taswaterfalls.com wrote:what im saying there nik is that its not the actual upper of the shoe that provides the vast majority of support to the ankle though. its the sole section...so most likely you rolled or sprained ankles in shoes with poor sole support, not because they weren't high sided boots. talk to any medical professional who specialises in feet (ive talked to quite a few) and they all say the vast majority of support comes from the posting sole and footbed of the shoe. Grab a pair of Brooks 'Beast' runners...they will support your ankle as good as if not better than the vast majority of hiking boots. however they dont have the rigidity and density of a good vibram sole which will stop pinty rocks stabbing up into your foot and provide the support on uneven ground. The sole is what makes the shoe...the upper is just there to hold you onto it
I think I understand what you mean, and I mostly agree with you. Where I disagree is probably more semantics than anything else.
High boots provide ankle support in terms of a splint type of effect, whereas, good soles provide protection in terms of preventing the need for splint support (at least to some degree). Ie, if you're not going to slip, stumble, or otherwise roll your ankle, you don't need high boots to help support your ankle (splint-type). A perfectly flat foot path, or walking track, is one way to achieve this (usually), and good soles will certainly go a long way to helping.
However, I can't imagine that on rough tracks no amount of good soles will completely prevent your foot from rolling due to mis-placing your foot or whatever other reason, every time. In these cases you need to either have strong ankles, high ankled footwear, or both. Ie, once your foot/ankle has started rolling beyond the point of no return, the sole is not going to help you. The sole can help to prevent it getting that far in the first place, in at least some circumstances.
In the case of my own two serious ankle injuries, there is no way any sole would have done anything to prevent them.
PS. Eg, in one case I was walking through a suburban park area, and some ground that looked solid turned out to be so soft and muddy under the balls of my foot (but not my heel) that I went literally head over heals with my foot stuck in the ground where it wouldn't move. In this case the sole was completely irrelevant, and nothing other than splint-type ankle support would have helped. I ended up with ligaments torn right off the bone, just from a walk in the suburbs, and not being able to walk without a crutch or stick for some weeks. Out in the bush, I would have been in serious trouble.
I've had my feet in much worse situations in the bush (plus with 15 kg in a pack on my back), and suffered no worse than a slightly rolled ankle, thanks the the splinting effect of high boots.
I know that they're not for everybody, in every situation, but the reason I keep harping on about this is due to personal experience.
(they were Raichle Scout boots...last of the heavies) , thus a waterproof shoe is probably not worth it. Unless the goretex has other benefits for me other then waterproofness.....?
). I have found that on rough rocky ground I need a pair of fairly firm inner soles to protect the bottom of my feet from soreness though. And I don't do serious bush bashing so that aspect isn't a problem for me.
