Sunday, 27 April 2014 19:59

Berghaus Kanchenjunga Jacket on test

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As a Mountaineering Instructor working all over the UK in Summer & Winter conditions, I demand the best possible performance from my equipment – it has to keep me comfortable so that I can concentrate on taking good care of my clients!

The Kanchenjunga is a professional, smart looking and well manufactured piece of equipment that I liked the look of straightaway, but for me, it’s how well it worked that is important!

This jacket is manufactured from the very latest Goretex Proshell Fabric – the most durable and waterproof version to date. Even though it is a top end mountaineering jacket, Berghaus have still managed to get the weight down to under 500 grams and it packs up pretty small into a rucksack.

Features:

A strong full front double ended zip with internal storm flap

  • 2 breast pockets with waterproof zips
  • 2 main underarm pockets c/w waterproof zips which double up as vents due to the elasticated internal mesh pocket material
  • 1 small arm pocket (left arm)
  • 2 internal elasticated mesh pockets 1 zippered, one open topped.
  • Low cut hem that covers your backside! Drawable with a lockable bungee cord
  • Good sized hood that will take a large helmet with reinforced peak and a high front coming right up over the chin. Two bungee adjusters under the chin – the blue ones draw the peak down forward, and the red ones tighten the hood around the back of the head. The locks to release these adjusters are within the hood material at about cheek height, feel for them and squeeze to release.

 

Real world testing

This jacket has seen a little winter use this season and it certainly performed well in some of the worst conditions Scotland could throw at it – winds up to 80mph, subzero temperatures and rain at lower altitudes. It kept me warm & dry throughout and I certainly appreciated that low cut rear hem that helped keep my posterior warm. The hem drawcord worked well in tightening the bottom of the jacket to keep out spindrift. The locker for the drawcord is located within the jacket hem – locate & squeeze to release.

I really appreciated the generous hood with its dual draw in mechanism and high cut at the front which helped to keep the worst of the weather out. The hood pull down cords are sited so that they won’t whip you in the face in windy conditions – another good feature.

The generous cut of the sleeves was something I picked up on almost at once. This jacket has wide sleeves secured by a Velcro flap and I was able to get the cuffs of my winter gauntlets tucked into the sleeves without any difficulty whatsoever – something that has been a real problem with the ME Kongur Jacket I have used over the last few seasons! My hands are constantly in & out of my gauntlets when taking photographs of my clients and doing this will be SO much easier with the new Kanchenjunga Jacket!

I can really see that this jacket is going to be good for working in Scottish Winter conditions and for Alpine climbing trips. Due to its light weight and pocket vent zips it will also be ideal for using in any other conditions outside of the winter season.

 

Likes

All of the above plus the generous sized side pockets!

Niggles

The breast pockets will accept a standard folded paper map - but only just and it’s a slight fiddle to get one in! The external arm pocket is also pretty small – you can just get a Silva Type 4 compass in there. It will be ideal for possibly carrying this, a mobile phone, your favourite high energy snack bars etc.

Neither of the internal pockets are big and both are built on to the inside of the blue elastic mesh on the inside of the side pockets. Also they are constructed of this elastic mesh themselves. One pocket is zippered, the other is open topped. Both pockets will be useful for carrying valuable items that you want to keep dry such as a mobile phone, wallet etc. Something that I have noticed is that the elastic strands within the blue mesh are snapping already so I wouldn’t contemplate pushing anything hard into the side pockets or the internal ones either as this would appear to be the jackets weakest area. Also, I found the smaller pocket zips on the breast & side pockets a bit “sticky” when opening & closing.

Finally - bungy cords. Maybe I’m just used to thicker stuff but I do wonder how long that thin cord on the hood & hem adjusters will last before they snap?

Final Impressions

Overall though, I really do think this is a very impressive product and really, my niggles are relatively minor. If I was asked to give it a start rating out of 5 then I’d have to give it 4.5 and I can honestly say that the Kanchenjunga Jacket is one of the best examples of jackets using the new ProShell membrane on the market at the present time! Well done Berghaus.



Note: This article was restored from the archives. It's published creation date is inaccurate.