Berghaus Aura jacket
£200.00
If there was an award for the most pockets ever sewn into one garment, Berghaus' new season Aura Jacket would be on stage holding aloft the Oscar for openings.
Count thyne cavities: two zipped hand pockets, two zipped chest pockets, internal zipped mesh pocket…and wait, there's more if you look carefully. Very carefully. There's a 'hidden' middle-of-lining pocket of some stature - enough for me to stuff an OS map in while wandering the Usk Valley. So good was this pocket at keeping a secret, I kept forgetting where my map was. Kinda frustrating, actually. But then that's not the jacket's fault eh?
Now, what was I talking about? Oh yes…
Okay, so six pockets isn't overboard for anyone with half a memory, but plenty will no doubt discover last year's leftover orange peel at the bottom of a pocket at some stage.
Aside from a wander in Wales, I took the Aura for a bit of a heavier hit-out on the hills of Romania. Transylvania to be more accurate and the Faragas Mountains to be precise. And what a workout. Two thousand metres, precipitous ridge, blinding snowstorm, and more wet stuff being thrown at me than a waterslide at Wet 'n Wild. And what to say? The jacket worked. Simple as that. I stayed dry. Well, my top half did. If only I had the equivalent for my legs and feet. Nought seeped in, and even more pleasingly for someone who sweats in minus 20 - which it was - the Aura breathed. Panted actually. I'm guessing that'd be due to the 2-layer Gore-Tex Pro Shell.
Berghaus claim the jacket is an all-rounder for all year use and I'd have to agree up until the summer season (I'll stick with a light spray jacket for summer, thanks very much). The chills and rain of autumn or spring is when the jacket outperforms anything I've worn previously. In winter it needs back-up in the warmth stakes. No problem, I just happened to have a Berghaus fleece and wick-away tee underneath, which with my beanie on and jacket hood over that, kept me cosy enough.
The hood, however, is my one and only real complaint. My old jacket had an elasticised pull string that when drawn, gripped (however weird it felt) onto your head, keeping the hood firmly planted on my noggin. The Aura also has this but the positioning of it - a little too low I think - means it simply doesn't hang on for the ride. And even with the hood done up to the nines at the front, a swift wind still kicks it up and off. Or at the very least lets doses the nasty weather in.
On the plus side, the Aura has a hard-wearing layer across the shoulders and arms, taking the rough and rub of a laden backpack. The seams worried me a bit: a few showed signs that it wouldn't take much for them to fray and come loose. But that's pure speculation. Let us just say that the nail scratch test (replicating those tree branches looking for a fight) didn't allay my fears. Hook and loop adjustable cuffs helped keep the drips outside and the elasticated waist and hem drawcords kept me snug - but then these are all pretty stock-standard on any outdoor wet weather jacket so not much of a point of difference.
All in all I'd say at a retail price of £200 you get your value. Just.
Reviewed on 28/11/2007 by Chris Ord