Berghaus Rucksacks

MTN Guide 45+

MTN Seeker 32 S

I use a lot of different rucksacks in my daily life. They often have specific purposes, or just get used for a particular journey, or style of climbing, or sometimes I pick one off the shelf purely because I haven’t used it for a while. A rucksack that is designed for, let’s say backpacking and wild camping is unlikely to be that great for taking down the climbing wall with just a harness, rock shoes and a rope thrown in with a water bottle, and a pack that I might choose for a Himalayan trek probably isn’t going to be first on my list for a walk around Haweswater with the dogs. That said, I do have one or two rucksacks that seem to somehow be pretty good at everything.

I was recently sent a couple of packs from Berghaus which really got me excited. Berghaus as a brand has been around in the hills since 1966 when Peter Lockey and Gordon Davison started the company to import and distribute outdoor kit into the UK. By 1972 they’d started designing and making their own equipment and clothing, so by the time I began getting out into the hills as a young lad in the late 1970s Berghaus was very definitely THE brand to own. I feel like I grew up with the brand. My first ever Goretex jacket was the fabled Trango, and many more from Berghaus followed. My relationship with Berghaus dwindled over the years, until they relaunched the Extrem series recently, and I’ve been keen to see if the newer designs and models of clothing and rucksacks stand up to my memories of those older bits of kit.

So, when a big cardboard box arrived with a MTN Guide 45+ and a MTN Seeker 32S inside, my first thoughts were ‘can one of these rucksacks become my new all-round favourite?’

I took the MTN Seeker for a walk first, so let’s begin with this.

Berghaus MTN Seeker 32 S

First impressions are important aren’t they? This is a fantastic looking pack, as well as having the look and feel of a really tough, bomb-proof piece of kit. But we’ll come to that shortly.

My only initial doubt was with the sizing of the pack. 32l is perfect for me as a day-pack for mountain walking in summer or winter, and is also really useful as a summer cragging rucksack, but that wasn’t my concern. The ‘S’ in the name is a bit confusing. On the Berghaus website it calls this rucksack the MTN Seeker 32 Short, which made me wonder if the short back-length might not be great for me carrying a heavy load. I’m about 6’ tall, so don’t really need a Short back length pack. Sharon is 5’ 6” tall, but with a fairly long back relative to her height. I actually find this rucksack to be a great fit for me, whereas Sharon thinks it’s a bit short for her. Figure that one out! Further research on the Berghaus website suggests that this is a Standard size rucksack, and unisex, which has me wondering if the ‘S’ actually means Standard, rather than Short. Anyway, for me, the back length works really well.

Aside from this confusion the ruggedness of the sack is immediately obvious. It’s made from 100% recycled 400D nylon with a 600D polyester ripstop outer coated with TPU for extra durability and water resistance. All of the plastic components are also made from recycled nylon and are oversized for added strength, which also means they can be worked while wearing big gloves in the winter. It’s a seriously robust pack. I love its environmental credentials, and also the fact that it is a pretty water resistant pack.

I’ve used the MTN Seeker mainly as a summer hillwalking and scrambling pack, and for these adventures it’s packed with features. I should qualify this by stating that other than the lid pocket, which is actually quite small within a fixed lid, there are no other pockets at all, either external or internal. So, if you’re the kind of hillwalker who likes lots of pockets on their pack, and let’s be honest, most of you do, this probably isn’t the one for you. I’m not a fan of lots of pockets on my rucksacks, whatever I’m using them for, much preferring the ‘one big sack’ approach, which is one of the many reasons that I love this rucksack.

Other great features include a versatile external attachment system, with twin ice axe loops, and side straps for poles/skis, reinforced haul loops at the front and rear, a dedicated rope lashing system, and full-length side zip for ease of access. It does have an internal sleeve which takes a 3l bladder hydration system. There is a mesh helmet holder, but while the Berghaus website claims that the lid is detachable, on mine the lid is very firmly sewn in, so I’m not sure where they cut and pasted that sentence from.

For scrambling, rock climbing, and light-weight alpine ascents I think it’s a useful addition to my store of packs. My only little gripe is that the webbing for the hip belt and adjustments for the shoulder straps are pretty stiff, but I’m sure they’ll soften with use.

The other great news is that at the time of writing Berghaus have a 50% sale on the MTN Seeker 32 S, bringing it down to a very sensible and attractive £95.

To buy go to Berghaus MTN Seeker 32 S

Berghaus MTN Guide 45+

The bigger of the two rucksacks was right from the start my odds-on favourite for possibly becoming my new all-round rucksack. At 45l + it’s a great size, and I’ve now used mine for a wide range of adventures. It’s been on a few scrambling and climbing days with me here in the Lake District, as well as a handful of winter Munros in Scotland. I’ve even used it for backpacking on a two-night Mountain Leader assessment course, and found it big enough to get all of my kit – tent, sleeping bag, mat, stove, etc. –and most importantly, it was comfortable to carry with the extra weight too.

The materials used in the construction are the same as in the Seeker 32 S, while the Guide 45+ does have a detachable lid (maybe this is where Berghaus cut and pasted it from on their website for the description of the Seeker?), and it’s large enough to easily take map, compass, hat and gloves, and a few other bits and pieces. The waist belt has more padding than the Seeker, as you’d expect from a larger rucksack, and this is fitted with gear loops for climbing too. The zip entry is more of a wrap-around style, giving really easy access to all of your kit.

All other spec is the same as with the Seeker, and between the two of these rucksacks I think Berghaus have produced a couple of very good, hard-wearing load carriers. The Guide 45+ certainly fits the bill for me, in terms of being most useful for most of my mountain activities. Early in the New Year I’m off to Morocco and it will be my rucksack of choice to get me up Jebel Toubkhal. I’ll also be using it daily in Scotland once I get back from Morocco, where that be for winter Munro bagging, or snow and ice climbing. Then, as we slip into the spring season and I head out to Nepal for the trekking season this pack will almost certainly be coming away with me yet again.

Now, if only I could persuade Berghaus to send me one of their new generation retro Trango jackets? That would indeed be a blast from the past!

To buy go to Berghaus MTN Guide 45+