Originally Posted by Trevtassie

I've got 4 pairs of high end Scarpa hiking boots (SLs) and none of them have any real flex under the ball of the foot, they flex less than the 3 pairs of Shimano SPD shoes I have. Boots made for walking with a heavy load have nearly zero flex because they're designed to hold your foot together and give it a rolling contact area when it really wants to squish out into a burger patty. I used to test boots for Scarpa, which is why I have so many.