SMS wrote:

Christopher Loffredo wrote:

Unfortunately, Gore-Tex-less boots are getting harder and harder to find...

For good reason. The GoreTex membrane allows the boot to breathe while
remaining waterproof. The membrane is safely sandwiched inside,
protecting it, so it doesn't get clogged with dirt or oil.

The GoreTex lasts the life of the boot. My last pair of boots with a
GoreTex liner lasted for 25 years without leaking or failing to breathe.

You were lucky or careful. And I doubt that those boots were in
frequent use if you managed to get them to last so long.

Toenails and grit can quite easily make holes in boot linings.

You'll only find a lack of a GoreTex membrane on very low end boots,
which have other limitations as well, such as sub-standard sole, or
cheaper, non-full grain leather.

As others have said this is a falacy.
--
Phil Cook, last hill: Am Bodach in the Mamores on a sunny day :-)
pictures at http://www.therewaslight.co.uk soonish...