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You should buy this jacket if you are looking for an ultralight insulated jacket for lightweight adventures.
It’s easy to dismiss brands such as Berghaus as gorpcore for the masses, but dig under the surface and you will find that they are totally true to their heritage and still have an innovation mindset. All outdoor brands do it, it’s the ‘mass market’ kit that helps fund the innovation and helps keep the price manageable. For Berghaus it’s the EXTREM range of gear that you should be looking out for, this is where you will find kit that is designed for serious mountain athletes.
The new Berghaus MTN Arête Synthetic Hoody fits that description, it’s currently one of the lightest insulated jackets on the market. This is a tricky niche to fill, not only are you looking for warmth you also want lightness, to be compact and some breathability. The MTN Arête Hoody delivers on two brilliantly and one well. Let’s look at the brilliant points first.
Without doubt the the jacket is light. The trusty CGR scales weighed our size medium at 216g and the stated weight on the Ultralight Outdoor Gear site is 208g for a size M. So super light is what you are paying for and super light is what you get. A few years back we reviewed the the MTN Seeker Synthetic Hoody and this is way lighter. It’s also super compact and will fit into small places, it would easily fit into the smallest of packs. I fitted it into a compartment on my 5L waist pack and in my normal summer day pack it takes up very little space and together with a lightweight shell has proved to be an effective combination for warmth. I’ve also been using it with a lightweight, half zip baselayer with great effect.
The insulation is provided my 40g/sm of Berghaus’s own Hydroloft Elite synthetic insulation. We are great fans of synthetic inslulation as most of our adventures are U.K. based and out damp and humid climate often plays havoc with down. The MTN Arête Synthetic Hoody has provided excellent warmth throughout the early spring conditions I’ve been enjoying this year. To give an example, I have packed it for all my hikes and speed walking days. It has stayed in my pack until I’ve reached the summit when I have deployed it for lunch stops and other minor jobs that need sorting. When it’s windy I’ve kept it on for the descent (or ridge) until I overheat, which is usually when I have come off the top and reached the valley. Like all synthetic (or down for that matter), it is easy to overheat when moving fast and/or uphill. Berghaus have sensibly opted for a Vislon zipper for the body which means you can easily undo it when you need to vent off heat. A nice detail that many miss.
I really like the the reversible nature of the jacket. You wear it dark side out for breathability and when you turn it inside out to the hi viz green side it works more as a windproof. And it did work ( unless you are working hard as I explained above), it took about 5 minutes to feel dry and then once I had the hi viz green side it acted as a very effective wind barrier. Great, I really like the way does what it says on the tin. The outer material is high tenacity rip stop polyamide so it will take a little rough and tumble, despite the gossamer feel to it. I’m not sure I’ll be wearing it for rock or winter climbing though. For general mountaineering though, it will work fine as long as when you look at your long chimney climb you take it off!
The styling is performance, I’m still carrying a little timber from winter (and an injury) so it felt a little tight under my armpits. But I’m expecting (or at least hoping) that with the better weather I’ll fit into it. I’m generally a 40 inch chest and the size medium was a good fit with a lightweight baselayer or thin fleece. My preferred trail wear is lightweight half zip, a thin softshell gilet and with this set up the jacket worked well. The DWR kept off light showers but after about 20-30 mins I began to wet through. However, the jacket dried out very quickly.
Mountaineering specific features include the well fitting hood that fits over a cap or under a helmet neatly; elasticated cuffs, harness/pack friendly hand pockets with friction tipped ends for glove friendly operation. The hand warmer pockets are only available when wearing it in breathable mode – I feel that they should have one away with the hand pockets and had a large chest pocket that would be accessible from both sides and acted as a stow so it could be clipped onto a harness.
As always, we here at CGR look for the small details that mark out true adventure wear and Berghaus doesn’t disappoint. Elasticated hem, hood and cuffs; a large reflective EXTREM patch which is well placed on the back and printed Berghaus and EXTREM labels on the chest and arm. I have windproof jackets that are heavier than this and if you are looking for the lightest kit for your adventure then the Berghaus MTN Arête Synthetic Hoody is a jacket that if you buy you will find, like me, that it becomes a permanent addition to you pack throughout the spring, summer and into autumn.
The Berghaus MTN Arête Synthetic Hoody comes in a sizes XS-2XL for men and size UK8-18 for women. To keep things nice and simple you get one colour option. There’s a new colour for this season that Bergaus say is Purple – it’s a very dark purple and not garish at all. The lime green reversable colour is great for those low viz days and night time descents.
The SRP is £200 and it can be bought direct from Berghaus UK and specialist retailers.
Disclosure – CGR reviewers and writers are never paid to provide a review and the website does not take advertising or link to affiliate sales. We are a bunch of keen climbers and travellers who accept sample products and offer an honest and independent review of the item.
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