I don’t trust their lifespan. I have had to replace the lift support struts for my 94’s trunk twice. Once in 2004 and again in 2014. For some reason, I really haven’t needed to in 2024, and still don’t. Basically I wait until it’s difficult to keep open. When it falls on your head, it hurts!!! And that’s just a trunk lid, not a hood.
Now then, the hood prop isn’t reliable either. You get a sudden gust of wind, and it’ll lift up the hood high enough to become free from the prop, then slam close on you, your tools, whatever. It’s actually harder to reopen, as the hood prop is still up, sticking out between your closed hood and fender. And yes, there’s cosmetic damage.
But back on dependability. My first car was a 1988 BMW 325i. It used gas shocks for the hood, the trunk, AND the convertible boot. So NONE of them worked until I finally replaced them. I would have a specific non traditional prop for the trunk and one for the hood. The convertible boot was way too difficult with a prop, so it was really a two person job (convertible top was manual.)