Berghaus Extrem Hagshu Jacket | Review - Outdoors Magic

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Waterproof Jackets

Berghaus Extrem Hagshu Jacket | Review

Reassuringly robust own-brand Hydroshell Elite Pro fabric and a fortress-like helmet hood make for one tough mountain shell.

‘The Berghaus Hagshu Jacket mixes tough, durable own-brand fabric with a bomb-proof hood and decent cut for long-lasting, all-round,  all-mountain protection’

Outdoors Magic: Solidly engineered, tough-feeling fabric, effective hood, venting pockets, Vislon main-zip, clean design.

Outdoors Tragic: Slightly heavy, stealth hood adjusters fiddly on the go, middling breathability. Pocket paucity.

Outdoors Grabbit?  A proper, solid, all-round mountain jacket with a decent hood, venting pockets and smooth flowing YKK Vislon main zip. It’s not super breathable or ostentatiously glamorous, but it’s as tough as old boots and gets the job done even in nasty weather. A little pricey for an own-brand fabric, but gets a lifetime guarantee.

Full Specification

Waterproof mountain jacket / Berghaus Hydroshell Elite Pro 3-layer fabric / 3D venting pockets / helmet compatible hood with wired and stiffened peak / internal mesh pocket / adjustable cuffs and hem / stealth adjuster cords for hem and hood opening / YKK Vislon molded main-zip with internal storm-flap

Full Review Below

Cut gives room for additional layers without excessive flappiness. Spec is purposeful rather than lavish with a focus on function - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
The 3D pockets double as vents and are cut so they stay open in use for maximum effectiveness - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
Adjusters for hem are routed up to the pockets for super clean looks and stealth adjustment - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Berghaus Extrem Hagshu – The Tech

The Hagshu’s made from a rugged feeling, three-layer version of Berghaus’s own-brand  fabric, Hydroshell Elite Pro, but don’t let that put you off.

There was a time when own-brand fabrics were second best to the big fabric brands, but they’re becoming increasingly competitive thanks to improved technology and the micro-engineering of PU membranes.

To underline that, Berghaus is confident enough in the waterproofness of Hydroshell to offer a lifetime guarantee on jackets made with it.

Neat Touches

What you don’t get with the Hagshu is the level of innovation used in the excellent Extrem 8000 Pro Jacket, but there are a couple of neat touches worth noting. One is the use of the excellent, free-flowing YKK Vislon main zip.

The other is clever 3D venting pocket design, which is cut to sit open in use for maximum effectiveness rather than closing up as many tend to do. Neat stuff and a nice bit of attention to detail from the Berghaus design team.

The hood is good 'un. Enough volume to swallow a climbing helmet, but still works with a bare head too - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
Stealth hood adjusters give super clean lines and avoid flapping cords, but are fiddly to use on the move with big gloves in particular - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
Hood top cord holds it in place on your head or helemt and ensures that it moves with the head - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Berghaus Extrem Hagshu – Performance

We were super impressed with the Berghaus Extrem 8000 Pro expedition hardshell jacket, but the Hagshu is more of an all-round mountain workhorse. First impressions are that it feels solid and super tough. It’s not as light as some at just under 600g for a medium, but that’s the pay-off for the rugged Hydroshell Elite Pro fabric.

It’s neatly cut with medium-long in body and sleeves for maxed-out protection and – for us at least – still has enough space inside for a warmer winter insulation layer like a micro-baffled down jacket for example.

‘Suit Of Armour’

And like the big daddy 8000, it has a great ‘suit of armour’, protective feel to it when everything’s battened down against the weather. That’s helped by a mahoosive helmet hood that’ll happily accommodate a climbing lid, while still giving you pretty much full facial protection up to just below eye-level.

It also manages a decent job without a helmet despite the extra volume. A wired and stiffened cantilever of a peak shrugs off air-strikes, seagulls, sleet, rain and snow with aplomb with just a little looseness around the lower face/chin interface.

The one thing we don’t like about the hood are the stealth front adjuster cords. They give clean lines and avoid any flappage in high winds, but they make micro-adjustment of the hood on the move a fiddly process particularly with gloved-hands. Not a deal-breaker, but worth knowing.

We do like the hidden hem adjusters lodged in the hand-pockets. Again they’re slightly fiddly with gloves, but hems generally only need tweaking once or twice rather than regularly.

‘Pocketage’…

We’re fans of the 3D venting pockets though. The mesh lining means no double-layers of waterproof fabric to reduce breathability plus when things get hot and sticky you can use them to cool off. And as advertised, they sit slightly open for maximum effect.

‘The jacket’s one weak point if you’re that way inclined, is the relative paucity of pockets – or maybe ‘pocketage’.

We found we needed them when going hard, along with rollable sleeves, as the HydroShell fabric isn’t as breathable as, say, Gore-Tex Pro or particularly, Polartec Neoshell. It’s not an issue with steady use, but open the taps and things can get quite hot and humid inside.

The jacket’s one weak point if you’re that way inclined, is the relative paucity of pockets – or ‘pocketage’. There are just those two venting hand-pockets and a long, inside mesh one. If you’re using them for venting as well, finding somewhere to cram spare gloves and so on.

That’ll be an issue for some users and an irrelevance for others. It depends on how you view and use pockets. But be advised…

Suit of armour robustness and comprehensive hood coverage make the Hagshu a reassuring companion on the worst mountain days – Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Berghaus Extrem Hagshu – Performance

Super solid, durable-feeling fabric, good cut, reassuring build quality and a helmet hood that could double as a small nuclear bunker make the Hagshu a dependable mountain workhorse of a jacket.

There are a few minor downsides: we found the stealth hood-cords slightly fiddly and there’s only a limited number of pockets – an external chest one would be a good call. Plus the own-brand, three-layer fabric isn’t as breathable as more expensive top-end branded fabrics.

And yes, it’s slightly heavier than some. But if your after a tough, well-designed, unfussy mountain walking and mountaineering all-rounder at a competitive price we reckon the Hagshu should be on your shortlist.

More Information

See berghaus.com

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