UKC

What do you think about Berghaus? Is it better than the rest?

I'm in my fourth year at Bournemouth University studying Marketing. I'm currently working on an assignment concerning Berghaus and thought it would be interesting to see what the people who use it think of it.... It'll be great to know!! Thanks

In reply to VickiBournemouth: When I think of Berghaus I think of Mork and Mindy Munro bashing in matching fleeces

In reply to VickiBournemouth: Like any other brand Berghaus gear can be shite and it can be good, depends what you want. Personally wouldn't buy it, can buy much better for the price, or what I want much cheaper.
The majority of Berghaus gear sold must surely be bought as gifts by those who are not outdoorsy people or are members of the local ramblers club. I don't think I've ever bought or wanted anything Berghaus, yet I seem to have quite a few moderately priced useless items kicking about. They get a wearing at work sometimes or dog walking gear.

In reply to VickiBournemouth: I think it's a reputable brand with a range of good products, none of which I own as other people's products suit my shape, needs or pocket better.

Their marketing and sponsorship of well-known climbers doesn't make me have a good or bad opinion of them. Reviews of their products or the opinion of friends might make me look at a product when i'm in the market for something but after that their kit hasn't enticed my money from its hiding place.

T.

In reply to VickiBournemouth:
I use there storm trousers with the 3/4 length zip as for 77 notes on line the quality and durability is hard to beat!

I evaluate each product on it's own merits rather than taking a brand as a given. However overall I treat Berghaus as a bit better than the north face (so not amazing) but still not really aimed at the outdoor specialist.

In reply to VickiBournemouth:
I have a fair amount of Berghaus gear- the items I use most:
My berghaus Antaeus 65l rucksack, which is very good, but would benefit from a floating lid.
Berghaus Doom 24L rucksack which is very badly designed. Big beefy waterproof zips over some compartments, but not taped seams, rendering the zips entirely pointless.
My jacket, the Cornice, is excellent, but I wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't in the sale.

In reply to VickiBournemouth:

Berghaus makes me think of two things, munro bashers as fawksey put so nicely and more recently BBC news correspondents.

In reply to VickiBournemouth: Lol, are you having a laugh. Okay they do some good cheap packs and yetis, the rest of it is an absolute joke.

It's the best make for people who only go outdoors with the dog on a sunday.

It's highstreet crap.

In reply to Muhammad-the-randy-teddy: Sounds about right!

In reply to CurlyStevo: Oh, and don't get me started on TNF - Quick! I need to leave this thread, it's making me sick...>>>>>

In reply to VickiBournemouth:

Berghaus caters for a wide market range, from upper low-end stuff (i.e. top end of Millets' range) to low upper end. They've also ventured into specialist 'promotional' pieces recently (Big Wall range), not very successfully, and also tried to break into the 'street' market with their Ator range.

Generally well-made, some pieces excellent, some not so. Not the bleeding edge in design and technologies like Patagonia or Arc'teryx. Their 'Extreme' stuff is generally pretty good.

Maybe you need to ask a more formal set of questions, rather than a random 'what do you think'...

In reply to VickiBournemouth:

I'd say a once quality brand that lost it's way. No idea of the current stuff but I'd guess there top of the range is as good as any other brand.

Their association with chavs/ramblers have doen them no favours in the eyes of climbers. It feels as if they've tried to go the way of Noth Face but have eneded up pitching at a more budget end of the market.

It's a shame, I've still got a berghaus rucsac form when I was 15. Quality bit of kit.

In reply to Merlin:


I guessed from your comments that you'd be about 16. I wasn't far off...

But your comments might be more useful to Vicky than mine; after all, marketing is about perception... (well, 'marketing' as commonly used in the UK, meaning the simple promotion of goods).

In reply to Merlin: What utter nonsense. Their stuff does the job, it may not be as good as some other companies but it's readily available and not too pricy. I've got various bit of Berghaus gear and they've done me fine skiing in scotland and the alps, walking in all conditions in the lakes, snowdonia and scottish winter and climbing as well.

