Berghaus Asylum Parka Tested

Berghaus Asylum Belay Parka Tested

Berghaus describes the Asylum as 'the ultimate in insulating protection for heady days in the cold'. In other words it's meant to keep you warm. It also has a waterproof outer to keep you dry. And a waterproof inner to keep the jacket dry if you're wet already.

As part of the Big Wall range it's designed primarily for use on big walls where weight is less of an issue than for general mountaineering and alpinism. On big walls you can team it with Berghaus's half-insulated 0.5 Bivi Bag to create a full sleeping system.

Berghaus has used a heavy weight Primaloft synthetic insulation fill, which should work well even when damp and cased it, inside and out in waterproof fabrics made by Toray. You also get a full-on technical climbing hood with a humungous stiffened peak.

The front is cut high to make it easier to use with a harness and allow better mobility if you choose to climb in the jacket.

The first thing that struck us about the Asylum was its weight. On our scales it was just under 1200 grammes, around 300 grammes more than the Berghaus web site claims. That's heavy and while it may not matter on a big wall climb when you're hauling rather than toting, for general use it's more of an issue.

For an alpinist, for example, that's a big chunk of weight. And it doesn't pack small either. The stuff sac - supplied - is the size of a very large, fat, domestic cat and the taped, waterproof fabric makes it hard to expel air from the liner. Frankly it's not something you really want to carry with you unless you have porters or a yak. It can literally fill a small day sac.

Once it's on though, it's an impressively bit of kit with a superwarm and bombproof feel to it. You can pull it on over pretty much anything you're wearing and not worry whether it's damp because of the waterproof inner, though to be honest, Primaloft is damp resistant enough not to need one. And it copes just fine with rain as well. You could live inside that hood.

We doubt many people will climb in the Asylum, but you can get the hood over a helmet while you're brewiing up on your portaledge. Build quality feels generally good, though on our test jacket, the insulation could work its way out through the opening for the hood adjustment cord. It really ought to have its own sealed channel.

Where the Asylum was superb was as an end of day jacket when you get back to the car cold and tired. Or for standing around the bottom of winter crags and boulders. Or probably for going to lower league football games on cold, damp winter days when the combination of warmth and water resistance would be a winner.

Unfortunately the weight and bulk of the jacket make it impractical in any situation where you need to carry it in your pack, even though at the end of the day it's a nice refuge from the cold and wet and we liked touches like the soft-lined handwarmer pockets.

Spot on for cold, damp conditions, but make sure someone else is carrying it for you. The marks below are for general use, but bear in mind that in the right situation, the Asylum is awesome as well as being very orange.*

*also available in black.

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