You guys verified my thinking and will keep looking for something with boots. Just thought it was extremely odd for a plane of that capability to not have them.

I think it is noteworthy that the 700s you see for sale, are the ones without boots...

There is a subset of the aerostar ownership who are of the mentality to chase speed above all else. The boots and hotplates do slow you down (to the published performance numbers)

There is a subset of the aerostar ownership who are of the mentality to chase speed above all else. The boots and hotplates do slow you down (to the published performance numbers)

Collins also remarked on how few times he had hit the "boot inflate" switch in anger. Something along the lines of, he could "count on the fingers of both hands"? That in a lifetime of flying the P210.

That said, I fly a FIKI 600. First thing I did when I bought it was install the inboard boots and engine compartment ice screens. It already had hot props and alcohol windshield. (The dozen or so Piper 700s were the only planes with direct-from-the-factory FIKI option. Any other FIKI AEST, like all the other 700s, is an a la carte retrofit.)

Other than $300 for the occasional quart of Agemaster, the system requires negligible maintenance. The hot props seem to require the most attention -- the contacts and slip rings needing adjustment.

And yeah, despite flying all year round in the NE and Great Lakes, I've only hit inflate a handful of times. Even so, no way am I giving up FIKI. I remember what it was like picking up ice in the Mooney before the Aerostar with radar and deice.

There are plenty of owners who use their AEST recreationally and that's fine. Even VFR it's the most fun you can have with your pants on. But if you want to use it for serious cross-country flying it makes sense to buy one equipped for the mission.

If you think finding a deiced 700 is hard, try finding a clean low time 600.

I don't see any 10 kt penalty although I can't speak to hot plates - I'm
FIKI with the alcohol windshield option. 200 kt @ under 30/hr LOP

This seems really hard for me to believe.
Almost all Aerostars have booted wings. Certainly lots of them don’t have boots between the engines and the fuselage (required for FIKI) but they have boots.
I just searched Aerostars for sale on Controller and Trade A Plane and there was one 600 for sale without boots. Every 602, 601, 601-P/700, & 702 had boots.
I had a 601-P/700 that had everything for a 702 except 5.5 pressure and it was FIKI. The boots worked well and I used them a lot. On my current plane I use the boots all the time (today, for example, instrument departure and then an ILS followed by a LPV to get back home. Got ice on every one). You don’t want to fly a plane like an Aerostar without boots, that’s why almost all of them have boots.

Full known ice. I don’t see any speed penalty at all. I just don’t. On average I am book, or, better most of the time. I’ve had both, boots and no boots. I will take my boots everyday all day. I’ve been in ice without boots. I know what it’s like to start falling out of the sky and nothing you can do to stop it. It’s not going to happen again. Not if I can help it.