>>2678955Stiff soles are for crampons, you dummy. You can still equip manual crampons to flexible shoes and boots, but they are somewhat insecure, especially if you're in steep terrain where you're gripping with the front points.
>>2680726I posted several times in this thread, but of those three only
>>2678886 is me. I think your problem is you noticed that all the people who share my opinion on trail runners are the ones who actually do mountaineering and hiking in difficult terrain and who know what they're talking about.
I took these La Sportiva boots to the Matterhorn, and I honestly think they were overkill. I preferred to be safe and use some boots that could take crampons securely rather than trail runners, but I only really needed the crampons for the last 10 minutes of the climb, and honestly I think my Salomon XA Alpine 2 would have been sufficient. So yea, even in something as demanding as the Matterhorn it's arguable whether boots are better.