>>2177993I remember there was a case back in the late 90s or early 2000s where three guys got stuck in bad weather in the Alps for the better part of a week. They all survived. One guy was wearing old leather boots from the 70s, another leather boots from the 90s and the last modern plastic boots (modern by 90s standards, I know plastic boots aren't the standard for mountaineering now). The first lost both feet, the second lost most of his toes and the last was fine.
Modern kit is just better in terms of design and materials, but often isn't built as robustly in order to reduce weight and other things. That's because the types of outdoor activities we do now are different. You can still get heavy leather boots that'll last a lifetime and that are still just better than what was made way back when.
