Revolutionary 2005 Berghaus Packs Revealed...

Last week, in a secret location in the Lakes, Berghaus launched its new range of climbing and backpacking rucksacks. According to Tim Fish, senior rucksack designer at Berghaus, their brief was to develop a load-carrying system that moves when you move - obviously different from the ones that sit around waiting after you've set off then...

What they've come up with is dubbed the Bioflex system and we were shown the first rucksacks to showcase the new technology: the C7 backpack range. It's taken three years to develop the C7 range - finely tuned through 44 prototypes and 800 hours of gruelling on-the-hill testing by 18 different people. Three years down the line, the guys at Berghaus reckon the end result is pretty good.

Help, My Pack's Alive...

There are two obvious design features in the Bioflex system. The first is that the main body of the rucksack slides on a flexible rod, so that the back length changes as you reach and turn. The idea is that the load is kept close to the body and transferred through the hips using a rod actually embedded in the hip-belt - see pics.

The second big design feature is that the main body of the pack pivots at the point where it meets the hip belt so that, when your hips tilt - when you're climbing or scrambling for example - the ‘sack won't lift off your hip or topple over to one side. Simple huh? The combination should give a much more natural and comfortable, stable carry that mimics the way the human body works.

That's the theory anyway, but Berghaus wanted us to experience it for ourselves so they gave half of the assembled outdoor journalists rucksacks from various rival manufacturers, each filled with house bricks and lumps of concrete. The other half of the group was given one of the new Berghaus C7 rucksacks to try out, each one containing helium-filled pixies who delivered soothing shoulder massages while whale music played softly from speakers hidden in the shoulder straps...

Testing, Testing, Testing...

It's not the first time a pack manufacturer has attempted to produce an ergonimically-friendly, flexible pack, but previous efforts from both Karrimor and TNF have been relatively expensive. Berghaus, on the other hand, seems to have developed a sensibly-priced rucksack that feels pretty good.

There are three models in the C7 range, and each one has a women-specific version making a total of six. With the smallest pack retailing for around £90, and the larger bells and whistles version coming in at around £180.

The top of the range model has masses of extra features, including a detachable reversible pocket with mesh on one side for keeping damp stuff on the outside of your pack, a roll-down waterproof closure at the bottom of the pack and a moulded indentation on the top pocket so that you can actually lift your head back while wearing the pack, all of which are familiar from earlier Berghaus packs.

First signs then are that the company has developed a very effective and innovative new pack at a price that won't break the bank. The bad news is that it's not due to be released until the spring / summer 2005 season, which means you'll be seeing the C7 packs in the shops early next year. For now though, you'll just have to make do with the company's new, taped, waterproof climbing sacs...