If a good quality wet portage boot was the same in all other respects except for the height, which would you perfer--high top or full height? Thx.

My answer would be, "Yes".

I'll wear ankle-height boots most of the time, but I'll wear full-height (over the calf) Chota boots in colder times of year.

I'm a low top fast draining fan. I don't like high tops in the summer and don't buy into the ankle support thing....worst spained ankle I ever had was wearing high top football shoes. I wear Saloman's with no socks and don't mind the water & mud at all.

Fishguts, I'm with you on the hightop vs. lowtop thing. I don't think it makes much difference for most people. There might be a few who favor extra ankle support, and over-the-ankle boots might protect the ankle bone from bumping against a rock, but I think that's rare as well.

I usually wear hiking-type boots simply because they feel good. However, I've also worn Chuck Taylor hightop sneakers. The soles aren't as strong, but they work just fine.

I am the same as Fishguts--a low top fast draining fan. I have used Columbia shoes for the last 20 years. Since I'm solo I wear my shoes in swimming as the last thing I can afford is a cut foot or even a fish hook. As long as they have a good tread for rock I'm happy. I have never believed that more ankle support is necessary.

I like a little ankle support for hauling a load across a portage. The wilderness is no place to blow out an ankle. I have felt the ankle support of my hiking boots on many occasions when slipping or misstepping on a portage. In my case, I'm convinced high top footwear has prevented an ankle injury.

I'm with fishguts. I wear low top canoeing shoes meant for wetfooting. They have drain holes to let water out. In almost 15 years, I've never worn any kind of ankle support shoe, and have never wished I had ankle support. I've been in the situations that people tell you that you will wish you had ankle support. Things like stepping down angled rocks, onto (and sometimes right off the other side of) logs, in and around "ankle breaking rocks," and I have never had any problems being in my lowtop shoes.
Here is a link to the type of shoe I wear:

Teva Wetfooting Shoes

In my opinion the advantage of wearing this type of shoe outweigh the disadvantages. Some of the things that made me chooses this way:

1. Weight. I've always preferred light shoes over heavy ones. In canoeing, I don't want big heavy boots when I'm paddling and when I'm portaging wearing heavy boots is just more weight to carry.

2. I need a pair of camp shoes that I can just throw on to do stuff. I don't want to spend the time lacing up hiking boots. My wetfoot shoes double as my camp shoes. If I wore boots, I'd have to bring a second pair of shoes for camp.

3. Quick drying. I wetfoot and my shoes are designed to leak water and dry quickly. Usually they are dry the next day if not sooner. I tripped with a friend who wore hiking boots "because you should" and when those got wet, they stayed wet for a long time.

There's probably other reason, but I cant think of them right now...

I didn't much like wearing the knee boots when it turned warmer and I sure didn't like carrying them. They were great to have when the temps were lower. A lighter boot might not wear you out so much just walking around. One thing for sure is you want a shoe that will not pull off if you step into the muck.