Anatom Q3 Braeriach Boot | Review - Outdoors Magic

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Anatom Q3 Braeriach Boot | Review

Scottish-developed, UK-friendly, mountain walking and backpacking boot, the Braeriach is supportive and sturdy, but still comfortable and great value too.

‘Roomy, great value, modern take on a traditional leather hillwalking boot that mixes underfoot support and stiffness, with sturdy comfort elsewhere. Good UK hill and mountain all-rounder’

Outdoors Magic: Solid, supportive chassis, Vibram sole, build quality, comfortable, waterproof, good value.

Outdoors Tragic: A little weighty, could use a locking lace hook at the ankle.

Outdoors Grabbit? The Scottish-developed Braeriach is good mid-point compromise between traditional, solid mountain boots and more modish outdoors footwear. It’s supportive and dependable underfoot, but still decently comfortable in a solid, dependable sort of way with a broad, UK-friendly fit and nicely-padded ankle cuffs. It works well on uneven terrain and the sole stiffness makes for a dependable platform on scrambly terrain too. Build quality is admirably solid too and the own-brand try.aria membrane adds bonus waterproofing to the thick leather uppers.

 

 

Full Specification

Leather hill and mountain walking boot / 2.6mm anfibio leather uppers / rubber toe-bumper / tri.aria waterproof membrane / Hydrophobic Interface One / Anatom Bioform Ultralite Footbed / calibrated nylon midsole /  Vibram® Serapis outsole with cushioned PU midsole

Full Review Below

Handsome full-leather looks give traditional charm - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
Vibram outsole is generally good, though did occasionally feel nervous on wet rock - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)
Toes get a rubber damper but heels are unprotected, mind that scree and snow - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

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’.

Solid good looks are matched by predictable performance – Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

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

Also excellent for hanging about on wooden spars atop muddy puddles - Photo: Lukasz Warzecha (lwimages.co.uk)

Anatom Q3 Braeriach Boot | Verdict

The Scottish brand’s take on a traditional leather mountain walking boot is a reassuringly solid balance between underfoot support – just enough of it, but not too much – and all round comfort.

The cut-away, padded ankle cuff and broad fit worked well for us and, we suspect, for many other UK feet and the build quality feels promisingly sturdy.

Overall it’s a very decent boot for UK hill and mountain walking if you like a stiffish sole. It’s great value too, partly we suspect because Anatom has chosen to use its own waterproof membrane rather than a more expensive ‘big name’ liner.

More Information

See anatomfootwear.co.uk

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