Hiking boots vs trail shoes

Hi there, I am student investing in a pair of new hiking shoes. Stuck between getting Hiking boots and trails shoes. I know the importance of good hiking shoes. I hike mainly in the Drakensberg, done hikes as simple as Marble Baths, to hikes up to Mafadi and would like to do NGT some day. I would appreciate some more seasoned advice with regards to this

This is a personal preference thing. Having tried both, my experience has been that when carrying a heavy pack and or going over rough terrain i prefer boots. For day hikes with a light pack its a tossup between boots and trail runners, good boots are pretty light these days so leaning toward boots. If you trail running trail runners are best. You will probably get many different opinions on this 

I'd say it depends mostly on your physiology and personal preferences. If you have strong/ flexible ankles you can get away with shoes easily enough and they are generally lighter so you will be able to move faster that with heavier boots.

I do trail/ ultra trail running but prefer lightweight boots to protect my feet as we do a lot of off trail stuff and rock passes that can hammer your feet a bit. The other scenario I don't recommend shoes or trainers for is snow. Your feet may always get wet either way but wet and cold are not your friends. A fellow hiker got his feet wet on a snow hike and it took 2 years before he regained all 'normal' feeling in some of his toes..

Overall, I'd say that after hiking in the Berg for over 20 years, it takes a while before you experience all conditions and it may never happen but when it does, and you're not equipped for it, there will be consequences.

Have hiked for over thirty six years in the berg, usually with a 17-20kg pack and have only ever used boots.  I have used La Sportiva since 1998, first the Makalu and since 2017 the Nepal Evo Trek.  I am not stout, tall and slim, but with strong limbs however i still feel more supported with a high ankle cuff set of boots, and like ASL often go off path with rugged ascents and descents.  If you happen to get snow, then boots are best.  I find a high pair of boots bounces off a lot of stuff while protecting your ankles and shins as well.  So definlty thumbs up for boots.

I vote for trail shoes.

If you step on uneven ground something must give to accommodate. So, its either a small torgue on your ankle or a huge bend on your knee.

Hiking boots also restrict forward, backward motion in your ankle so your stride is forced to a short one. If you have short legs like me, this will slow your pace

If you get water in your boots, it will still be wet days later. Shoes can dry out

One place where shoes do not work is trying to  kick steps in snow. They are just not heavy enough so you need several kicks to get a spot to put your shoe

 

For me personally it depends on the hike and my pack weight.

If i do something over multiple days with harsh terrain then boots are my go to, for short quick adventures like a single night out then trail shoes take the cake.

I have used both. Trail shoes are light and nimble but more unforgiving when it comes to rough terrain which can lead to ankle sprains and bruising. Not recommended if you are not conditioned in them and rough terrain. Another negative with trail shoes - I find that the sole life will half - I normally change running shoes every 800-1000km. Trail shoes will reach end of running life within 400km. The wight of the pack and rough terrain kills them fast.

So my 2c. 

I've been taking groups of students into the Berg for a few years now. Very often some of them will be first time hikers, and what I often see is this: First time they take their old tekkies or trailrunners, everything goes great. Second time, now that they've decided they like this hiking thing, they buy proper hiking shoes or boots (and wear them in beforehand at my instruction) and on the trail it's just a misery of blisters and sore feet. 

If you're uncomfortable about the strength of your ankles, I'm not going to "force" you into trailrunners. But I do believe that:

1. The support provided by boots isn't nearly as effective as people might think, unless you get really stiff boots and lace them really tightly (which is just awful to hike in).

2. The biggest factors in these kinds of injuries revolve around the strength of your legs and ankles, and the weight of your pack. A pack that's so overloaded that your ankles can't manage the weight is a pack that too heavy for you anyway. Unless you're doing some expedition level stuff, hauling equipment etc. 

3. Shoe support in general is like a plaster cast. It cuts both ways. On the one hand it can support that which is too weak, but on the other the support itself further weakens that which is being supported because that thing isn't moving and working like it should. What often happens is that you try to do something that your not use to, voila, you've got some kind of pain. The common solution: find something that provides supports, and voila, the pain is gone. However, this has only addressed the symptom and not the cause. Now that the weak part of your foot is being supported, it's doing even less than before, becoming even weaker, further increasing your reliance on the support, all at the cost of your body's natural biomechanics and efficiency. 

4. My feet were once so weak that I literally snapped my 5th metatarsal on my left foot while exercising. I've still got the metal bone-plate and nails in there. I was presented with two options. Supportive shoes or physical therapy. I chose the latter, and that began a long journey on getting to understand my own biomechanics. On my first GT attempt I used pair of Lowa Renegades (classic hiking boot). It was horrible and my feet were always sore. On my second attempt I used a pair of Altra Lone Peak 6 or 7's and they were an absolute dream. Even carrying me through a couple of days of snow with no issues. These days I hike with barefoot shoes (Vivobarefoot Magna ESC) and they are just as nice. I think I would still prefer the slightly thicker padding that trailrunners provide for going really fast in the mountains, but I've done a Northen Traverse and many passes with my barefoot shoes with absolutely no issues. 

5. You need to build up slowly. Most foot/ankle/Achilles related injuries happen because you're trying to do something that your body isn't really ready for. So it's very important to start with the level of support that you need, but I'd always work towards needing less. I usually did it by doing my pre-hike fitness (rucking and running) with less support, feeling how my feet and legs reacted, and then trying out easier hikes, before going for a Berg hike. 

6. All of this is of course only valid if you don't have a medical condition. These do exist and they can change this picture entirely. But I've found that things like "flat feet" are very seldom the actual genetic defect, and are usually just fixable muscle weakness. 

7. Also, your feet and legs really are designed to move in very dynamic and unrestricted ways. Anything that restricts that is going to cause issues. The issues range from short term things like blisters, to long term things like knee and hip replacements that need to happen because your "supportive" boot has immobilized your body natural shock absorber (the foot arch and Achilles tendon) and replaced with a small rubber heel causing your knees to take a pounding that they were never meant to. 8. There is a place for heavy restrictive boots. But usually that place is doing really unnatural stuff. Like hauling 35 kg’s of equipment up a ultra-high-incline mountain at 5000 meters in -25 Celsius weather.

This is of course all from my own experience and non-medical-professional research. Go speak to a proper biokineticist. 

Personale preference will always prevail.

Both will work, but suitability will depend on conditions and terrain.

For a heavy hiker hiking over rough terrain or in thick snow, I'd suggest a boot. Doesn't have to be a 3mm leather boot (although I use those as well, but they are HEAVY and HOT).

For a light hiker or hiking mostly on trails and no snow (or just in a light dusting of snow), I'd suggest either a light hiking boot (I use Salomon Gtx mid or TNF Hedgehog) or a trail running shoe.

In rain everything gets wet, and if it keeps raining everything will stay wet, so no real difference for either option, except the 3mm leather shoes which will really make your feet cold for the entire hike.

So, horses for courses.

The most important piece of advice I'd give regarding shoes for the berg, besides fit, is - DON'T LEAVE THEM OUTSIDE YOUR TENT AT NIGHT! A cold heavy leather boot beats a barefoot descent from the escarpment to the camp any day, every time

I will add to Riaangs comment and raise it.  Dont even leave them in the bell, keep them inside with you!