Lots and lots of photos!
I got this after Silvermans had a photo of a Berghaus Vulcan copy on their website advertised as 100 litres including the side pouches. This was as big as I wanted to go really but my Sabre 45 with pouches is extremely tested during the winter months by my 90 pattern doss bag. However, when the bag came it was a copy of a PLCE bergan. Highlander have confirmed that they now make this bag after ceasing production of the other bag 4 months ago as there was no market for it!
The bag- fairly standard:
Closer view showing the Highlander water bladder attachment rings:
Rear View showing extra long carrying handles and rather absurdly long adjustment in the shoulder tension straps:
Closer view. Note how close together the shoulder straps are sewn onto the bag and how thick they are. The straps are 1" thick and sewn on 1" apart:
Zipped front pocket:
Zipped pockets on top of bag facing away from you when worn:
Zipped pocket on the underside of the lid:
Inside bag. Note reinforcement of stitching:
Frame detail:
Showing capacity of the bag:
And when extended to the maximum at the point the the lid can still be fastened:
The included pouch yoke:
Pouches removed and attached to yoke. Note that the waist belt does not pass through the webbing loops as they are sewn too small:
And closer views demonstrating this:
The side compression straps of the bergan. Note that they are not long enough to go outside of and compress the pouches like on the Sabre, but they can be threaded through the rear of the pouches to offer support for the zips if the pouches are heavy:
And the front of the pouches:
and the waist belt fastened through the loops on the issue pouches in comparison:
Reinforcement detail on pouches. Left to right- Issue pouch, webtex pouch, Highlander pouch:
This is the same load in the bergan which filled my Sabre 45 to capacity (Pouches not fully filled on either:
And filled to capacity (but not max capacity, but to the top of the bergan itself):
Final photo, carrying position (sorry it's blurred!):
That's it for photos
On reflection this bag is definitely bigger than I need but as the kids will be coming along soon and they are too little to carry any large loads that might not be a bad thing. I don't find the shoulder straps as comfortable as my Sabre. They are narrower and inflexible being full inch thick- why, there's no need. Also where the Sabre straps are sewn onto the bag 2" apart at the attachment point this is only 1" apart. With broad shoulders and a thick neck, I'm hoping these don't rub. They do run close to my neck.
The biggest reason for keeping the bag was that it has a "Product Lifetime Guarantee" against normal wear and tear- sounds good to me. Could I have found a new Sabre 60-100 for the same price it would have been that- no competition!
The buckles fit the PLCE, Webtex and Snugpak. I don't know about anyone else but I do struggle to fasten webtex to PLCE.
The quality of the bag is good. Slightly thicker than webtex but not as thick as PLCE. The waterproofing inside is PVC coating which appears dimpled whereas the webtex is smooth. I haven't yet used this for real so can't tell if the waterprrofing is good or not but it's no worse that their Forces NRT range of bags.
Not being able to stop the rear of the pouches flapping about in daysack mode may annoy me or other people. For the sake of making bigger loops (at no extra cost) this seems a silly omission to a lack of detail.
I like the fact that all stitching in the bag is reinforced with another layer of cut off rucksack material. The straps in some places are quite plainly just far too long. Time to break out the insulating tape unless you are 10' tall then you'll only have 3-4" hanging loose!
Overall 1st impressions are good. More plus points than minus points but a little more effort would make this very good:
PROS
Cost- £70 (Delivered)
Adaptability of size
Zipped pockets
Extra buckles supplied in case of breakage or further attachment
Warranty
CONS
Shoulder straps not as confy as they could be
Positioning of them on the bag too close together
Side compression straps could be longer to reach around pouches if needed (TBH I never compress them anyway- just nitpicking)
I got this after Silvermans had a photo of a Berghaus Vulcan copy on their website advertised as 100 litres including the side pouches. This was as big as I wanted to go really but my Sabre 45 with pouches is extremely tested during the winter months by my 90 pattern doss bag. However, when the bag came it was a copy of a PLCE bergan. Highlander have confirmed that they now make this bag after ceasing production of the other bag 4 months ago as there was no market for it!
The bag- fairly standard:
Closer view showing the Highlander water bladder attachment rings:
Rear View showing extra long carrying handles and rather absurdly long adjustment in the shoulder tension straps:
Closer view. Note how close together the shoulder straps are sewn onto the bag and how thick they are. The straps are 1" thick and sewn on 1" apart:
Zipped front pocket:
Zipped pockets on top of bag facing away from you when worn:
Zipped pocket on the underside of the lid:
Inside bag. Note reinforcement of stitching:
Frame detail:
Showing capacity of the bag:
And when extended to the maximum at the point the the lid can still be fastened:
The included pouch yoke:
Pouches removed and attached to yoke. Note that the waist belt does not pass through the webbing loops as they are sewn too small:
And closer views demonstrating this:
The side compression straps of the bergan. Note that they are not long enough to go outside of and compress the pouches like on the Sabre, but they can be threaded through the rear of the pouches to offer support for the zips if the pouches are heavy:
And the front of the pouches:
and the waist belt fastened through the loops on the issue pouches in comparison:
Reinforcement detail on pouches. Left to right- Issue pouch, webtex pouch, Highlander pouch:
This is the same load in the bergan which filled my Sabre 45 to capacity (Pouches not fully filled on either:
And filled to capacity (but not max capacity, but to the top of the bergan itself):
Final photo, carrying position (sorry it's blurred!):
That's it for photos
On reflection this bag is definitely bigger than I need but as the kids will be coming along soon and they are too little to carry any large loads that might not be a bad thing. I don't find the shoulder straps as comfortable as my Sabre. They are narrower and inflexible being full inch thick- why, there's no need. Also where the Sabre straps are sewn onto the bag 2" apart at the attachment point this is only 1" apart. With broad shoulders and a thick neck, I'm hoping these don't rub. They do run close to my neck.
The biggest reason for keeping the bag was that it has a "Product Lifetime Guarantee" against normal wear and tear- sounds good to me. Could I have found a new Sabre 60-100 for the same price it would have been that- no competition!
The buckles fit the PLCE, Webtex and Snugpak. I don't know about anyone else but I do struggle to fasten webtex to PLCE.
The quality of the bag is good. Slightly thicker than webtex but not as thick as PLCE. The waterproofing inside is PVC coating which appears dimpled whereas the webtex is smooth. I haven't yet used this for real so can't tell if the waterprrofing is good or not but it's no worse that their Forces NRT range of bags.
Not being able to stop the rear of the pouches flapping about in daysack mode may annoy me or other people. For the sake of making bigger loops (at no extra cost) this seems a silly omission to a lack of detail.
I like the fact that all stitching in the bag is reinforced with another layer of cut off rucksack material. The straps in some places are quite plainly just far too long. Time to break out the insulating tape unless you are 10' tall then you'll only have 3-4" hanging loose!
Overall 1st impressions are good. More plus points than minus points but a little more effort would make this very good:
PROS
Cost- £70 (Delivered)
Adaptability of size
Zipped pockets
Extra buckles supplied in case of breakage or further attachment
Warranty
CONS
Shoulder straps not as confy as they could be
Positioning of them on the bag too close together
Side compression straps could be longer to reach around pouches if needed (TBH I never compress them anyway- just nitpicking)
