I think biology has a lot to do with it. I pronate and seem to have weak ankles naturally and boots provide and immense amount of support on uneven terrain that

I think biology has a lot to do with it. I pronate and seem to have weak ankles naturally and boots provide and immense amount of support on uneven terrain that I would not be able to get otherwise. I can see some level of athleticism overcoming this but I would expect a large portion of people to receive the same benefits (assuming they laced them all the way up, etc). For long distance and/or easy, clear trails I can see trail runners being great. I did all my hiking in college with sneakers of some sort and wanted boots quiet often in the mountains of east tn. But these were on clearly marked trails not necessarily clear trails. I did all my hiking in scouts with boots and my time in the fire service with boots (for obvious reasons) so perhaps I just developed a tolerance for boots.