We gave the Berghaus Paclites a pretty thorough going over in terms of water. Both my wife Alison and I donned a pair and our daughter Loz took great delight at spraying water at us with a hosepipe. The trouble is she couldn’t get us wet! The water was simply beading off the Berghaus trousers and at the end of the exercise they looked completely dry – impressive! The material the product is made from is often a sign of the quality for Waterproof Trousers. Take a look at the product details over at Go Outdoors to get a feel for this. The waterproof coating acts as a shield towards wet weather, and allows the water to simply bead off the garment. If this waterproof coating has faded away over time, the water that gets on to the garment will not bead off as easily and will build up. This means that there is an extra coating of water on the outside of the garment, which inhibits the breathability and does not allow warm air and condensation on the inside of the garment to escape. This can result in what appears to be a leaking product, when in fact the build up of moisture on the inside is warm air and condensation that cannot escape. Of course, the breathability is important too, and we have conducted many hill walks with the Berghaus Paclite with absolutely no internal moisture being found on our inner trousers. It simply isn’t an issue – they are great performers.

There are however some methods that you can use to determine a product’s quality without needing to physically have it.

Shopping

The material the product is made from is often a sign of the quality for Waterproof. Take a look at the product details over at Go Outdoors to get a feel for this. This area is often elasticated for extra comfort. A drawcord allows extra control of fit, while Velcro tabs, press studs, or belt loops allow further user-refined fit. Leg zips Sweden – a land renowned for Ikea, Volvo and a veritable smorgasbord of other quality items. Well since 1960 they have also had outdoor company Fjӓllrӓven who have been quietly making exceptional quality equipment for those in the know. Both negate the use of an inner lining material, and both are light and waterproof, so we’ve taken a look at the real difference. Gore-Tex Paclite

In use I was impressed. The Pertex Shield has a quality feel to it and the performance was second to none – no water ingress or internal sweat build up. They held up well for my daily 5 miles morning walk during some seriously driving rain and I could see the water literally beading off – always comforting! The Spraysways weigh around 400G and have a quality feel to the material – you can’t imagine water getting in at all – they performed very well on several dog walks through a rainy local park and we are excited to try them in slightly more challenging terrain.

About Millets

That being said, the Sprayways were easy to put on and we had no problems with snagging the mesh layer because they have thoughtfully included 3/4 length zips – we’re a fan of this as it makes it so much easier to put the overtrousers on. Yes the zips could potentially let in water, but we haven’t experienced this as an issue. The downside to buying online is that you can’t actually get hold of the product to try it out first. When buying Waterproof, the quality of the product is going to be one of the factors that you really scrutinise before you commit to buying. RET is the resistance to evaporative heat loss meaning the lower the number the more breathable a fabric is. During the test a fabric is placed on a ‘sweating guarded hot plate’ (a porous hot plate with water channelled through it) and the required energy to keep this plate at a constant temperature is measured in m²Pa/W (area[m²] Pressure[Pa] / energy[W])

Another factor that can be a great indication of product quality is the brand. Brands like Berghaus are of course extremely well known, especially for Waterproof. Another nice design touch is a small hook included at the lower end of each leg which can attach to the laces of your walking boots in a similar way to gaiters. This can prevent water and mud splashing up inside the overtrousers and onto your main walking trousers. Bear in mind that the fit of the Ventus is quite slim in terms of waist size although there is elastic which allows some expansion and adjustability. The Gore-Tex membrane is bonded to the outer shell material, before being covered by an anti-oil substance and carbon. Gore-Tex has engineered this material to be used for everyday activities, golfing, and hiking. Shoulder Harness: The shoulder harness needs to be contoured away from the bust to give women the freedom of movement and prevent uncomfortable pressure. Women normally have narrower shoulders than men, thus we have slightly narrower strap to maximise comfort.Berghaus recommend that you machine wash your item at 30 degrees Celsius and use soap powder or liquid with no fabric softeners or conditioners. For stubborn grease and dirt use non biological detergent with no softeners or conditioners. The garment should be air dried or if the care label allows tumble dried at a low heat setting. Waterproof trousers are useless if they don’t do job number 1 on the requirement list – to keep all of the unwanted water away from the under trousers, undergarments and legs. Poor quality trousers don’t function as well as you may want so it’s best to avoid the lesser-known brands when buying waterproofs that you need to rely on. Breathability Advanced Thermals: Fleece fabrics developed exclusively for Berghaus ensuring excellent thermal insulation properties, pilling resistance and great styling.