ACG officially launched its business plan in 1989.
In 2026, Nike is moving away from the “lifestyle” label and returning to the “functional” aspect that defined the brand in the early 1990s.