These boots look pretty sweet, which is why I was so disappointed when they tragically fell apart after only two days. Yeah, just in case you didn't believe those other two reviews, the thing that fastens the cable in place near the toes pops out real quick. I think they used chewing gum to put this boot together.

I ordered a pair of Vans Encore snowboarding boots in December, and, after less than 2 weekends of use, the stitching that holds the fitting in for the Boa lacing cable on the left foot came apart. Upon further inspection I saw that on both feet the fittings near the toes were coming loose. The only customer review that I could find reflected the exact same problem. I busted my ass pretty bad when my boot got loose all of a sudden right before I took a jump. Plus, when my boots broke, I had already loaned my spare pair of boots to a friend who was on some other part of the mountain, so it pretty much ruined the rest of that trip for me.
It's really too bad because the boots look rather cool, were very comfortable, and the toes didn’t stick out over the edge of the board. And it's such an easily remedied flaw. I hope that Vans fixes it so that they can sell a comfortable Boa boot at a decent price that doesn’t fall apart. However, even if they do, this will probably be the last Vans product that I ever buy. And I’m telling all of my friends.

I bought a pair in November to prepare for the season, and like, after my fifth time riding, the boot's lace-holding thing-broke, so now I have two boots with the toe area loose, but w/e. Then the boa knob fell off and I somehow found it in the road. Now I rock the duct tape boots, so whatever, they're good boots besides the fact that they break!