The illustrious Vans Probo... a pricepoint boot with the soul of a giant. Add to that: The Last Of The Line?! Let's hope not...!!
Just The Facts, Ma'am:
Where I got 'em: The House (www.the-house.com), on closeout. Suggested retail: $108.95. Actual price? $79.95! Cheap!
What are they?: Apparently, these were [at one time] Vans' lowest-tier boot offering. Now out of production, these look to have been replaced by the Mantra in the line [at a suggested retail of $139.95].
Why We're Reviewing Them: A great way to size up a boot line, is to test the lowest-priced offering, and judge that one. If it's a good, solid value? So will the rest of the line [generally speaking, of course].
The Good Stuff:
Let's start by saying that we've been riding Vans boots for many a year 'round these parts. Vans has a rock-solid reputation as a manufacturer of really, really solid stuff. Oftentimes, a little too solid, as they can sometimes be quite a bit over-engineered, and a little-too-packed-with-features. But, hey: I'd rather have waaaay too much of a good thing, than way too little, y'know what I mean...?
The Probo fell right into line with what we expected. Even at the "suggested" $108.00 retail, this would have been a hell of a deal. At the $79 we paid for 'em, they were a fucking steal.
The Inevitable "Frankensteining" Of The Boots:
The first thing that we always do, is to cut some shit out of Vans boots, to make them a little more "user-friendly". The first to go was the in-boot liner-lacing system. The "regular" lacing system is more than adequate to keep your heels locked in, and snugged up; the redundancy of the in-boot lockdown just meant more headaches getting the damned things on and off your feet. Granted, some people will like... maybe even, love... this feature. We just didn't. That's all.
The other thing that we did, was to slide some Hi-Standard insoles into the liners. These insoles have a neat, raised and molded heelcup that acts like a heelside gas pedal, inside the boot. It quickens up the response, while giving a little extra padding for the 'ol knees. You could easily use any aftermarket insole to do this job; we just happened to have Vans insoles lying around the office.
Here's the Hi-Standard insoles that we slipped into the Probos for a little extra heel-hold, as well as a smidge more padding. Little things like this count, especially when your life depends on 'em.
Neither of these mods cost a single red cent, I might add.
More Good Stuff:
So, onto the slopes... and again, everything that we expected, and more. Comfortable as hell. Tough as nails [mostly]. Warm and toasty. Dry enough. Great outsole grip for hiking everywhere and anywhere. Fairly firm, for a pricepoint boot... yet, not overly stiff. Good to great response through the board. Pretty cushy (the insoles clearly helped here, though).
The Not-So-Good Stuff:
Just like the Burton Superpipe gloves we reviewed, we didn't quite give these an "A" grade on the durability front. However: Unlike the Burton gloves, these were exclusively "cosmetic" dings, scrapes, and scratches in the man-made "faux-suede" panels that we're talkin' about, here... but, nothing that compromised the function of the boot in any way at all. So, we give the Probos a solid, and still-good A- to B+ in that regard. Maybe we've just been spoiled by the Hi-Standards' over-the-top-bulletproofness over the years? Who knows...?
The Final Verdict:
It would be boss as shit if Vans could find an economically feasible way to bring these puppies back for next season. If not? We're sure that the Mantras, or the ever-awesome Hi Standards will still be Grade-A choices for the budget-and-performance-minded snowboarder.
