Scoop - New Berghaus Extrem Packs

Scoop news from Berghaus who are re-designing their range of Extrem rucksacs for autumn/winter 2003 next month with three brand new packs and a series of improvements across the line ...

Yep, that's right, autumn is in May, but it means the revamped range will be around in time for this summer, so if you're in the market for a new mountain pack, you might want to hold your horses - and credit cards - for a few weeks.

There are detailed improvements to the 80-litre Expedition sac and to the ultra-lightweight Slipstream assault sac plus three completely new packs:

? The Crag - a 45+10 litre general climbing sac
? The Ski Tour - a 45+10 litre pack aimed specifically at ski mountaineers
? The Arete - a 'no frills' 35-litre day sac priced at a very attractive £40.

We popped over to Berghaus last week for a firsthand look at the new packs - we also checked out the full autumn / winter clothing range, but more of that later this week.

Described by Berghaus as 'the ultimate climbing sac', the Crag is a 45+10 litre pack aimed at, erm, climbers and an interesting exercise in having your cake and eating it...

We say that because while the complete weight is a quoted at 1650 grammes, you can do a serious crash diet gig with it, losing any or all of the lid, hip-belt, chest strap and an internal back plate to take the weight right down to a claimed 920 grammes and still have a fully functioning climbing sac.

Some 316 of those grammes are down to something called the 'Verteplate', a malleable internal back plate that you can bend to your back shape for comfort and support.

On top of that there's pretty much all the features you'd expect from a top notch cragging / mountaineering pack. The fabric is a mix of abrasion resistant Cordura 700D and a new T2Dura material, which is as durable as 1000D Cordura, but an impressive 40 per-cent lighter.

The semi-adjustable back system uses a smooth, non-mesh, construction to prevent snow from building up on it, there are compression straps, ice axe holders, twin haul loops, wand pockets and something called the 'Lighthouse reflective feature' - a panel of, well, reflective material. There's also an ocipetal cavity to allow free upward-looking head manouevres.

We particularly like the four integral gear loops - two on the removable hip belt and two on the front of the shoulder straps - they're 'stand proud', ie, erm, rigid, making for easy clipping. Looks like an interesting entry into the technical pack punch-up...

The same capacity as the Crag, the Ski Tour is aimed predictably at ski mountaineers and hut to hut tourers. It uses the same Fusion Pro back system as its climbing cousin and can similarly be stripped down from a normal weight of 1750 grammes to 1250 grammes.

Fabrics too are the same and you get most of the Crag's features, but the chaps with planks on their feet get special gubbinses to keep them happy including ski patches and an easy access compartment on the back of the pack called the 'Hardware Hopper' for storage of stuff like avalanche probes and lightweight shovels.

The sac is a direct replacement for the current Extrem Guide, so you may find a few of those going cheap at the moment.

The final new sac in the range is the no frills, 35-litre Arete and we reckon you could be seeing a lot of these in the hills. It's a simple 1000-gramme sac at a good price designed for cragging and rock routes. It uses wear-resistant Esdura 600RS polyester fabric, fastens with a single buckle and has pretty much all the features you're likely to need.

These include four gear loops, two-point haul loop, side compression straps, ice axe holders and crampon attachment. There's also a smooth-faced Fusion back system. Not as highly specced as the other sacs in the range, but it looks interesting and it's only 40 quid.

In addition to the new packs above, the existing 80-litre Expedition and the lightweight summit-assault Slipstream both get overhauls for this autumn - though like the new packs, they'll be released in May.

The Expedition (£130) gets the new T2Dura fabric and 'Lighthouse' reflective features as well as a non-mesh back sytem, while the Slipstream (£60) also benefits from the new fabric. Incidentally it's not quite a light as before, but, say Berghaus, is more durable.