100 Day Review: Vans Omni Focus

The 2nd item in my collection of gear that has hit 100 days is my Vans Omni Focus boots. I purchased the boots in the fall of 2006. Since then they’ve been my main snowboard boots.

I was surprised that these boots lasted 2 seasons for me, easily going above and beyond the life. When I first got the boots, they were stiff and it took a good 6 days of riding before they were the perfect fit. Now after a lot of days on them, they have packed out and are a lot softer of a boot than when I first got them. The only thing I changed on the boots was the production insoles, I replaced those twice throughout the life with superfeet insoles.Just to be clear…I’m your average snowboarder, give or take. I’m not pro, I’m not a beginner…I’m right in the middle of those two extremes.
I put my Vans Omni Focus to the test this year to see how they are after 100 days on snow. This is Shay’s 100 Day Perspective…and I plan to do this with more products that hit 100 days.

Boa:

The biggest concern from most people is the boa. I love boa technologies and love using them in my snowboard boots. It works and it’s strong. I have the original boa lace on both boots, neither of the lacing has broken or even remotely shown any sign of weakness.
In November of last year, I had an issue with the boa knob coming loose while riding. I hadn’t tightened it in a while and the knob came off. Since Boa Technologies is located in Steamboat Springs, I stopped by and got my knob fixed and an extra tool to make sure the knob is tightened before riding.

The lace cables still intact. Boa describes them as “The replaceable lace is a miniature cable that is made especially for the Boa System. It has been developed and refined over several years and many thousands of days of use. It is woven of 49 individual strands of aircraft grade stainless steel and then compressed to create a very smooth surface with exceptional strength. The lace cables are cut to length with proprietary Boa equipment and the ends are welded into a small ball to keep the strands from unraveling and to provide easy feeding through the lace guides.”
Shell:

The boots don’t look too bad just minor wear and tear, scuff marks make up how strong the shell has held up.

Left Boot

In this photo you can see where the left boot shell has been bent and flexed on the inner side. Not sure how that happened and can’t remember ever bending the boot that way. The most noticeable damage is where I rest my board on my right boot during lift time. It’s tearing right above the boa cable and tears on the sides. At the bottom, the stitching has come undone and some material is coming away from the boot.

Scuff marks on the rear of the shell

Outsoles:

There is some traction left but it’s not anything great. I still slip and slide in the boots with the worn down outsoles on the boots.
My right boot took most of the beating, it’s actually missing a piece from the outsole.
Footbeds:

I took out the original production footbeds and put in Superfeet. After the first season I replaced the superfeet with another pair of superfeet for this season.

Liners:

Minor discoloration of the liners, getting dirty from snowboarding in. No visible damage to either of the liners.
I’ve still be rocking the boots, got new boots to replace them but haven’t yet put the new boots to snow yet. These are at the end of their journey and they treated me great through two seasons.