100 Day Perspective: Vans Veil

100 days can seem like a lot or a little depending on how many days you ride each season. Over the past couple years, only a couple products have endured the 100 day mark. After 100 days they get the perspectives post to identify how they look after so many days, how durable they are and what the wear/tear looks like. It’s not so much a usual review but it is a judge of quality.

I’ve been riding the Vans Veil’s (used to be Omni’s) model for almost ten seasons now. Since boots are such an important part of your snowboard gear, I have chosen to stay with the model that fits my feet to perfection and focus on other reviews (snowboards, bindings, softgoods) for those less tied to fit.  Last year after writing the 100 day perspective, Vans added me to their wear test program. Basically I get to ride the next season’s boots, document the wear/tear after so many days and give them feedback. So for the 2010/11 season I was riding the 2011/12 Vans Veils in order to give feedback.

This year the Vans Veils received over 100 days on snow and were ridden from December to August. They were my only snowboard boots this season (as soon as I got them in December), were worn during every demo/review and they are the POW version which features a dual BOA lacing system. These boots feature a flex control system which is intact.

[singlepic id=12484 w=500 h=281 float=]

The dual BOA system on these Vans Veils features a lower and upper BOA cable  that you can tighten/loosen depending on your preferences. The BOA on my boot ran smoothly this season with no issues on the cable. The cables are intact, the knobs are tight and I haven’t needed to do anything to the cables this season.

[singlepic id=12480 w=300 h=533 float=]

The most visible wear/tear on the boots has been on the right boot where I sit my board during lift rides. There are scuff marks, visible loosening to the sole of the boot on the right but the boot remains intact with no seams splitting or coming apart.

[singlepic id=12481 w=500 h=281 float=]

Early on and something I discussed with Vans was the stitching around the boa holder on one of the boots. It came undone and wasn’t in place. This was one of the changes for the boot is the location/design of the BOA so it didn’t happen. Even with the stitching issue, it never came off completely after 50 more days on it like that.

[singlepic id=12486 w=500 h=281 float=]

Another noticeable wear/tear with the boots comes with the color choice. I received the Vans Veil in the POW white color option which can show the amount of days with dirt. Most of the dirt differences came from the highbacks.

[singlepic id=12482 w=300 h=533 float=]

For the outsole, it’s still in great shape from the walking and riding this season. No missing tread on the boots and still has good grip for hiking. I used this boots during a very icy Grand Prix pipe contest this year and the traction came in handy or I would have been sliding down the top of the pipe during the contest (and probably on national tv).

[singlepic id=12483 w=300 h=533 float=]

During the first part of the testing, I rode the boots with the original footbeds but then switched out to the remind insoles.  The inside of the boot features a good comfortable furry fabric and towards the bottom has the material that grips your socks and makes it harder for your foot to move up and down.

[singlepic id=12485 w=500 h=281 float=]

A look at the inner liners for the Vans Veil boots.  These actually still look brand new after the amount of days. No issues with the inner lining system or fit on these.

[singlepic id=12487 w=300 h=533 float=]

Even after 100 days on these boots, they are still rideable and I’ll be riding them until I get the next set of boots to wear test. The Veils over time have softened up for flex but since they are the stiffest women’s boot in the line, it gradually gives you a bit more movement during the season.