[special-K]

I really don't think it matters either way. And,I base that on over 35 years of experience with 4wds. I have never had a problem with corroded shock shafts from boots. I've run them both ways. I removed shocks with 200,000 miles on them that had no dampening left in them at all,but there was no rust on the shafts from the boots. I have had shafts rust with no boot due to the vehicle sitting for a few years,which isn't good for anything. I believe the theory for boots was to keep abrasive materials away from the seals. They ran boots on Baja 500 race vehicles that certainly cycle their shocks constantly all day long (and built up heat). Eventually they came up with remote reservoir shocks...many years later. Once the showy guys started into 4wds,then the boot colors came about and that's when they became about looks. Many things are learned over the years and the common goal of the 4- wheeling public shifts. The magazines fool this and depending on where you hopped on,they views are different. I like the more serious nature of 4 wheeling the magazines finally came around to. But,much of it is hype and in most of our real worlds what may be said to be not good enough or "you need this" really doesn't apply. You have to weed through it and find what works best for your needs. This coming from a guy who's school of thought has always been "over-build and you can't go wrong".