Already in 1913, the Norwegian Army used Bergans backpacks. Regular use by expeditions to arctic regions helped further develop our packs. Expedition leaders, like Roald Amundsen, Lincoln Ellsworth and General Bruce from the Mount Everest-expedition spoke of their Bergans packs with high regard and soon the name Bergans became synonymous with bacpacks.

Bergans’ philosophy has always been to provide functional equipment of the highest quality. We perform continuous product development and testing, always striving to be at the forefront of the innovation cycle for backpacks and technical clothing. Our product development team includes medical doctors, physical therapists and ergonomic specialists.

In addition, we have close co-operation with all categories of users - the "ordinary" man and woman - along with extreme users on expeditions where the equipment is thoroughly tested. This forms the basis of our product development and high quality.

At the beginning of a new millennium, Bergans is still an important partner for the Norwegian Army and numerous expeditions - not all of them famous. We get to test our products under various conditions, and we were the main supplier for the Trans-Canada Expedition - a journey of 6.000km through 4 seasons - and for the Arctic Ocean 2000 Expedition, reviewed on pages 52 and 53. During expeditions like these product durability is tested under the most extreme conditions. Roald Amundsen said in 1928 that he was "very pleased" with his Bergans.

Bergans product test station is located at the summit of Gaustatoppen (1833m) near Rjukan, in the Telemark region.This is an unique mountain that rises a 1000 metres above the surrounding landscape making the climatic conditions at the summit extreme. Heavy icing, strong winds, low temperatures and extreme fog are all common. Here, we test the performance of our products and fabrics under long-term exposure to the elements.

Source: www.bergans.com