hiking boots of shoes?

K

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i am going to Missouri this spring and need some hiking footware. It is for a geology field trip (college field study for my major) and will be spending 9 days hiking all over the state and spending lots of time in the ozark mtns. should i get hiking shoes or boots? I'm not sure how rough the trails are and the professor suggested boots but i want another opinion. I am also going to utah/nevada for another 6 week field study trip to study all over and lots of hiking will be required. so any tips on what i should get? i would also like to wear them around back home (wisconsin) hiking and not have them be something where my feet are going to be sweting like crazy. (im a guy, if that matters at all) also which brand do you recommend i go with? thanks all!
 
The traditional line about hiking boots, that they prevent twisted and broken ankles and protect your feet from the rigors of the trail, are some of the "cannonballs of belief" that Ray Jardine is referring to in his famous dialogue explaining how his revolutionary outside-the-box thinking about ultralight backpacking led him to question and finally abnegate his own religious beliefs. http://www.rayjardine.com/papers/cannonballs.htm

Since reading Ray Jardine's first book, "The PCT Hiker's Handbook" back in 1997 I put away my Asolo all leather hiking boots and never wore them again. Instead I've worn hiking shoes and even Teva sandals to hike the High Sierras, deserts, other forests, and coasts in California, Hawaiian volcanoes and jungles, and Philippine jungles, and I've never had cold feet, sweaty feet, jungle rot, nor any blisters. And it goes without saying I've never had any twisted or broken ankles. I've never had any problem with traction wearing various hiking/trail running shoes including Asolo, Merrell, Solomon, and New Balance. And I don't wear thick socks, I only wear one ounce 100% polyester dress socks, which last for many trips, while I usually buy a new pair of hiking shoes every year for around $50-$100.

My kids have also grown up wearing nothing but trail shoes and none of them have had any problems, ever. My wife too. We don't own moleskin because we've never needed it!

It's up to you to try both kinds and decide based on your backpacking style and gear weight, but for me, carrying around 25 lbs of gear from skin out including food and fuel for a week's backpacking trip, on trail and often cross-country, with occasional snow crossings, and often class 2-3 talus-sloped rock-hopping peak bagging, there's absolutely no reason for me to consider hiking boots, let alone all leather ones.

Here's a short essay I enjoyed on the subject of hiking boots vs. shoes: http://www.the-ultralight-site.com/hikingshoes.html
 
Hiking boots would be much better. You really need ankle protection when hiking. Get hiking or work boots that have tops that go over your ankles so that you can lace your boots up tight enough to reduce the risk of ankle sprain. Nothing ruins a hike quite as well as twisting your ankle. Also, the heels of work or hiking boots give better traction than a lot of hiking shoes have. Work boots are actually preferable as they are usually cheaper, yet more durable. Too many hiking boots these days have canvas and or mesh panels on them that just end up getting ripped and worn out with a lot of hiking. All-leather work boots will last you much longer. I'd recommend boots by Redwing, Wolverene and Cabela's. Also, be sure to wear the boots for gradually longer and longer periods of time before you go hiking to break them in so they are more comfortable when you actually go on the long hikes. Brand new boots are really uncomfortable on long hikes.

Also, wear thick wool socks or "insultated" cotton socks when you try on boots. Your feet will be more comfortable in thick socks when wearing work boots and you'll need the room for them. If the boot fits even a little tight when wearing ordinary cotton socks like most people wear all the time (tube socks) then you won't be able to wear the thicker boot socks in them.

Don't get hiking shoes. Most hiking shoes are really nothing more than walking shoes that are designed to look a little like hiking boots.
 
The traditional line about hiking boots, that they prevent twisted and broken ankles and protect your feet from the rigors of the trail, are some of the "cannonballs of belief" that Ray Jardine is referring to in his famous dialogue explaining how his revolutionary outside-the-box thinking about ultralight backpacking led him to question and finally abnegate his own religious beliefs. http://www.rayjardine.com/papers/cannonballs.htm

Since reading Ray Jardine's first book, "The PCT Hiker's Handbook" back in 1997 I put away my Asolo all leather hiking boots and never wore them again. Instead I've worn hiking shoes and even Teva sandals to hike the High Sierras, deserts, other forests, and coasts in California, Hawaiian volcanoes and jungles, and Philippine jungles, and I've never had cold feet, sweaty feet, jungle rot, nor any blisters. And it goes without saying I've never had any twisted or broken ankles. I've never had any problem with traction wearing various hiking/trail running shoes including Asolo, Merrell, Solomon, and New Balance. And I don't wear thick socks, I only wear one ounce 100% polyester dress socks, which last for many trips, while I usually buy a new pair of hiking shoes every year for around $50-$100.

My kids have also grown up wearing nothing but trail shoes and none of them have had any problems, ever. My wife too. We don't own moleskin because we've never needed it!

It's up to you to try both kinds and decide based on your backpacking style and gear weight, but for me, carrying around 25 lbs of gear from skin out including food and fuel for a week's backpacking trip, on trail and often cross-country, with occasional snow crossings, and often class 2-3 talus-sloped rock-hopping peak bagging, there's absolutely no reason for me to consider hiking boots, let alone all leather ones.

Here's a short essay I enjoyed on the subject of hiking boots vs. shoes: http://www.the-ultralight-site.com/hikingshoes.html
 
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