I don't disagree with you about they not being 100% necessary. But for $60 its just a piece of mind, or cheap insurance. I do like the protection for the boot from the rear as well, but honestly how many of us back into a bunch of sticks! As for holding more mud in, we'll see. The underneath part is still open, so most mud and stuff should fall through. I'm going on a trip the first weekend in March. I'll report my findings.They'll distribute the load so it is more shared with other single shear bolts. One pic of a broken hub was shared on facebook and then a handful of accessory companies rushed these things to market. Probably unnecessary, but doubt they'll hurt anything. One more thing to scoop up and carry mud around.