gore tax lining any made, timberland, addidas, northface, dickers.... works fine...
in snows, protection shoes i.e. CAT and ICOn , timber land and other made works fine...
overall, i prefer goretax inner lining shoe with hard soles for rough trekking while leather made shoes like CAT and Dickers for snow trekking...
Though gore tax lining works good in snows as well, but it is a personal choice ..
and yes get a good shoe once, it will last for 4 to 6 years...
i am using http://www.gore-tex.com/product/adidas-terrex-fast-x-fm-mid-gtx-boot/1324239428088/ shoe along with dickers for snow trekking, u can see those shoes in musa ka musalla trek thread of mine, and one korean made trekking shoes....