I switched over to using zero heel shoes a couple years ago and it has made a big difference in knee and foot pain for me.

The one thing I have yet to find is a good pair of zero heel hiking/tactical boots.

I have the Boulder Boots from Lems, and they are fine for light terrain, but they are not very "grippy".

I am thinking about trying the Xero Shoes Xcursion, but I am curious if anyone has any other recommendations.

I’ve been wearing the Belleville Mini Mil for five years. Love them...unless I have to walk on anything pokey, they have very little protection. Not zero drop but as close as I’ve found that I can wear.

+1 on the  Belleville Mini-Mils being as close to zero drop as possible. I use them for work and they are wicked light and nice for long walking stretches, I don't get the leg fatigue of wearing giant goretex "Herman Munster boots". They can be a little uncomfortable if you have to walk on a bunch of like small jagged stones, but not unbearably so. Wouldn't trust them to walk on broken glass or anything, but I've used them on the firing range and stepped on hot brass and haven't had one melt through my sole or anything. Very similar to the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove soles that I wear in the summer. They are very squeaky when walking on hard floors/cement when you first get them, but that subsides pretty quickly.

Thanks.  Those look promising.

How warm are they?

Zero warmness. Canvas sides reenforced with some light webbing at that's it.

Good to know, thanks.  

I went "barefoot" for footwear about a decade ago and finished my military career shifting to running with barefoot shoes and wearing the Mini-Mil zero-degree boots.  They've made a significant impact on improving my arches, strengthening my ankle and knee joints.  I'm a believer.

One caution on such footwear for backpacking is to understand the difference between cushion and zero-degree.  I've tried a couple times to hike in barefoot shoes and it turned into a disaster.  The feel is great on the trail for the first few hours, but what I found is that my feet took a pounding and were extremely fatigued.  Maybe not enough practice, but I had been running, working out and did numerous day hikes with barefoot shoes.  Doing 8-10 hours on the trail with a pack for a few days is another story.  I still use barefoot shoes for day hikes, but went back to Salomon shoes for backpacking as they have much more cushion.

On the plus side though.  While my feet were extremely sore and fatigued, they recovered very well overnight and I would be fine for the first few hours the next day.  Another aspect is that barefoot shoes slow you down, which is good and bad.  It forces you to really pay attention to where and how you step, but it slows you down quite a bit (not the best feature when doing a distance hike).

I've love my Belleville Mini-Mils, Vivobarefoot, Xero Shoes, Inov-8, are some of my favorite choices...

ROCK6

Inov8 treats me right. They make several hikers.

My Xero shoes performed well on a few short hikes and one overnighter. I don't think I will do multiple day hike with them though.

I think I might be just too old or something, but my feet feel "weak" at the end of the day if that makes sense. Maybe I just need to wear them all the time to build up my foot muscles.

I've been eyeing the Vivobarefoot Tracker boots.  Can't bring myself to drop that kind of money on them yet.

I love my Belleville c333's. Very light & comfortable for average hiking. For more rocky terrain, I prefer the added sole stiffness of my Rocky s2v's.