|
Berghaus Paclite Pants
Tested
|
|
|
Price: £100.00
|
|
Weight: 198 grammes
(medium)
|
|
Features: Gore-Tex
Paclite Helium fabric, water-resistant, double-ended
full-length side zip with flap, elasticated waist,
press-stud fastening at knee and ankle, mesh stuff
sac.
|
|
Very light, very small, very breathable.
Side-zips aren't genuine full length items.
|
The Concept Another one of the new Berghaus Extrem Light family, the
Paclite Pants are simply minimalist, ultra lightweight and highly
breathable waterproof pants. Simple. You stick 'em in the stuff sac,
plonk them in the lid pocket of your pack and when it rains, you take
them out and they stop your legs getting wet.
Features
They are actually quite simple. The fabric is the latest Paclite
Helium as used in the Berghaus Paclite Smock and appreciably more
breathable than virtually any other waterproof fabric on the market
bar eVENT. Cut is simple with no knee articulation or ankle cuffs,
just an elasticated, shock cord adjustable waist and long,
double-ended, water-resistant leg zips with a narrow overflap for
extra protection against leakage.
The side-zips run from hip to ankle, which is fine for most use,
but will disappoint anyone wanting to don them over crampons or skis
or trying to take them off while wearing a climbing harness. You also
get a tiny mesh stuff sac which we promptly lost.
In Action Very light - check. Pack small - like a tennis ball,
check. Waterproof and breathable - check...
To keep the price to £100 Berghaus has ignored refinements
like flies, articulated knees and adjustable ankle cuffs in favour of
a simple, straight-legged design. The good news is that on the OM
test legs at any rate, the lack of articulation didn't seem a problem
as the very light fabric and reasonable cut allowed easy high steps.
The slick material slides easily over underlayers as well.
The water-resistant leg zips aren't quite full length and this
won't matter for most people, though as we've said above, you won't
be using them with crampons as a result. One plus of the longer than
average zips though is that on typically British showery days, you
can open up your thighs for added ventilation during dry interludes,
then zip up for the rainy bits.
In our testing the zips stayed watertight as well, even when
things got pretty damp. This is a good things as the zips help save
weight by eliminating flaps, though you still get a reassuring mini
overflap for peace of mind.
We didn't mind the untethered ankles either, though some will
prefer an overtrouser which they can cinch down around the boot cuff.
If you have short legs, this might be a problem, with overlong
trousers flapping around.
As a pair of very light, very packable, highly breathable
overtrousers for lightweight backpacking and walking use at a
reasonable price, these are hard to beat. Yes, it'd be nice to have
refinements like a fly, adjustable ankles, proper full-length zips
and articulated knees, but they'd up the price and probably the
weight too. Try carefully before buying though as some users - those
with massively powerful thighs we'd guess, may find the lack of knee articulation
restrictive.
As things stand the pants work well enough anyway and we like the
ability to vent that the long zips allow. We did have some quibbles:
we lost the mesh sac pretty fast and would have preferred an
integrated stuff pocket for that reason and the inner layer of the
Paclite fabric suffered a few small nicks courtesty of boot hooks we
think, but with no effect on performance at all.
Overall these are great pants that you can carry without really
noticing the weight or bulk and that once on are comfortable,
non-restrictive - for us - waterproof and impressively breathable.
The £100 price tag certainly isn't cheap, but we reckon it's
decent value for what you're getting.
|
Performance
|
|
|
Value
|
|
|
Pushed for time:
Very light, very packable, highly breathable waterproof
overtrousers that barely make a dent in your pack. The New
Paclite fabric is as impressive as ever and the cut and
design are uncomplicated. Long zips, but not full length
though they allow for venting in warmer conditions. Some
users may find the lack of knee articulation restrictive so
try before buying.
|
Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own experiences of this product check
out our user review system and post your opinions to the world. If
you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear
forum.
