Oh please just get off your pedestal, skip the sandals and go barefoot then. Who said anything about feet being defective? Yes, shoes are supposed to provide support, especially if you're lugging a heavy load backpacking, and especially if you're on rough terrain. Before I was in a bike accident, I was trail running 9 miles a day in my approach shoes, but that doesn't mean boots don't have their place, or that everyone's feet are the same.

BTW, climbers do wear gloves once in awhile, or tape our hands, and the fixed claw device is called an ice axe. LOL indeed.

Originally Posted By: Hobbes
"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.