Anatom Q3 Braeriach Boot | Review

Scottish-based Anatom develops its boots in the Highlands before manufacturing them in Romania and – as you’d expect from that – the Braeriach makes a very competent, all-round UK hill, mountain and backpacking boot.

In many ways it’s very much a traditional leather walking boot, but with a more modern slant thanks to the cut-away, soft-padded ankle cuff and modern manufacturing refinements like the graded midsole that ensures the flex remains constant across the size range.

In use it has a traditional, broad, ‘UK-friendly fit’ with plenty of forefoot room and plenty of padding up top. We found it comfortable and supportive straight out of the box, though like most boots, it benefits from a little breaking in.

Underfoot there’s plenty of stiffness, which works well on rugged terrain and scrambles, particularly if you’re toting a biggish load, but still enough flex to walk comfortably. It is, on a personal level, about as stiff as we’d want to go below the snowline, though obviously personal preferences vary. We think it’s a good compromise between ‘sturdy’ and ‘solid’.

Grip is mostly good, though we did find the Vibram sole a little uncertain on some wet rock surfaces and there’s enough cushioning from the durable PU midsole for all-round use.

If you’re a scree hound, it’s worth noting that there’s no all-round rand or heel protection, just a rubber toe-cap, but all-round build is good and we’d expect the boot to last well with normal walking use. So far the own-brand tri.aria waterproof membrane has worked well too.

One minor tweak we would make is to add a locking lace-hook at the instep, but it’s hardly a deal-breaker