About Berghaus
Berghaus is a British set up in the North East of England (a surprise to many who believe they are a German brand!) started in 1966 by climbers Peter Lockey and Gordon Davison who had grown frustrated by the lack of proven high-end hiking and climbing gear. Starting with a shop they soon grew to create their own gear before growing the range to become world-renowned and highly innovative. To find out more, check out here:
https://www.berghaus.com/berghaus-history.html
Features
The Berghaus Supalite II Gore-Tex boots are a very lightweight leather boot lined with Gore-Tex. Aimed at walkers heading from coastal trails to days out on the hills. It has a one-piece construction of soft, while strong leather. It incorporates gore-tex to ensure water stays out and the boot’s ability to breathe. Lastly, memory foam details and Ortholite footbeds ensure comfort for the whole day.
• Breathable, cushioned OrthoLite® footbeds for all-day comfort
• Improved flexibility and heel fit gives more comfort
• Even more supple construction thanks to sheep leather features on internal collar and tongue
Performance
I’ve worn these boots for pretty much all types of walking over the last three years, they’ve hit the Peak District trails weekly, had wet and warm walks on the beaches of the south coast, and have often been my go-to mountain boot on week-long holidays to the Lake District or Scotland.
At no point have I ever felt let down, they are extremely light boots that even after a 6-hour hike don’t really ache my feet. They have been completely waterproof in every situation and most surprisingly of all even during the summer months they’ve never felt too hot. They’re showing a little wear now around the toes, but from all the mountain walks we’ve done this is no surprise, but the sole is well intact and the grip that has been provided since day one has never left.
I find them very comfy, and historically this has been something I've struggled with in terms of leather boots, often looking into more comfy fabric boots instead. However, due to the Goretex waterproof membrane, and the leather exterior they are superior in most ways. They’ve been covered in mud, soaked in rivers and through snowy peaks, a quick clean and some TLC on the leather now and then and they have continued to work very well.
The boots also have quite wide gaps between the lugs on the Vibram soles, this has been great as bricks don’t get stuck in them while walking, it also seems to never struggle with mud which is another great bonus.
After a long walk, 5- 6 hours they do become quite hard on the footbed, and you can tell you’ve done a big day, but it’s never gotten to the point of where I wanted to switch out of them for something else.
I also tend to struggle somewhat with leather boots, as they often rub the backs of my feet, and therefore cause blisters, but these have been good to me. After a few weeks of breaking in where I wore blister blasters on every walk, I can now often get away without.
A word on Ethics
This was a tough one for me, on one hand, we try and have as little impact as possible and buy goods that are as ethical as possible. But on the other hand, we are aware of the limitations of certain things. Leather boots by a brand that never tops ethical charts are clearly against our standard views. However, due to issues with me finding boots that fit well, and knowing that leather Goretex boots are going to be the best bet in boggy Lakeland conditions, I found myself ignoring my usual concerns for these boots.
We are going to continue to assess this, and in the future as we find better solutions we will obviously review these. Additionally, Berghaus has made some important steps in the last few years including being a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative so we don’t want to sound too negative towards them. I chose to buy these boots with this in mind as I expected them to as a minimum last a long time, and to their credit they have suceeded in that.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a lightweight, but a high-performance boot that offers good comfort and support, while keeping the hardcore waterproof rating you come to expect from a Gore-Tex boot, then look no further. Three years in and I'm still loving mine and they have been fantastic every time I've worn them.
Incidentally, the best review I can give them is as of writing this, I’ve just grabbed myself a second pair when they were on sale to ensure when these finally do fail me, I have a backup ready to go.
