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...and similar situations. This question is aimed towards paizo staff, mainly.
Was it intentional that only base classes without archetypes get bonuses from items that boost a particular ability? Or should that boost extend to archetypes, too, like Infiltrator Ranger with Boots of Favored Terrain? It seems a bit unfair that archetypes can't boost their abilities that way, and only classes without archetypes can, was that the design idea?
I suspect that it is more that there are a limited number of base classes, but a lot more archetypes. There are seven archetypes for ranger, which I think is typical. An "Item of Improving Class Feature" for each base class is less than 20 items. If you also make them for each archetype, you are probably looking at about 100 items. That is a lot of space devoted to fairly specialized items.
Well, my question boils down to this - should items that give bonuses to a class ability also give bonuses to abilities modified by archetypes? RAW, I know they don't, but RAI intrests me.
Mechanically maybe, flavorwise it usually will not make sense at all, best thing you can do with it is keep it as a general guideline what such an item will look like, for the ranger the boots will probably change into a cloak made off the hide of a doppleganger or something similar.
Considering the flexibility of races in terms of magical items (Half-Elves and Half-Orcs being human and elf or orc, respectively, for example) I'd assume that RAI would have items that boost a class feature remain useful for an archetype with that class feature. If you've lost the class ability the item boosts as part of your archetype, obviously the item would have no impact, but so long as that ability is there, I don't see why the item wouldn't work. The archetype isn't so distinctly separated from its origin class that they should be penalized for it. It'd actually be a rather large detriment, if, say, a Shining Knight (paladin archetype) did not gain the paladin benefits of wielding a Holy Avenger because the class name is different.
Still, it's a good question; I'm curious to hear the official word on it as well.