Lightweight kit? It's for weirdos, strange cultish American
backpackers and the sort of madcap zealots who shave the bristles on
their toothbrush then cut their toe nails extra short so they can go
down a one-eighth size on their boots, right?
And you pay through the nose for it as well, less is not only
more, it cost loads more.
Well, if Berghaus have anything to do with it, that looks set to
change early next year. Last week they dragged a motley selection of
outdoors journalists to the northern Lakes for a preview of the new
Extrem Light range which will be in the shops early in 2003.
It's interesting stuff because unlike most of the
ultra-lightweight kit we've seen, it's aimed not at racers or pack
weenies, but normal, everyday mountain folk like you or me. And
what's more it's sensible priced too.
Yep, local lightweight gear for local people.
What is it?
Extrem Light is a range of eleven different products including
clothing, packs and footwear. Some is new like the Paclite 3 kit,
some already in the range like the 64Zer0 pack. Berghaus says the
range is designed not just to 'offer maximum performance at the
minimum weight' but to do it 'without sacrificing durability or
comfort'.
To illustrate the concept, Berghaus staff kept tearing
conventional garments in half and throwing them away, a source of
some confusion to more gullible journalists.
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This slide from the presentation
shows the results of testing Paclite 3 in the field
using
moisture and temperature sensors inside clothing. The lower,
blue line is Paclite.
As you can see, the test results show the lightweigh kit is
cooler and drier, also that
it dissipates moisture faster. The green thing is the
terrain by the way. Interesting?
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What's really nice about this range is that you're not paying for the
privilege of saving weight, in fact you actually pay less. For
example, the original Berghaus Paclite jacket released three years or
so ago weighed around 550 grammes and cost £240 when first
released. The new Paclite Smock weights a staggering 270 grammes -
for real on our scales - and will retail for just £120. Not only
that but it packs about 50 per-cent smaller and breathes around 40
per-cent better.
Anyway, enough philosophy, here's some of the kit that'll be in
the shops for 2003 with brief comments where we've had a chance to
use it.
Shell Garments
If you're an OM regular, you'll already have seen our first
UK impressions of Paclite 3, coincidentally based partly on a
Berghaus Paclite Smock. The bottom line is that it works and works
extremely well.
The Paclite Smock is on similar lines to the XCR Slipstream Smock
which we really rate. It's made from Berghaus's own Paclite Helium -
a super lightweight version of Paclite developed with Gore and
Perseverance Mills (Pertex). Very light, very small, but with a
proper, wired hood complete with volume adjustment and a pocket. The
fabric feels very slightly crisp-packety, but not fragile, which is
impressive given the light weight - 270 grammes - and bulk. The price
is mooted to be £120, which as we said, is half that of the
original Paclite jacket.
There's also a ridiculously small-packing Paclite Pant to go with
it. Think tennis ball sized and a weight of just 185 grammes... They
use water-resistant, side-zips with a single flap, which reach hip
level, but aren't full length, so no crampons or skis. We reckon
Berghaus missed a trick there and it'd be nice if the ankle cuffs
were adjustable too, but the fabric performance, weight and bulk are
hard to argue with. Price is £100.
On the durability front, Berghaus say that one of their test
jackets now has 600 hours of hard use on it and is still going
strong.
Rucksacs
On the pack front, Berghaus have roped in the 64zer0 sac
originally aimed at the adventure race market - it weights 700
grammes (or 640g stripped) and with light loads is comfortable and
thanks to the Limpet compression system very, very stable.
For climbers there's the new Extrem Slipstream, a minimalist 550
grammes with a 37-litre capacity that will be in the shops in the
next few weeks. It utilises the tough VX21 fabric with Kevlar
reinforcement seen on other Extrem sacs and folds up into a small
bundle for non-summit days.
Backpacking Sac...
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The new Cyclops - same Cyclops 3
system,
but with a 40 per-cent weight reduction
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The really interesting pack though is a new backpacking sac
called the Cyclops Lite and available in men's and women's versions.
Berghaus took a look at the really purist lightweight packs from the
likes of GoLite and decided that the only way to guarantee comfort
over long trips, when you're likely to be carrying days-worth of
supplies plus camping kit was to opt for a proper back system.
Stuf like GoLite is, in our experience, limited in comfort as
soon as you go over around 10 kilos. The Cyclops Lite uses a
development of the Berghaus Cyclops back system, as used on the
top-end Quartz, complete with non-crushable EVABreathe Matrix foam,
Breather hip fins and a proper hip-belt to take the load.
They've stripped things down elsewhere, with the result that the
50-litre pack weighs in at around 1500 grammes, 40 per-cent lighter
than the Cyclops Quartz. Okay, that's nowhere near as light as some
of the competition, but you're getting a much more supportive back
system and still saving a kilo or more over most backpacking
sacs.
We
didn't have a chance to try the Cyclops Lite with any sort of serious
load, but it looks like it could be a practical halfway house between
lightweight zealotry and heavyweight load hauling. Priced at
£120 with a choice of three different back lengths for men and
women.
Footwear and Inner Layers
We reckon the shell clothing is going to generate the most
interest, but there's also a nice new insulatied pullover called the
Infinity Light. Using the new Pertex Quantum fabric inside and out
with a Primaloft filling, at 275 grammes it's around half the weight
of a standard 200-weight fleece, but also packs a lot smaller and is
windproof and water resistant into the bargain.
Xstatic Top
There's also a base layer in the range. The Xstatic top uses
silver wound threads mixed with Polartec Powerdry to kill bacteria.
It's light, dries fast and wicks very well. The silver seems to work
too. We've been using one for three days without a wash - the shirt
that is, not us - and despite a mix of mountain biking, running, gym
work and a trog round Mosedale, there was no discernible odour. Which
is pretty amazing really. Feels good and the silver seems to
work.
Feet...
Last but not least, there's the new Zero G shoe / boot ensemble
using Gore's latest XCR liner. It's designed for summer walking and
travel, weighs just 460 grammes with an EVA outer and light Vibram
outsole. Initial use with the shoes has been positive, more in a
month or so.
• Berghaus web
site
