"the boots will keep your feet more comfortable and resist fatigue due to the support"
Shoes are
not supposed to provide support. Your foot/ankle muscles (yes, including your arch) are supposed to be developed to the point that they can handle your body's load.
How the notion that our feet/legs are somehow defective, and need support/other aids/tools, is a question for the advertisers & marketing men who popularized these concepts back in the day.
Your feet & legs are NOT defective. They are the result of 2 million years of evolution on the African plains. That we choose to wrap them up and let them atrophy is a mystery.
Again, who would apply the same measures to their hands? What about rock climbers? Oops, my hand is too weak, I need some kind of fixed claw device to drag myself upward. LOL
You'll know your feet are in their proper state of development when they are as strong as your hands. They should be thick & muscular; an easy way to condition your feet without first toughening your soles is to wear these:
http://www.lunasandals.com/Look, I don't want to come across as banging my own drum, but I'm the same general age as you guys, and while I've always been a strong hiker (aren't we all if we're still doing it today?), the last few years of training have really upped my game.
