Over the past few seasons we have tested the VFF Pro in different ways—in fully custom tests with assigned testers who had the boots built just for them and also as more "universal" builds that all testers could try, which was our test method this year. While the full-custom tests obviously yield better personal fit scores (duh!), the test results for on-snow performance, entry and exit, stance balance and closure remain very similar.
The VFF Pro teams an accurate and comfortable lower boot fit with a long, soft flex range that can be managed via the boot's signature flex adjustment mechanism. The smooth flex feel is a VFF Pro hallmark, based on previous tests, and testers like the adjustability of the spring-loaded cable system which restrains the boot's forward range of motion when locked but leaves the cuff free in both directions when disengaged—a hike mode design from before hike modes were so cool. The VFF Pro's on-snow attitude is best characterized as sensitive and agile—this is not a grunt for the front lines but rather a foot feel tactician best suited to skiers with a lighter, more nimble touch on their skis.
Testers liked the direct connect feel of foot to ski enabled by the boot's three-quarter boot board which puts the forefoot directly on the floor of the boot. This further lightens and already featherweight set-up that owes some of that lack of heft to its Intuition liner. The spiral-wrapping liner's real starring role is the way it splits open over the top of the foot to ease entry and exit while simultaneously padding the plastic edges of the lower boot's cabrio entryway. There is no easier boot on and off on the planet. Really. No, we're serious.
Though the strap configuration is unique and wire bales a bit old school, the closure is quite good once testers wrassled the buckle octopus into submission. The newly re-designed toe dam "spat" made for a better seal and zero accidental "pop off" events.
The VFF Pro last starts at a plug-narrow 92mm (in the reference size 26) and so could be classified as an ultra-narrow up through super wide—the boot can be last-modified at the factory in long-duration pressure-steam cookers to a jaw-dropping 110 mm. The already adjustable stiffness can be further modified with a precisely placed T-nut to bump the flex to a true 120.
