Berghaus Freeflow Pro 40

You sure that's not an Osprey bag?

Posted: 23/02/2010 at 20:41

I have no reason to doubt Berghaus' volume calculation. Jon - do you have a set of say table tennis balls so that you can compare volumes by seeing how many fit in each space?

Posted: 23/02/2010 at 21:21

If it's anything like the 20l my dad gave me or the 35l my girlfriend has, then the volume is probably significantly below the quoted 40l or certainly would appear that way.  This is because the back of the pack compartment is a curved piece of rigid plastic to allow for the space between the users back and the pack.  This makes it incredibly difficult to carry any amount of gear, forget getting a sleeping bag or something of a similar size let alone an insulated jacket and sarnies.

This stlye of pack really is the emperor's new rucksack, it's purely a marketing device, which is a shame as Berghaus' normal rucksacks are probably the best in the world.

Posted: 02/03/2010 at 19:32

 I have always been a fan of Berghaus, particularly due to their long standing and their commitment to development of outdoor products.

This pack looks good but I agree with the comment above. Berghaus attempts to create freeflow packs has resuted in what appears to be a lesser volume than that quoted or if this is not in fact the case the shape of the compartment seems to restrict the effective packing.

These packs are considerably heavier than the Osprey equivalents and whilst it does mention ladies and gents models they dont seem to have the size range (  S,M & L ).

 I have been contemplating the purchase of an Osprey Exos 38 or 46 for a while and will probably go this way. Is anybody able to offer any other encouragement for me to encourage my loyalty to Berghaus?

Posted: 02/03/2010 at 20:52

Well the ospreys freeflow area will disappear if you overload it defeating its objectives. becoming a noflow airzone or something.

Yeah berghaus defnitley has the better back system

It would be nice if berghaus would produce some compatible dry compression bags that would attach to the outside (call it a detachable pocket if you wish) to make up for the limited volume.

If osprey can do an exos 58 why cant berghaus do the same volume.

At least they have got rid of those next to useles side compression pockets.

Posted: 06/09/2010 at 13:43

Have recently had a look and tried on one of the new Freeflow Pro models.  My take is that they have a different backsystem to the other Berghaus Freeflow models.  It is similar to the external metal frame that Alpine Lowe used a few years ago on their Airflow packs.  The external metal frame means the curve in the back of the rucksack is less pronounced which should mean that the "loss" of internal volume is less meaning the useable volume of the pack is more.

Posted: 06/09/2010 at 18:22