I do not wear true minimalist footwear but I’ve packed all manner of loads in all kinds of terrain with Solomon mids. I’ve tried some trail runners and even tennis shoes and they are fine as well unless the sole/heel is really thick, in which case they tend to roll over the ankle easier on steep side hills.
I like lower drop at the heel in general, lighter and thinner in general. I like mids mostly for keeping rocks and crap out of the shoe, I don’t think the “ankle support” is really much of a factor.
I have never understood the idea that a stiff, high boot will somehow help with hauling a load - seems like a boot marketing ploy. Personally, the heavier and more awkward the load, the more ground feel and motion I want. I've yet to see strongman guys clunking around in Herman Munster boots managing crazy weights in awkward positions - wrap their knees to tourniquet levels yah, big ankle contraptions no. I just wear "trail shoes" the majority of the time, currently the Topo Terraventure WP's. The more you use 'em, the less appealing bulky restrictive footwear becomes.
And a FWIW, I've found the Topos to be leaps and bounds more durable than Altras. I got three seasons of rough country use out of my last Topos and well into a second on my current Trailventures...while having a pair of Altra runners crack apart in the forefoot just from running on roads. YMMV
^I think these guys are right.
I just don't see how additional floppy fabric around your ankles provides any meaningful level of "support," when considering the force the support is working against (your body + a load on a lever far above the fabric ankle "support.")
I think "support" is better conceptualized as "stability," which can come from a flat, wider platform.
Some trail running shoes, even low-drop ones, have high stack heights which are plush but create instability. Those are less stable and increase the chance of an ankle injury, even if they have a high top.
Again, in my opinion and experience, lower-drop and lower-stack-height shoes will hurt with a heavy packout. Not due to lack of "ankle support" but due to lack of protection--your feet are more exposed to the ground and they just plain hurt.
A long way of saying: I don't think higher shoes, themselves, provide any additional meaningful layer of ankle stability. And I don't think there'd be a meaningful difference, from the perspective of pack-out pain, between a thin "minimal" shoe or boot with a higher ankle versus without a higher ankle.
That said, it's certainly true that a packout in a shoe with less protection is going to hurt your feet more. But there's a tradeoff between that and blisters, the 90%+ time when you're not carrying heavier loads, long-term lack of mobility and chance of injury, etc. etc.
