Berghaus Phobic Light - Quick Look

Berghaus Phobic Light - Quick Look

Price: £64.99

Weight:656g (size 43, pair)

Features Lightweight trail-running shoe with mesh upper incorporating Flow Moulded Protection, Opti-Stud running sole, low profile protection for abrasion resistance, Ergonomic Holdng System to hold foot in place, energy dissipating foam at heel, bouncy foam under forefoot.

The Phobic Light is a lightweight off-road running shoe. It's not quite as fulll-on as a classic fell-running shoe, but it's more aggressive and less bulky than most trail-runing shoes we've seen. That makes it useable for running on pretty much any off road terrain with more cushioning and protection than you'd get from a full fell shoe and more grip than most trail shoes.

In addition, the Phobic bit alludes to the shoe's policy towards water - quite simply it's zero tolerance time. The uppers are hydrophobic and drain holes in the protective moulded areas let water out for fast drying.

Lots of tech stuff here. The bits that really struck us were the Tri Stud sole, which is very similar to a design used by Brasher a few years back and should grip well and the hydrophobic bits.

In particular, the upper has a water repellant treatment so water tends not to soak into it and the moulded plastic protection features drain holes so water that does get in, doesn't stay in. It's the opposite approach to fitting a waterproof liner if you like.

In addition Berghaus has worked hard to improve fit with something called EHS promising to hold your foot firmly in place, which is vital off road, and on cushioning with different foam properties beneath heel and forefoot.

First off the Phobic Lights do feel light and flexible, which you'll either like or not - there's a lot of flex in the sole unit, so if you're expecting a sturdy approach shoe feel, you're going to be disappointed.

The sole unit offers a reasonable amount of cushioning though nothing like as much as you'd get from a road shoe, but the pay-off is that your foot sits lower for better stability on rough terrain.

As with any footwear, fit is a personal issue, but we found that even with the laces cynched up snugly, we couldn't quite get the glove-like fit we prefer for rough off-road running which meant despite the decent grip from the sole on most surfaces we didn't feel 100 per-cent at one with the shoe.

Don't let that put you off though, it's definitely down to fit and your feet may suit the shoe better than ours do.

In hot weather we found the mesh upper good and breathable. When it came to dealing with water though we were a little underwhelmed. In wet conditions you will get damp feet and, to be honest, while they will dry faster than a shoe fitted with a waterproof / breathable liner we're not convinced that they dry any faster than other shoes with mesh uppers.

Initial Verdict

While the fit of the Phobics didn't quite work for us, in other respects they performed pretty well and make an effective compromise between a fell-running and trail-running shoe with some of the strengths of both.

They're light on the foot and feel nimble and grippy on rough terrain while the sole unit manages to give more cushioning than a pure fell shoe, but is still low enough to keep things stable.

We're less convinced by the water-shedding abilities of the shoe though they do seem to dry reasonably quickly after a good soaking.

Although they're primarily intended as an off-road running shoe, you could also use them for lightweight walking. One last though, the moulded reinforcement in the toe area is quite solid, so when fitting, don't be tempted to undersize or your toe-ends may regret it.

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