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Hiking shoes are worthless worst-of-all trades garbage.
Serious minimalist trailrunners are the superior footwear for hiking by a long shot.
* Quick-draining, quick-drying, no sweat condensation
* Good pairs have better traction than boots
* Good pairs have rock plates and toecaps. Get a cheap pair of gaiters and they offer the same protection as a boot.
* 1lb on your foot = 5lb in your pack
* More flexible soles, better on incline
* Lower cost of entry, superior to boots for the majority of the year
* Gore-tex socks are more waterproof than "waterproof" boots, which are a joke.
* Mid/high shoes and boots actually cause more ankle injuries than they prevent.
Boots are important if you hike in the winter. They're more comfortable with spikes, less likely for spikes to slip off, insulated, and fare better in snow.
There's room in the inventory for both, but you should always get trailrunners first. You can get last year's top of the line runners for $50 a pair. A decent pair of boots is $250, anything less is trash. Protip: buy trailrunners, wait for the christmas return REI garage sale, get your boots then. I got a pair of unworn Soloman Quest 4D's for $40 that way.
Pic related, the best trailrunner. Brooks cascadia also acceptable if Peregrines are too wide for you.
