> If you are athletic stick with "trail shoes" and not hiking boots
Use what works for you, but I completely disagree with this. I thru-hiked the AT in 2014 in full hiking boots, and didn't have any of the feet problems like friends in normal trail shoes did afterwards; I would have rolled my ancle several times if it weren't for the support, and it only took two pairs (friends with trail shoes went through a lot more when the bottoms got too worn out and got slippery on wet rocks or started to peel off).
Athletic is subjective of course. I do think boots are fine for most, so this is a good addition, but if you run a lot your ankles are probably pretty strong. And moving heavy boots every step slows you down.
Caveat: I run ultramarathons and have thousands of trail miles on my feet. Never rolled an ankle. Never worn boots for 99%. Sample size of 1, etc, but I have met many others in this camp. Shoes can get "religious".
If you are on super rough terrain or mountaineering you also want specific boots.
Number of people who were dismissive of my heavy hiking boots in the first 200 miles of the AT: too many to count (maybe dozens?).
Number of those people who went home with injured ankles: 2. Anecdotal, of course, but I certainly felt vindicated (and, of course, sad for those folks).
If you're in a super duper hurry, having your boots slow you down is maybe a slight drag. If you value foot health over speed, I, too, am a huge fan of heavy hiking boots.
Heh yeah. See below... it is sort of a religion. I really do tell most people to wear hiking boots for the reasons you and your parent commented cited though. I just felt like I should say if someone was in really good shape (like, really good) they can get away with less.
I decided to do a little research to see if I could find any actual studies. Didn't find anything. Some interesting data about military using combat boots vs. running shoes in PT, but that is pretty different from rooty/rocky/slipper trails like the AT. I am gonna have to say anyone that feels too strongly about one or the other should proceed with caution because there is no real evidence one way or another, just religious camps. :)
Use what works for you, but I completely disagree with this. I thru-hiked the AT in 2014 in full hiking boots, and didn't have any of the feet problems like friends in normal trail shoes did afterwards; I would have rolled my ancle several times if it weren't for the support, and it only took two pairs (friends with trail shoes went through a lot more when the bottoms got too worn out and got slippery on wet rocks or started to peel off).