As a dedicated wearer of skate trainers, I didn’t expect robust hiking shoes to dominate my footwear choice for the last few months. But since pulling on the Anatom V1 Trail for the first time my skate trainers have remained almost unworn. In this review of Anatom V1 Trail I will do my best to explain why I like them for hiking and also for everyday wear.
My intention was to wear the Anatom V1 Trail for light hiking, as warm and waterproof shoes in ski resorts and as wet weather footwear at home. I have done the above but also found myself wearing them as everyday shoes – including Christmas shopping, a trip to the inlaws and a couple of trips to the pub. The reason? They are practical, versatile, comfy and robust hiking shoes.
Review of Anatom V1 Trail: Practical
Perhaps being practical isn’t the most exciting quality but it is practical products that we use everyday often without noticing them. Due to the tri.aria technology the Anatom V1 Trail is waterproof and breathable, which makes them very practical for use on wet days, or on days when you’ll be working up a bit of a foot-sweat.
To test the waterproofness I did some puddle jumping with my three year old son. He was wearing wellies, me the Anatom’s. By the time we got home we both still had dry feet but very wet trousers. I have also walked around in melting snow for an hour or two and they have kept me dry.
The Anatom V1 Trail uses Space Invader TG1 grip which I have found works exceptionally well on everything except a shiny tiled floor. Walking in snow, mud, on grass, gravel, across boulders and on pavement I have learnt to trust impeccably that the Anatom’s will deliver a solid grip. The tiled floor that caused a problem was dry, but having come in with damp shoes it turned into an ice rink.
While we are talking practical a quick word on the laces. They do up, stay done up and are easy to undo. You may say that is what laces are meant to do and you’d be right, however many laces fall short somewhere along the way.
Review of Anatom V1 Trail: Versatile
Although I love my hiking boots they are not suited to a trip to the pub (unless at the end of a hike), for shopping or to fly in – I can’t even drive in them. At the other end of the scale my much loved skate trainers have poor grip (except I assume on a skateboard), will not keep my feet dry in wet weather and do nothing for sweaty feet. Both the boots and the skate trainers have their place in my shoe collection but they are certainly not versatile.
Which is where the Anatom V1 Trail comes in. They are light weight – around 900 grams – and only fractionally larger than my skate shoes. They don’t look as good as my skate trainers but they don’t look like I have just walked in from a Duke or Edinburgh Award either.
This means I can wear them for everything from attending travel shows to travelling, hiking to driving and puddle jumping to pub crawling – as long as I am careful on tiled floors. I have a feeling they would even be fine for skateboarding, but not having skated since I was a teenager forgive me for not testing it.
Review of Anatom V1 Trail: Comfy
Of course being practical and versatile is all well and good but if these robust hiking shoes are not comfy it is all irrelevant. At first I found the top edge of the collar rubbed slightly on the ball of my ankle, however with a fairly low foot profile I have used Superfeet Insoles in many shoes over the years. With the superfeet in place the problem was corrected.
That is not to say the Anatom insoles are uncomfortable, far from it. The V1 Trail use the Anatom Bioform Ultralite Footbed which provides great support and cushioning – I know as have been using the insoles in my slippers and they are extremely comfortable.
The Anatom V1 Trail are fairly stiff – more so than my hiking boots – so I expected them to be tough to break in. However it only took a couple of wears before I found them giving where I need it but providing superior support to any of my other footwear. The Anatom’s use a heel cradle support system which is a stiff band of plastic that keeps the heel area rigid providing great support and keeping your heel in place.
Comfort is the main reason the Anatom’s are now my go to footwear. They are very supportive which although makes them a little stiff, also makes them very comfortable to wear all-day, perfect for covering a long distance or just for a quick trip to the corner shop.
Anatom V1 Trail: Robust hiking shoes
I have owned hiking shoes before that have started to look scuffed and old fairly quickly, I have also had some that lasted a very long time. After four months of walking through rain, mud, snow, shopping centres and pubs, the Anatom V1 Trail shoes still look new.
The Anaton website describes the upper as ‘High abrasion resistant mesh, suede & rubber’, I think that sums it up perfectly. Even the soles are showing minimal signs of wear and my feeling is the Anatom V1 Trail are robust hiking shoes and will last a very long time.
Anatom V1 Trail: Conclusions
The only change I would make to the V1 shoes is to change the colour. If they were black all over, or even if just the peachy coloured highlights were grey or black I would be tempted to ditch my skate trainers altogether. Unfortunately the highlights highlight the fact that you are wearing hiking shoes, which means they are not suitable for everything.
Overall the Anatom V1 Trail are very comfortable and so versatile that you find yourself wearing them nearly all the time. They are robust enough to handle tough trails and varied conditions without quickly looking worn and scruffy, I expect they will last a few years and many miles, making the £69.99 price tag very good value.
The RRP for the Anatom V1 Trail tri.aria is £69.99. They are stocked by Blacks, Cotswold Outdoor, Graham Tiso and many other retailers.
