Berghaus High Trails Jacket First Look

Berghaus High Trails Jacket First Impressions

Price: £220.00

Weight: 860 grammes (men's L)

Features: Gore-Tex two-ply XCR Summit 2 fabric with mesh drop liner, fold-away Summit 2 Paclite hood, Lofoten Gore-Tex XCR shoulder reinforcements, flared cuffs for venting, map pocket, twin zippedand flap-protected handwarmer pockets,twin zipped and flap protected Napoleon chest pockets, two small internal mesh pockets in lining, elasticated draw cords at waist and hem. Double storm flap over main double-ended zip.

Up till now, if you wanted a jacket made from Gore's highly breathable XCR fabric you were pretty much condemned to looking like a hard-nosed Himalayan mountaineer, complete with Belisha Beacon colour scheme, a load of features you'd probably never use while walking, a short, climbing-specific cut and a vast hood designed to fit comfortably over a helmet.

Berghaus's new High Trails jacket for men and women stands that situation on its head. It uses a two-ply XCR fabric - exclusive to The North Face in Europe till now - and is designed specifically for walkers who want a more discreet but still functional waterproof with the benefits of XCR's breathability.

And discreet it is, with no garish colour panels or screaming logos and superfluous internal water bottle pockets (yes, there are internal mesh pockets, but they're hanging off the lining and no way are they suitable for a water bottle).

The cut is neat and long, offering extra protection to the nether regions without getting into thigh-chaffing territory and it's worth noting that the sleeves are well up to reaching high as well if you do fancy some scrambling outings.

Some nice touches include slightly flared sleeves to up ventilation to the forearms when wanted or to make rolling them up easier. There's a tougher, albeit still XCR fabric over the shoulders and down the sides of the jacket to combat strap wear and friction between swinging arms and jacket we think.

Pockets abound, with handwarmer and chest doubles, both protected by velcroed flaps - worth fastening properly as the next stop for rainwater is your body. There's also a map pocket and two small internal mesh pockets that would take, say, a mobile phone and a wallet. The external chest pockets double as vents, with the Velcro fastening back to keep them open, neat.

Rolled into the collar is a foldaway Gore-Tex PacLite hood. PacLite has roughly the same breathability as XCR, but is lighter and packs down smaller, which is presumably why Berghaus have used it. The alternative, we reckon would be a three-ply XCR since mesh-lined hoods generally suck.

Initial impressions are that it's a good walking hood, though PacLite is still a bit crisp-packety, even in its latest incarnation. There's a single-pull volume adjuster on the back as well as the usual drawstrings and a Velcro-fastened chinguard, which some people won't like.

Verdict: If you're after a discreet but high-performing waterproof / breathable jacket using the highly effective two-ply XCR fabric (even more breathable than three-ply XCR we think) then take a look at the HighTrails which should be in the shops shortly. It has a great walking-specific cut, enough pockets to satisfy pocket junkies everywhere and has a nice, well-made quality feel to it. Our only slight reservation so far is over the material of the hood. It's a little crackly and we reckon it could be a tad noisy in wind conditions. More details when we bring you a full test in a month or two after using it properly.

Berghaus web site

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