Co-editor Francesca Donovan shares her thoughts on already award-winning women’s walking legwear to see if the Berghaus Farren leggings live up to the hype.
Designed by MtnHaus (Berghaus’ innovation initiative) with ZonalAdapt technology, which is said by the brand to move with a woman’s body and its physical fluctuations, the Farrens have been tested by over 100 women and scientists involved in the 18-month design process. As someone who’s long had to compromise on hiking legwear, I was keen to add my pear-shaped and (smaller end of) plus-size perspective to see if the award-winning Farren leggings live up to the hype.
Francesca Donovan recommends
The Farrens have quickly become my go-to warm-weather legwear thanks to the unrivalled comfort over many hours of activity.- adjustable waistband with hidden toggle
- breathable fabric
- stomach relief panel
- freedom of movement
- material on the thin side
- price
| Quick Specs |
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| Price: $135 | £100 (available from Berghaus) Weight: 264g (leggings, size 16-18 / XL) Materials: LYCRA® ADAPTIV™ 78% Polyamide, 22% Elastane Features: woman-fist design, responsive waistband, targeted compression zones, lumbar support panel, frictionless seams Pockets: 2 thigh pockets Size: XS – 2XL Men’s version: no berghaus.com |
The headline, technical jargon aside, is that the Farrens actually work – once you’ve found your fit, you can slip in and forget about them for a full day of intense activity. For me, the highlight is a hidden adjustment toggle with four measurement options on either side of the waistband that you can change easily at any time for a snug fit to suit your body that day. Unlike some women’s legwear, a secure waistband doesn’t mean squeezing elsewhere. There’s a front ‘relief’ panel that takes pressure off the stomach. A lumbar support panel at the base of the spine won’t necessarily stop me throwing my back out (again) but it does reinforce the dependable waistband.
The Farren leggings have compression zones along the leg which keep everything in place, feeling like a second skin, without relying on a restrictive waistband. In real terms, these features work together to offer the most comfortable fit I’ve experienced. No pinching. No pulling up every few steps. The seams live up to the ‘frictionless’ description from Berghaus – I experienced zero rubbing in hotspots after a full day of walking.
Thoughtful extras include small reflective patches built into the corners of both thigh pockets, which are plenty large enough for the essentials but are hard to access under a zipped waterproof – not that you’d be wearing these trousers in cold conditions. They’re ideal for moving fast on cooler autumnal days or for long, summer adventures.
The fabric is quite thin, verging on see-through and not as supportive as other options. This is a trade-off with comfort, however, and the LYCRA® ADAPTIV™ fabric is very breathable over long hours – if not necessarily winter-ready. I’d also worry about these leggings snagging – as most do. The difference here is that you can send your worse-for-wear Berghaus kit to the in-house Repairhaus team, on hand to stitch any rip or replace any zip, if they possibly can, as many times as you need them to for the cost of sending your gear in. The fix-up is on the house.
If you are looking for a tougher fabric with more features, I’d recommend the Farren trousers. They also have ZonalAdapt technology making them my favoured walking trousers for comfort – with no faff over buttons or zips. The waistband and inner shorts are built with the same LYCRA® ADAPTIV™ fabric as the leggings. These shorts do sometimes ride up while seated but I found the benefit of breathable fabric next to skin outweighs this minor inconvenience.
No odours have been retained after days of wearing and the Farrens wash well with no piling. They are expensive (despite not being fit for all-season use) but have quickly become my go-to warm-weather legwear thanks to the unrivalled comfort over many hours of activity. Given the immense efforts made by Berghaus to craft a genuinely women-first technology, I’d like to see the sizing extended to include more body sizes.
How we test
Francesca has been testing the Farren trousers and leggings over four months on late-summer, autumn and early-winter walks and minor scrambles across the Peak District, Eryri, and the Lake District, as well as trialling them in the gym and at her local climbing wall.
