Berghaus representatives celebrate their treble success. Photo: Messe Friedrichshafen
Outdoor brand Berghaus is celebrating a treble win at one of Europe’s biggest trade shows.
The Sunderland-based company picked up a gold award at the OutDoor Industry Awards with its Hyper Smock 2.0.
And two other products, the HyperTherm Race Smock and the ECO Wovens range were also selected for awards, the latter for its ecological production processes.
The OutDoor event, at Friedrichshafen in Germany, is the showcase for upcoming products from the world’s outdoor brands.
A Berghaus spokesperson said: “This year’s OutDoor Industry Awards attracted more entries than ever before, but a tightening of judging criteria led to fewer awards being handed out.
“Berghaus submitted three entries and following judging by six international experts, all of the products were successful.
The Hyper Smock 2.0 is part of Berghaus’s VapourLight collection, developed by the company’s MtnHaus innovation team.
“Made out of new Hydroshell Hyper, with a hydrostatic head of 15,000mm and breathability of 10,000g/m2/24hrs, the smock is the world’s lightest waterproof top. A men’s large Hyper Smock weighs in at just 75g and the women-specific version weighs only 67g for a size 12.”
The award jury said: “Berghaus has again managed to significantly reduce the weight of an already lightweight model.
“The fit is exceptionally good, given the minimalist concept. Berghaus did very well with the hood design in particular.”
Designed and developed with ultrarunner Philippe Gatta, the reversible HyperTherm Race Smock features non-migratory, extremely lightweight HydroLoft Elite and different weave face fabrics to deliver the optimum combination of warmth and breathability, depending on levels of action and weather conditions.
The award jury said: “Given its low weight, the Berghaus HyperTherm Race Smock offers particularly high insulation properties. Its clever reversible design means that it can be worn to provide either more wind resistance and greater insulation or more air permeability and less insulation.”
Berghaus said, in developing its new ECO Wovens range, it has removed key stages of the textile dyeing process that affect the environment. In the dyeing stage, when compared to standard processes, production of ECO Woven styles uses 89 per cent less water, 63 per cent fewer chemicals, 62 per cent less CO2 and 67 per cent less chemical oxygen demand.
“The end products also boast improved colour fastness and the use of durable nylon means that they last longer,” it added. “In addition, the incorporation of Polygiene odour control technology allows consumers to wash the shirts and legwear less often, minimising environmental impact post purchase.
The jury said: “Because of the innovative dry yarn dyeing process used, the jury sees the ECO Woven shirts and trousers as a pioneering development in the area of resource saving production. The clothing also requires less maintenance than comparable products when in use.”
David Heath, Berghaus vice-president of product and marketing, said: “Berghaus is delighted to have been recognised in the OutDoor Industry Awards and particularly with the gold for the Hyper Smock 2.0.
“These awards are testament to the hard work of everyone who contributed to the products during their development. The Hyper Smock and HyperTherm Race Smock epitomise all that is best about our MtnHaus innovation programme, while ECO Wovens are a very important step in developing more environmentally sustainable products.
“We are all incredibly proud that Berghaus has been recognised in this way.”
The new products are due in the shops in 2015.
