My first pair of mountaineering boots were a pair of unlined leather working boots nailed by a cobbler, who had his workshop next to my mothers dress shop, with tricounis, star muggers and clinkers bought through a postal catalogue of mountaineering and explorers equipment. Thought I was going to learn to climb by the proper method i.e. traditional method.
I climbed some V.Diffs on Crib Goch and Cader Idris in them, climbs led by school masters. I then led two friend around the complete Snowden Horseshoe, starting and ending at our campsite end of Llynnau Mymbyr, Capel Curig. A very hot August day and my feet were burning up. I was not long after that experience I was given the money to buy my first pair of rubber soled boots, a pair of Arvon's Tigers.
On leaving school and pitching into 'real mountaineering' as I thought, much of my equipment came from a scrapyard, whose owner seemed have an in with military surplus. Top half of a survival suit outer for really wet weather, untill I saved enough for a Ventile anorak. Top half of the inner, made my first duvet jacket, hand dyed blue. Lower half was used as a Pied d'Elephant. (Bivvyed on a ledge in the Alps with that). Ex army crampons with webbing straps, got me up Green gully and the numbered gullies on Ben Nevis in one of the 1960's winters.
My first snow mitts were part of the survival suit, I think they might have been the best and longest serving part of that purchase. I gradually kitted myself out from a long period of make do, I have been in places where others have been killed. I think too comfortable/good equipment may have contributed to some fatalities. One in particular climbing out of Cwm Glas ascent to Crib y Ddysgl in good hard snow, we roped, even though there is no drop to go over, the exposure is very fierce, some years later I read of a party falling there with fatality, all the gear and I thought that they might just a bit too warm and comfortable.