To forking boot or forking not to boot

[handcyclist]

New front shock on my hardtail.

Rockshox come without fork boots. Opinion is divided elsewhere about fitting them - some say they work as long as you remember to remove them for cleaning. Others say they just trap dirt and grit, scratching the fork tubes, and that modern shock seals work fine on their own.

Reviews of things like Lizard Skins are very mixed on sites like mtbr.com

Any thoughts?

[tonycollinet]

My forks have gone 3 years without boots. No damage. No leakage of seals apparent.

[Zoidburg]

Avoid.

They were designed for US based riding and prevented dust ingress, they never really worked that well in the UK as they just trapped water.

Most new fork wiper seals are good enough to no longer need a boot anyway.

[handcyclist]

Thanks chaps, won't be getting any then!