Paul Saunders wrote:
Scott Bryce wrote:

Phil Cook wrote:

You only need a waterproof membrane in your boots if they are made of
materials that are not inherently waterproof. Treated leather is
already a breathable waterproof material.
You only need a waterproof boot if you intend to walk for long periods
of time in wet conditions or in mud.

Hmm... Pretty much mandatory for the UK then.

Plus you can't always plan when you might end up in wet conditions.

Actually a waterproof membrane is not required, you can take full grain
leather boots and seal them with Sno-Seal or other similar product. The
down side to this is that you're blocking all the pores of leather so
the leather can't breathe and you end up with sweaty, stinky feet and boots.

It's almost a non-issue these days anyway. Only the lowest end hiking
boots lack a GoreTex (or competing product) breathable waterproof
membrane. There's no real down side, the membrane is more breathable
than the leather, so even with no membrane you won't get any more air
circulation.

It's popular to bash GoreTex, especially since their early products were
not very durable or long-lasting, but the past several generations of
GoreTex don't have the problems that their early products did.