Newcastle Innovations advances Berghaus’ ZonalAdapt project

A clear goal

Berghaus realised it was time to change the game for women.

Newcastle Innovations connected Berghaus with the academic expertise required to carry out scientific testing and analysis. This ultimately led to the development of women’s outdoor gear that works with the body to provide proper support.

We caught up with Rosie O’Sullivan, Head of New Project Innovation at Berghaus, to find out more about this project and its impact.

MtnHaus had a clear goal: to design and create outdoor wear that truly adapts to the female form, supporting women to feel truly comfortable when exploring the outdoors. The team’s aim was to reimagine how the outdoors, a traditionally male-dominated space, might fit and feel if we rebuilt it with women in mind. 

They surveyed over 100 women at hiking clubs, climbing circles, dance studios and more. The survey results revealed a consistent set of issues when it came to female outdoor wear. 

Many encountered discomfort between the mid-torso and upper thigh when wearing skin-tight leggings made for exercise. This was often due to bloating, cycle-related changes, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or fatigue. It resulted in waistbands that dig in or roll down, chafing and more. 

‘This is due to the fact that the outdoors has been traditionally dominated by the male perspective,’ Rosie explains. ‘One of the fallouts of this is that outdoor gear isn’t truly designed for women, with many female garments taking their cue from male-origin designs. 

‘Two in five women experience stomach fluctuations every single week, an occurrence that is twice as likely in women than in men. 80% of women feel uncomfortable in their clothing, with one in two revealing that this discomfort negatively affects their enjoyment of the outdoors (YouGov, 2025).

‘At Berghaus, we wanted to reimagine the female experience of the outdoors, with garments that offer optimal fit and feel, specifically designed for the female form.’ 

Working together

Determined to avoid tightening at the waist in female-fit legwear, MtnHaus began work with translational anatomist, Dr Yasmin Carter. They mapped out where else the design could safely and comfortable grip the female body. 

These insights were used to develop the design of the initial set of 12 waistband concepts. 

Rosie: ‘We began by asking our focus group of women to choose the waistband they felt was the most comfortable. Every single woman chose the same one, which is actually still the same design you can see on our product today. 

‘These incredible results gave us the confidence that we were on the right track. But we needed to take it to the next stage, which is where Newcastle Innovations came in. 

 ‘You can think of pressure distribution in traditional leggings almost like an elastic band around a plastic bottle. It wraps around our waists and applying even pressure. If that bottle expands, the elastic band would cut into the plastic. We don’t want this kind of pressure pressing against our stomachs. 

‘Our ZonalAdapt technology rewrites the rules with the creation of localised pressure zones. We researched which other areas are safe to compress, avoiding the stomach to prevent issues with pain when bloating or at different points in the female cycle. 

‘Our specially designed waistbands contain an inner panel that’s designed to stretch and change with your body, mirroring the direction of travel of your abdominal muscles. It really moves with your body. 

‘The aim was to create something women actually want to wear. The testing we carried out alongside the Newcastle team gave us the data we needed to do this. 

‘Ian Spears, the lead Newcastle researcher on our project, was fantastic in his openness and understanding of what we were trying to achieve. Although the answer was not always linear or clear, his willingness to learn, adapt and, crucially, have another go is just one of the reasons why he’s become a continued partner for Berghaus. 

‘There was a genuine passion for our project from every team member at Newcastle. We were lucky to be able to access extra support and talent via through Newcastle University subsidised internship programme. We had brilliant interns Rachel Jones, Rosie Rostron and Angelos Mappouras running testing and assisting with analysis. They also experienced the leading edge of performance clothing design. 

Why Newcastle Innovations?

Berghaus is a North East-based company that has previously worked with Newcastle Innovations on successful projects. Familiar with the University and the capabilities of our sports science lab, Berghaus selected us as their ideal collaboration partner. 

Rosie: ‘We knew that the University team had the expertise and facilities to carry out the rigorous analysis we required. It was vital that this project was underpinned by science to further understand how the female body differs, physiologically, anatomically and biomechanically. 

‘Newcastle University allowed us to explore this new approach with extensive performance-benefits testing. This enabled us to create leggings with localised pressure zones that provide women with real comfort while exercising or exploring the outdoors. 

‘It’s one thing to try and understand the body in scientific terms, it’s another thing to understand how our new idea interacts with the body. We had to continually ask ourselves, is this the step forward that’s going to help us solve this issue for women? 

'The Newcastle University team was brilliant at moulding and shaping our approach to help us do just this. We were constantly learning from our results and reassessing our approach based on new findings. 

‘For me, a big part of innovation is the collaborative nature of problem solving. Also the deeply held conviction that this solution matters to people, that you have the power to enhance people’s experiences. 

‘With Newcastle University that understanding was there. It was clear through our initial conversations that the Newcastle Innovations team was as excited about this project as we were, which made them the perfect partner.’ 

Adapted to the female form

ZonalAdapt was built with the input of more than 100 women. These voices really matter. 

Rosie: ‘If your normal becomes a state of tolerating pain and dealing with clothing that isn’t designed for your body – as it is for so many women – the moment you put something on that is crafted specifically for you is extremely powerful and emotive. 

‘I spoke to one particular woman during the testing stage who arrived at the event in standard shorts and on her period. The moment she tried our product on, she told me, “I didn’t realise how uncomfortable I was until I put these on!” This was a lightbulb moment for me. 

‘Comfort is about being able to push yourself harder, and the idea that our design could help this woman realise a new sense of comfort and performance was wonderful to me. 

‘We didn’t come to Newcastle Innovations with a clear-cut hypothesis, we arrived with lots of ideas, lots of data and a really big problem. We sought out a supportive partnership that would allow us to answer our questions and see the effects of our product on real women. We found that in Newcastle Innovations and the wider University. 

‘We’re actually in the process of conducting another large-scale analysis with the Newcastle team, validating the ZonalAdapt technology. We didn’t just create a product; we produced a new system for female outdoor legwear. 

The ultimate goal is to incorporate ZonalAdapt into all of our legwear. This will help women to feel more comfortable outdoors, whether they are enjoying the everyday or the high octane. This is only the beginning.’ 

If you would like to be a part of ongoing development of ZonalAdapt, you can join a MtnHaus testing event. Find out more about the new era of comfort performance wear for women. 

Do you have an innovation project you would like our help with? Access unique expertise and state-of-the-art testing facilities via Newcastle Innovations today. Speak to our experienced team or browse through our other Success Stories.  

Reference

YouGov. 2025. ‘Zonal Adapt Survey’. Survey conducted 16-17 July 2025 on behalf of Pentland Brands.