The Gist
The lightweight, thin shell wall VFF Pro puts skiers in direct contact with the ski and snow. It pumps out seemingly never ending agile, quick transitions thanks to an unhindered, snappy flex. Testers love the personalized, custom fit of the VFF Pro that stems from, well, the fact that it's a personalized, custom fit.
Fit
Fully custom-built in every way possible to each owner’s personal foot and leg dimensions. Local dealers take measurements and send them to DaleBoot’s Salt Lake City factory where shell components are tailored in tricky fit areas.
The lower boot can be made as narrow as a World Cup plug boot or wider than the widest stock last boot on the market. The upper boot is matched to the leg's length in one of two different available stiffnesses.
It’s fine-tuned back at the shop where an Intuition liner is full thermo-molded (spiral wrap or traditional tongue in a variety of different thicknesses and densities) and stance alignment fine-tuned.
Our test team liked the close-wrapping, firm feel of the liner against the foot and lower leg, citing "shrink-wrapped" fit tension without hot spots. The flex feel is classic DaleBoot three-piece, long and friendly against the shin. The various overlaps and reverse-throw buckles never cease to initially confuse testers but they all seem to come around with some familiarization time. Long-time owners report no issues.
Performance
The high durometer, thin-walled polyether "clog" (or cabrio lower shell), produces a strong, edge-driving machine with an unusually sensitive feel for the ski and snow. The three-quarter length bootboard puts the forefoot directly on the bottom of the shell. That yields a tuned-in feel underfoot that enables lightning quick lateral moves and subtle edge adjustments for precise transitions.
Coupled with the cuff's long travel flex feel (which can be stiffness-tuned by a spring tension cable adjustment) the stiff and light nature of the lower creates a great blend of performance attributes for on- and off-piste skiing alike. It's no wonder that bump skiers love this boot. It’s a shock-absorbing shin fit paradise.
Cool Features
All the final fitting and stance alignment fine-tuning (via DaleBoot's cool snap-on canted soles) is included in the purchase price. A good deal for a truly custom boot.
Kudos
Caveats