The kids are off on a couple of night-hikes and competition multi-day (think Ten Tors but in the Midlands) nav exercises over the course of the next couple of weeks with the Scouts and D of E and we've just had the kit lists, all of which are you know, the usual bits and bobs they must have.
There is one stipulation that has set me wondering, and that's 'boots - with ankle support, no approach shoes/walking shoes, trainers, wellington boots, DM's.'
Given that as a collective (we some to be any way) we're moving more towards approach shoe style of walking/hiking footwear when not doing big hills and winter stuff, is this not a bit of overkill or are teen ankles still so fragile that they do need this level of protection from rolling-over?
There's also the point that correct footwear or not, given that teen feet are still growing, most boots are not going to be top of the range keepers, more what's cheap, easy to get hold of, and can be binned/donated when quickly grown-out of. So not necessarily the best design - think Shoe-Zone.