Berghaus Cyclops Roc

I bought my Roc in 1980 for £35 as a Venture Scout who did a bit of winter walking/ climbing. It was the green canvas version, 70 litres I think, and it needed a fair bit of silicone spray before it became waterproof.

My friends who had bought the neoprene/ nylon version has better results keeping the down bags dry, but their sacs looked supremely tatty after a couple of hauls up a winter climb on the end of a rope, compared to my canvas one which always seemed to look fine after a pre- winter clean and spray.

I think that the weave of the nylon sac was easily surface - ripped and althought they remained intact and strong, they looked a bit  frayed to say the least.

My Cyclops Roc eventually succumbed to a fair old rip at the anchor of one of the lid tapes, and was no longer as strong as it should have been. It was lent out to a friend in the late eighties and never came back. I hope he froze somewhere remote.

This sac was, by a huge margin, the comfiest sac I ever carried. After the initial bedding -in, I could put 100lbs in it and still take days before I became really sore.

It did Duke of Edinburgh hikes twice, and strolled out every weekend with about around a third of a summer campsite inside it, for 4 consecutive years, and it lasted 7 or eight years of of winter stuff with an oversize walking axe on and off the back of it without any sign of strain apart for aforementioned tape anchor tear.

Had I known there was a repair guarantee, I would have told my mate to get his own and sent mine off for repair. By the way, I think he lost my axe and crampons too.

This is an old design of rucksack, the civilian version of a British Army classic, as expected it comes in any coulour as long as it's green. Two friends of mine bought theirs in the late eighties, one of which is still going strong, now on its third owner, it has been on a major expedition every year since. My own one I bought in 1990, it has been with me on many holidays and at least seven expeditions and to every continent on the planet (excluding Antartica). The individuals I travel with have bought over 20 of these rucksacks over the years, probably a quarter of the total purchased. The rucksack is made from 1000 denier kordura, has a single 65 litre space, there is a 5L lid pocket, and optional 5L side pockets, it has many buckles on the outside so by purchasing a few meters of standard army issue webbing almost anything can be attached to the outside, if everything removed, it can be used as a climbing rucksack, overloading is not a problem (for the rucksack) - In all the years of use for all of the rucksacks the only damage has been the smashing of the lid locks - easy to replace. Also in time the elastic around the lid will perish, Berghause will replace this (any any other items) free of charge - the rucksacks have a lifetime guarentee !

I've had my Roc since 1989 and have used it for numerous hillwalking expeditions and other purposes. The main sack has survived everything without damage, although it has suffered rips to hauling straps, the rear grab handle and other minor fittings due to being loaded with extreme weights. With reasonable weight (up to 50lb) I have found it an extremely comfortable rucksack, and although painful it does allow extreme loads to be carried. I have managed to carry it around 20 miles in one day with approximately 75lbs in the rucksack - I'm not saying I'd want to do it again though...

The side compression straps allow the attachment of Berghaus 5-litre pockets or British Army 10-litre daysack pouches. The snow extension allows the pack to be loaded well beyond its normal capacity. Berghaus 5-litre pockets can also be attached to the front of the pack. There are plenty of ways to attach sleeping mats, radios, ice axes, tent poles and other bits to the outside.

I'm considering sending it back to Berghaus this year to get all the minor damage fixed, but I have no intention of replacing it. This pack has proved to be extremely rugged and practical.

Well my Roc has just come out of my garage after many years and is off into the dales with me next month. I was dissapointed to find the waist buckle was broken. One email to Berghaus UK and they sent me a replacement in the post free of charge and that was after I purchased the Roc in the '80s.Some good fine service there. A bit of stitching and a scrub up I know it will not let me down.

Bought this in 1976 and its still going strong although a bit long in the tooth. The waterproofing on the inside has flaked off over the years but a bit of proofing spray and it's as good as new. The frame has bent to my shape, I had one rivet break but that only took a minute to fix, otherwise its great. The bright red colur does stick out like a sore thumb comapred to today's more subtle coloured rucksacks.

I bought one of these because like many people the TA at the time only gave you a pattern 58(?) canvas bag. Most of my friends have had their fancy pants bags catastrophically ruined while "constance" has kept coming around the luggage carousel on four continents. Even the coulour does not bother me as I'm sure any prospective thief looks right past it to the go faster-pink number beside it...

Bought my ROC whist at school aged 17 and paid an absolute fortune for it. Used it for 18 years now on various holidays/camping trips/expeditions/alpine climbs, bits do keep falling off but are easily re-sown back on. It has outlived four pairs of boots and two sleeping bags.