Do you have special hiking shoes/boots?

I’ve always just kept one pair for running/hiking/walking. Never had a problem. Although, I haven’t done many hikes in weather that isn’t tropical (but I will be from the summer through the end of the year).

I’ve never had hiking boots. There are some pretty heavy duty looking ones with Gore-Tex and all that. They look heavy and stiff and maybe like they are made for cold climate conditions.

Have you always had separate shoes for hiking? If not, at what point did you start using hiking boots instead of regular running shoes? What are the benefits of using hiking boots instead of Nikes? What are they designed for?