Berghaus A-Trek Pro 65+10 First Look

Berghaus A-Trek Pro 65 + 10 First Look

Price: £100.00 (also available as 60+10 women's)

Weight: 2250 grammes (men's L)

Features: Ardura 1000D / Esdura 600 RS fabric (ie: reinforced base), A-Trek Pro adjustable back system with twin aluminiium staves and polythene plate in hip-belt sewn into main back frame for load transfer,chest strap, built-in hydration facility, side-zipped main entrance, pre-curved 'grabber 'hip fins, two 5-litre expansion side pockets, weather lock main compartment closure, base compartment with drawcord divider, zipped external lid pocket with key clip, zipped internal lid pocket, twin walking pole / axe holders, top tension adjusters, compression straps, accessory strap points, base accessory straps, wand pockets.

New generation Berghaus backpacking sac Nowt really

The new for 2002 A-Trek Pro is the second of the next generation of Berghaus backpacks to fall into our sticky paws - the first was the £150, top-of-the-range Quartz. That pack impressed us with its neatly thought out design and some innovative features and a full test will be on the site soon, but it comes complete with a hefty price tag.

At around £100, the A-Trek is scrapping with more affordable all rounders like Lowe's highly effective Skyline, so it needs to keep its wits about it if it's going to succeed. And the good news for Berghaus is that it comes out, fists swinging, as a real contender.

Back System

The back system is an evolution on the established twin-alloy stave / polythene plate theme, with back length easily adjustable to suit a claimed range of heights from 5'4" to 6'3" using a Velcro-fastened tab. Where it really scores is in the way a plate in the neat, contoured hip-belt fins is sewn directly in to the backplate and stave confection for more effective load transfer.

It looks like a good idea on paper and so far we reckon it works well. If anything, with moderate loads its as comfortable than the Quartz, which some people find slightly 'blocky' in the middle back region. The density of the foam used for the curved shoulder straps and the design of the hip-belt are both spot on and you can make fine adjustments by bending the staves to suit and with the twin top tension adjusters to pull the top of the sac closer to your shoulders. There's less padding than the Quartz which might decrease comfort with very heavy loads.

Body Building

So first impressions are that it's a very stable, comfortable carry - just 'right' in fact - but what about the rest of it? General build quality, as you'd expect from the big B, feels excellent with tough fabric and a reinforced base. You get the standard features you'd expect like twin-axe loops and wand pockets plus compression straps and two fold-flat side pockets, which are easy to use.

As with the Quartz though, the icing on the cake comes with some neat new features. The main compartment is accessible from a separate curved back panel zip that runs from the compartment divide to the top and works well, though it could usefully be a few inches wider. Great for dragging out that spare fleece without having to disembowel the entire sac.

Other touches we like are the way the lid pocket zip is located on top of the pocket so you don't need to lay the pack down or risk spilling the contents to get in there - also a god-send to idiots - who us? - who forget to do up zips on a habitual basis. Plus the extended compression strap around the lower compartment pulls the contents into the hip-belt nicely.

Oh, there's also a hydration system pocket, which we reckon is a must have for all sacs these days.

Downs?

Criticisms? We've read some guff about how floating lids let the rain in more easily, but we prefer them in radical overload situations - with the A-Trek's extendable, but not floating lid, you can reach a point where you simply run out of space and force the lid backwards towards your head. Still, it's an incentive not to carry too much... That's it really.

Base A-Trek

For £75 you can buy Berghaus's 'entry-level' A-Trek 65 which shares some of the A-Trek Pro's features but uses a simplified adjustable single-stave back system. We haven't tried it yet, but our past experience of sacs using a single, central aluminium stave isn't positive. We reckon the twin-stave configuration is simply more stable and effective at transferring load to the hip-belt. You may save 300 grammes of weight and 25 quid, but unless you're really strapped for cash, we'd seriously consider the Pro instead. Of course we might be wrong, but at any rate, try with a load, back to back, before buying.

Provisional Verdict: At a suggested price of £100, our first impressions are that the A-Trek is an excellent value backpacking sac with a particularly effective back system. Build quality is well up to scratch and the detailing is well thought out and neat as with other new generation Berghaus packs we've tried so far. The direct transfer of load from back system to the well-shaped, reinforced hip-belt and the shape and density of the straps really work well. We also like the easy access to the main body of the sac, the thoughtfully positioned lid zip and the built-in hydration system facility that will take a 2-litre bladder. Also available in a 60 + 10 W women's specific version. A real contender for best in class.

Berghaus web site

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