Berghaus has joined forces with an international expedition team as part of a women’s product development initiative. Representatives from the brand recently met up with the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition in Svalbard, Norway, to discuss kit design and development.
Expedition leader Felicity Aston and her colleagues will be using a selection of Berghaus women’s products when they set out to ski the last degree to the North Pole later this month. Meanwhile, the product feedback that they gave in Svalbard will help Berghaus as the company continues to expand and improve its range of women’s specific products.
The Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition will see an 11-strong team from 10 different nations ski the last degree to the North Pole to foster greater dialogue and understanding between women from European and Arabian cultures. The team includes representatives with a wide range of backgrounds and outdoor experience from Qatar, Sweden, Oman, Saudi Arabia, France, Russia, Cyprus, Slovenia, and Kuwait. On 14 April, the team will fly from Longyearbyen in Svalbard to a floating ice camp on the Arctic Ocean. From a position at 89 degrees north, the women will then set off to ski towards the North Pole.
Carolyn Harker and Marc Davis from the product management department at Berghaus flew out to meet expedition team members in Svalbard before their flight to the Arctic Ocean. Harker and Davis hosted a workshop, during which they made final adjustments to the expedition kit, gathered feedback on the products that have been supplied to the expedition, and also talked about future plans for women’s specific kit at Berghaus. Berghaus continue to invest considerable resource into refining the design of its range of outdoor clothing, footwear and equipment for women, from technical apparel for high mountain activities to kit designed for walking and everyday use. The ongoing work is primarily focused on fit, features and performance, but is also reviewing and updating the colour options available to women, and how the brand engages and communicates with female audiences.
Carolyn Harker, women’s product manager at Berghaus, comments: “Our time with Felicity and her team was really valuable. All together in one room, we were able to speak with women from a wide range of backgrounds. They had many shared product needs, and indeed demands, but were also able to share individual insights about kit, and their own personal experiences and interactions with outdoor brands.
“We received some great feedback on the gear that we have supplied for the expedition and were presented with some excellent ideas and challenges that will inform what we do next with women’s specific products at Berghaus. With the team in final preparation and leaving for the North Pole so soon, it all felt very real and therefore extra special. We are very excited about the developments that we are planning for our future women’s ranges.”
Aston, leader of the expedition, adds: “We needed no incentive to chat all afternoon about everything we love and hate about women’s outdoor gear, and it was great to feel listened to by Berghaus. I know that Carolyn and Marc found the meeting to be really useful and I look forward to seeing the women’s products that come through the pipeline in the future. Meanwhile, our team is very grateful for the kit that we have been supplied with for this expedition, which we will be putting to a severe test very soon.”
The Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition team has been kitted out in a selection of women’s specific products from Berghaus, including the Cold Climbs fleece and Ramche down jacket.
For more information about Berghaus visit www.berghaus.com and to find out more about the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition, visit www.euroarabianexpedition.com.