Brasher Borgue GTX - First Look

Brasher Borgue GTX- First Look

Brasher says that the Borgue GTX is 'a trekking boot ideal for carrying heavy loads over rough terrain', in other words, it's intended as a three-season mountain walking boot with enough lateral stiffness to cope with backpacking loads on rocky ground.

Brasher's new watchword is Tri-Fit and in the case of the Borgue that means mostly a whopping great external plastic support that wraps around the upper forefoot from the heel. It's reminiscent of the system Salomon used on the classic X-Adventure 7 boot and is intended to hold the foot firmly in place at the heel end of things and improve stability.

Other technical touches include a 3.5mm polypropolene insole board designed to give lateral stiffness and stability underfoot and an EVA mid-sole unit. EVA is the lightweight cushioning used in running shoes and saves weight compared to more traditional cushioning as well as giving a softer ride. The Borgue uses two different densities of the material to reduce pronation. There's also memory foam padding for internal luxury.

Finally Brasher is one of the few manufacturers to provide a more sophisticated footbed as standard. Their multi-section item includes a cushioning pad under the heel and a moulded plastic heel cup and arch support. It's kind of a halfway house between a normal stock foam footbed and an aftermarket item from the likes of Superfeet.

Once you've got all the 'you will be assimilated' cracks out of your system, the Borgue isn't half bad and a bit of a departure from Brasher's traditional territory into more performance-orientated mountain terrain.

Fit is traditional Brasher - which is to say 'generous' - and internal memory foam padding gives instant, cushioned comfort. Heel fit isn't as sloppy as the Calusa GTX we tested recently, but it's still wider than average, so try carefully to make sure you don't suffer from heel lift.

To Brasher's credit, the Tri-Fit reinforcement does seem to seat the foot nicely in the boot, so even with a less than perfect fit, our slightly too narrow heels stayed mostly anchored. The lacing system is easy to use and has just enough friction to keep things snug when lacing up.

More psychological support comes from the high ankle cuff, but there's enough flex in the area to make sure it never feels uncomfortable or restrictive in use.

So what about the vaunted stability? Well, heel stability seems excellent and there's enough lateral stiffness in the forefoot to cope with uneven terrain. Longitudinally there's lots of flex though, which makes for a comfortable walking action and despite having a gammy left ankle, we never felt at risk of a sprain, which isn't always the case.

The Gore lining keeps water out and the Vibram sole unit so far has played a respectably grippy gig in both wet and dry conditions, so no problems there. Cushioning underfoot is adequate too.

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