Trusted by outdoor athletes and enthusiasts for over 40 years, Berghaus has a reputation as an innovator of outstanding outdoor performance gear.  Winning several awards over the years, in 2006 Berghaus received royal recognition with The Queens Award for innovation in the design and technical development of outdoor products.  An approved supplier of gear for youngsters participating in the Duke of Edinburgh awards, Berghaus ensures the correct equipment for the award level is affordable as well as reliable.

In 1966 frustrated by a lack of decent gear for outdoors, the climbers and mountaineers, Peter Lockey and Gordon Davison set up their own shop in Newcastle.  Named initially LD Mountain Centre, the shop imported specialist high performance outdoor products to meet the needs of climbers, mountaineers and anyone else enthusiastic about enjoying outdoors.

Not long after, inspired by what was actually wanted and needed by climbers, the LD Mountain Centre began to make and test their own gear from their own designs.  Their quality innovative clothing was named Berghaus, which is a literal German translation of mountain centre.  Their new brand name meant that their gear was no longer thought of just as the preserve of mountain users but had a broader appeal to all outdoor users requiring technical gear such as walkers, hikers and campers.

In the 70’s Berghaus expanded into the rucksack market producing a rucksack that distributed loads making for a more comfortable experience and less hindrance from bulky equipment.  They called their Berghaus rucksacks ‘rucsac’ adapted from the German translation for back pack.  In 1972, arguably the first rucksack with an internal frame, the extra padding on their Cyclops rucsac made it extremely comfortable and climber friendly.  The Cyclops is one of the most popular rucsacs of all time and a modern version still exists in the Cyclops III featured in the Extrem range for extreme performers.

In the mid 70’s Berghaus was one of the first European retailers to introduce Gore-Tex into their range (firstly into their Berghaus Jackets).  At that time Gore-tex was the latest innovative technology, being waterproof and breathable.  The early 80’s saw Berghaus supplying gear for expeditions and the new concept they introduced was the zipped-in fleece jacket.  Mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington started officially wearing Berghaus and it was in Berghaus gear that he climbed Everest in 1985.

The Berghaus extreme adventurer range was launched and in 1988 Berghaus won the Queens Award for Export.  One of the few providers of women specific outdoor gear they then began working with top female climbers, mountaineers and adventurers.

In the early 90’s they were taken over by the owner of sports brands Speedo and Ellesse, The Pentland Group PLC, which made Berghaus one of the worlds best resourced performance companies.

Continuing to innovate, Berghaus was awarded The Millenium Product award by The Design Council of Great Britain for their Nitro Rucsac introduced in 1998, which had a unique limpet carrying and compression system.  In 2005, they won the sports trade show ISPO Award for innovation with their Bioflex® rucsac back system, designed to twist, flex and bend in line with the body’s natural movement.

Currently Berghaus have 20 athletes in their team including Leo Holding known as a fearless climber, inspirational adventurer Karen Darke, world famous climber Mick Fowler and world class boulderer Leah Crane.