Direct from Outdoor Preview - Berghaus gets into funky but functional footwear for spring next year, plus Bioflex and Freeflow pack systems both get a facelift.
Straight from the Outdoor Preview trade show in Harrogate last
week, here's a sneak peek at what's new from Berghaus for next
spring. This is kit that won't be in the shops until early 2007, so
don't go pestering your outdoor shop just yet...
Briefly, the north east-based gear giants have two main
developments; a snazzy new range of footwear and a refined Bioflex
back system for their backpacking sacs.
Footwear Goes Sporty
The new footwear range is a bit of a departure for Berghaus with a
whole range of multi-sports shoes based on a new 'sports-derived
last' which is claimed to combine 'the traits of a running shoe with
the additional support needed for more rugged terrain'. There are
shoes for trail runners, but also models specifically aimed at
mountain trekkers, including sandals.
The range has been driven forward by Berghaus footwear head,
Martin Jones, an ex-international athlete and winner of the World
Mountain Running Championship in 1992 and 1993.
The new shoes utilise biomechanical research and state of the art
engineering and add on funky styling. Innovations include Opti
Stud (below) - a new sole grip pattern featuring supported knobs,
which echoes mountain bike tyres we've seen - the use of Evabreathe
matrix foam and Phobic construction using direct moulding to save
weight and streamline the shoe.
The result, says Berghaus, are shoes that are just as robust but
'with advances in comfort, fit and weight'.
The new Phobic Light - above - for example weighs 297
grammes in a size 8, compared to 350 grammes for an equivalent shoe
from a competitor. In the trekking range, a size 8 boot weighs in at
468 grammes compared to 650 grammes from the competition.
The shoes certainly feel light and the look is also a step forward
for Berghaus with some neat styling touches that give the shoes a
distinctive new look.
Bioflex Gets Tweaked, Freeflow Flows More
They've been busy over in the Berghaus pack design department too.
Bioflex has had some tweaks for next year.
We really liked the first incarnation of Berghaus's innovative,
flexible back system and for next year it gets a new one-piece
shoulder pad replacing the two pads of the original to give extra
stability.
New shoulder straps have a revised profile to give a closer fit
and the pack will also sit closer to the body thanks to revised
shaped aluminium staves, which should move the load closer to the
centre of gravity and further improve stability.
A side-effect of the new single pad design may be that the pad
looks more robust, though in a year of use, we've had no issues with
the reliability of our mark one Bioflex pack.
The Freeflow ventilated back system - above - gets a
revision as well. Freeflow IV reduces the size of the mesh backpanel
/ trampolene-type thing to increase the air reaching the back using
large cut outs while the shoulder straps now feature
Evabreathe foam technology which uses layers of perforated,
non-collapsible foam to give better breathing - below.
In the mean time, check out the Berghaus web site at
www.berghaus.com for information on the current range from the
company.
