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Berghaus PacLite Jacket
Price: £200 (from Sept 1, currently £240)
Weight: 550g
Features: PacLite Gore-Tex fabric, foldaway hood with
volume adjuster, two large chest pockets doubling as body vents, hem
drawcord, full-length zip with single stormflap.
When we first saw this jacket we had it down as a journo special -
the sort of luxury kit that's nice to have, but too expensive for the
real world at a stinging £240. The good news is that come
September 1 and the release of the PacLite II, the price drops by 40
quid to a round £200, still not cheap, but indisputably less
than it was.
The other good news is that it's not quite the dilletante gear you
might think. It's survived a year of regular use and abuse pretty
well unscathed and while it has its limitations, it also has some
very postive points. It's light at 550g, packs down to pint pot
dimensions and is also towards the higher end of the breathability
scale. With new generation PacLite, it's lost the crisp packety feel
as well, and lower profile polymer dots make for less friction with
skin and underlayers.
The jacket's cut short for multi-activity use, which is excellent
if you're running or biking, but not so entrancing walking, when, put
bluntly, it rewards you with a damp crotch - to avoid, wear
overtrousers... Otherwise it's pretty good, well made with a quality
feel.The roll-out hood is surprisingly effective though some won't
like the Velcro-fastened chin flaps, the draw cords are all designed
to be used one-handed and the single storm flap over the main zip is
adequate in all but the worst rain.
Where Berghaus really deserves credit is for the excellent venting
system. PacLite's reasonably breathable, certainly more breathable
than conventional three-ply Gore-Tex, but the big body vents, which
also function as chest pockets are just as, if not more important in
keeping you comfortable. On a bike, head down you can feel air
channeling in at the neck and out of those big chest vents, keeping
you cooler and drier. Great stuff and shared with the Helium too
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Verdict Not cheap, even at the new
price of £200, but if you're after something primarily
for biking, running and non-abrasive climbing, PacLite is a
good compromuse between light weight and breathability and
the venting system makes it even more versatile. For mainly
walking use though, we'd opt for a longer jacket unless you
habitually team it with overtrousers
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Performance
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Value
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Say please nicely and you can go to the Berghaus
web site...
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Pushed for time
Excellent fabric and venting system, but on the
expensive side and cut short, which is good for running and
biking, but not so effective for walking and more general
use. Has a definite quality 'designer' feel to it as
well.
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