They don't make the best or the cheapest butt they make ok gear for an ok price.

In reply to Lemony: Hey, she asked for an opinion, what did you expect lies?

I'm a bit of a gear snob, which may explain my answers. But I do generally believe that their gear is pish (bearing in mind this is a climbing not walking/dog walking/rambling website, so I am a climber).

I like gear that is very well designed, where you can tell that the designer is a climber and put thought into the product.

When leading/in poor weather/at the sharp end whatever you'd like to call it you notice the tiny differences which make or break the piece of gear.

I've got a couple of pieces of berghaus gear and they don't come within a million miles of my arc'teryx stuff or even some of the other brands that are not as expensive.

In reply to VickiBournemouth: berghaus do this horrible 'i'm a 60 year old traveller' range, cant stand the stuff, they went waaaaaaaay down hill a few years ago when they became essential street wear for chavs. The extrem, Bigwall and new ator ranges got them some credit, but they still lack in design, features and build quality.

In reply to VickiBournemouth:
Gear is gear,some good, some bad in all brands, Berghaus doesnt evoke any reaction either way to be honest, have a pair of Berghaus soft shell type pants that I use constantly, they fit well, dont impede progress and shed light showers. I like them. The rest of what I've seen of their stuff didnt impress me much, didnt think wow, now thats a good idea, or thats well put together.Slightly over priced middle of the road stuff, not as over priced and over specd as Arc'teryx etc, more the north face and as likely never to see a mountain kinda feel. AS I said good and bad in all.
Hope thats of some help?

In reply to BOOGA: What specs on arc'teryx gear would you consider to be OTT?

Just out of interest.

In reply to VickiBournemouth:
I've usually found Berghaus stuff to be okay. It's not fantastic, but it does the job and it's generally durable. I don't demand lots of features or high performance from my kit. If it works okay most of the time I'm happy.

In fact most of my mountain clothing is Berghaus, when I come to think about it. The waterproof overtrousers have many holes in them now, but I can't be bothered to patch them up and it doesn't bother me. The Paclite jacket works fine. In fact the only Berghaus item I've owned that has totally failed at its job were a pair of Goretex mittens, which persuaded me to go over to Dachsteins instead!

In reply to Gaz lord:


Some of the Extrem stuff is good; Infinity Light smock, Paclites, etc.

Big Wall range was, IMHO, purely 'aspirational' stuff, intended to showcase Berghaus' supposed design skills and 'real mountain heritage'. Sadly, I think this aim was let down by poorly thought-out design and very silly prices. Which probably explains why it's to be seem dumped at clearance outlets.

They've taken quite a bit of stick for their 'chav-targetted' Ator range... very little of which seems to have made its way into the shops.

In reply to Merlin:


Overpriced, certainly, IMHO.

But I'm lucky because I don't like their style of cut (at least in soft shells); short, US-style jackets that don't fit me (and no, I'm not a fat biffer) because I have a short upper body so the 'waist' sits on my hips and is far too tight. Their arm and cuff design is often too restrictive too, for my liking.

But their design and build is certainly very trim and tidy, and often resembles the paranoia products design philosophy in terms of panel tailoring.

In reply to captain paranoia: So there is no specific features on the jacket which are OTT?

In reply to Merlin:


No idea which jacket you're thinking of.

But generally, I'd say no; Arc'teryx stuff is fairly minimalist in terms of features, and without unnecessary bells and whistles.

The one comment I might make is that their clothing is often very targetted at a particular application, and not so useful for general purpose use. For instance, the length and cuff issues I mentioned earlier. This isn't necessarily a complaint, but an observation. If you have the luxury of being able to buy a piece purely for one targetted activity, then it's great, and really suits the purpose. But if you're looking for a general purpose piece, then it may not be quite so good. Sometimes it's good to be a 'jack of all trades, master of none'.

However, there's usually a clue in the name, as they often have three or more variants of a given design name; SV, MX, AR, LT (severe, mixed, all round, light).