by Phil » Fri Jul 10, 2020 9:32 am
I'm also an advocate for boots, but you might want to pin down just what your own needs are before you make a decision.
First of all, a trip planned for a month away is a relatively short period of time in which to break in a stiffer, higher quality hiking/backpacking boot that's made to give years and 100s of miles of service. And then there's price. All things considered for you personally, are you looking for a boot for just this trip, and maybe theoretically just occasional hikes thereafter? That's a big difference. But, if you want to know what I wear exclusively, it's Zamberlans; they do their job, they break in fast, they're comfortable and supportive (I use aftermarket footbeds though), but they're also comparatively expensive. I also use Asolos, but in far different circumstances and as specialty footwear that's beyond just standard hiking applications. However, Asolo also makes more of what I would consider entry level boots at a lower price. Basically that's it on what I have to say about boots.
I also use trail running shoes when called for. In this, I'm a fairly devout user of Asics. That said, in terms of what you need, you have those realistic break in considerations in whichever choice you make. With shoes you may give up some support and rugged function that a boot would provide, but with your trip looming, you're going to be able to break them in to where they'll be an asset sooner. Boot or shoe, regardless, you can find yourself damaged and miserable if it's not given the time to become what you need it to be. Don't forget that footcare/ function is also very much the product of a system, ie: socks/sock combos.
As far as daypacks are concerned, for little stuff, while backpacking, I use what's included as an insert of my main backpack. Primarily, I use an older, heavily modified Osprey React, and for longer days and necessarily bigger loads (like everybody else's crap), I use a fairly recent addition, an Osprey Skarab 30. Reasonable and effective compartmentalization is a great thing, but I just mostly want to have a big sack to dump my stuff into in order to get to it fast enough, hold what I need for the given circumstances, and that carries comfortably.