>>2831651
Highly situational I think.
When I am guiding I always wear boots with ankle support because I can't take an extra risk of being injured to justify a bit more comfort, especially when I'm walking off trail or over uneven terrain. It's also way easier to roll your ankle when carrying a pack, too. Modern hiking boots with good ankle support like the Scarpas I have aren't much heavier anyway, and are almost as comfortable as sneakers (pic).
For the extra protection against injury, prickles, puddles, snakes, whatever.... I go boots if I'm not sure.
If I know the area we'll, and it's an easy access trail, then I wear some salmon trail sneakers.