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I think once again this is to a certain extent horses for courses. Walk on paths and grassy slopes - shoes are fine. walk on rough boulder fields and scree, boots are what you need.
the 70 mile trek across fisherfeild and torridon I recently completed was tough enough on the feet in boots. In shoes it would have been unpleasant.
Aracer - in your opinion / experience - mine is different I have a damaged ankle and when on rough ground in lower lighter boots it develops the pain much more easily
For me:
Day walks - If I want to move quickly and the weather looks OK I'll use fell running shoes or approach shoes. I can live with wet feet and probably don't need the extra support. I rarely do day walks in the winter though and would prob use boots for this.
Multi-day - Definitely waterproof boots as wet feet for several day sucks. Also my knees feel better with heavy loads if I'm wearing decent boots. I use Scarpa Rebels for this.
I wear Salomon running shoes most days for dossing about in (v comfy) but find them almost useless on anything other than perfect trails. Same can be said for the 3 pairs of Salomon boots that I wore through rapidly. I think they're a waste of money, even if they're cheap (I haven't used their higher-end boots though).
[quote=tjagain ]I think once again this is to a certain extent horses for courses. Walk on paths and grassy slopes - shoes are fine. walk on rough boulder fields and scree, [s]boots are what you need[/s] shoes are also fine
Again that's just my experience, I'm happy to admit as much, but I've done lots of really tough terrain in running shoes.
Aracer - in your opinion / experience - mine is different I have a damaged ankle and when on rough ground in lower lighter boots it develops the pain much more easily
I have a chronic ankle injury - it's much improved now as I've developed the support in surrounding muscles and improved proprioception but for years I taped it and I know people who use proper ankle supports for similar issue - as I mentioned previously even taping does more than the support in a walking boot, which I found I could still go over with.
I'm siding with aracer on this - but I'm not saying you're wrong TJ. Personally I was a big fan of Terrocs, and gutted inov8 stopped making them. I now wear Roclites, and haven't worn my Scarpas for years. I'm much more sure footed in Inov8s than boots, but that's probably because my ankles/legs/body are used to walking and running in them.
If you asked me to make my way off a mountain I'd feel much happier in fell running or mountain shoes, suppose I'd want boots if I had a 100l pack, walking down snow slopes that didn't quite need crampons. Or maybe if it was a multiday trip through snow - you'll still get wet feet but the boots are probably warmer. Having said that I knew someone who did 6 weeks ski mountaineering in Walshes.....