Berghaus Extrem Ramche 2.0 Jacket – Performance
As soon as we see the Mtn.Haus tag these days, expectations rise, but even by the the elite design team’s high standards, the Ramche 2.0 really is something else. It weighs, in medium, just under 440g plus an additional ten for the stuff-sac supplied.
Normally that would get you a medium weight, medium warmth and very decent down jacket – something like the 490g Rab Electron for example. The genius of the Ramche 2.0 is that it’s lighter than classic stitch-through jackets like that, but also much warmer. Like properly, mad warm.
As soon as you put it on, you know it’s something special. Some of that is the high quality down, some undoubtedly that 10% claimed extra warmth from the aluminium Reflect Mesh inserts, but it’s also a tribute to the latest aggressive body-mapping.
Zoned To Warm
Berghaus conducted extensive research in both cold chambers and outside in extreme conditions in Greenland to work out which areas needed the most insulation and where they could use light fill without compromising performance – see the video below for more information.
The end result is a jacket that uses fat, overlapping baffles, say, on the main torso and kidneys for example, but small, stitch-through areas on the sides of the trunk where heat loss is less of an issue. From the rear, that eve-shaped area at the base of the neck, for example, is stitched-through, the rest of the back uses a warmer, overlapping construction to reduce heat loss through the seams.
Walk Like A Man
Another plus of this is that there’s no huge bulk under your arms, so you don’t feel you’re walking about like a body-builder, which makes the whole jacket feel less bulky and restrictive despite the warmth.
The hood, complete with adjustable head-cord, takes a helmet, but is luxuriously warm without. And you could in still, cold conditions layer it over, say, a close-fitting technical soft shell as a belay jacket.
The other contributor to the spectacular lightness of it all, is the super fine 7D face fabric. Berghaus stresses that it’s tougher than you might think thanks to the additional 30D rip-stop strands running through it and we’ve seen a jacket that Mick Fowler accidentally tangled in an abseil plate without tearing, so despite the soft feel, its not all hype.
Light But Strong
Overall, says Berghaus, that fabric is ‘twice as strong’ as the one used for the original Ramche jacket. And if you want more stats, it’s approximately 10% warmer and has a 20% better warmth to weight ratio.
Pack size is impressive for such a warm jacket. Our estimate is around a litre or so of capacity. Not quick pack lid-pocket size, but not far off. You also get plenty of pockets, free-running YKK Vislon moulded zips and adjustability all round.
The fit is trim and efficient with a serious drop-tail and for us at least, decent crotch coverage – always nice when the temperature drops… functionally it’s hard to fault.
