Bont Vaypor S Li2

Bont's Vaypor S shoes are super-stiff yet they provide an excellent level of comfort, and they now come with Boa's top-level Li2 dial closure... but you do have to stump up a whopping great wad of cash if you want to enjoy them.

The Vaypor shoes have evolved since we first reviewed them on road.cc waaaaaay back in 2012, but they're still incredibly stiff.

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The soles are handmade from unidirectional carbon fibre and they just don't flex. There are lots of stiff-soled shoes out there these days if you're prepared to pay top-end prices, and the Vaypor S is right up there among the very stiffest. I can detect absolutely no flex at all here.

Those soles are tub-shaped – they extend up around the sides of your feet, not just at the heel but in all other areas too. It feels like this is providing stability and support as you pedal, particularly when you're out of the saddle. The curved-up sides could cause discomfort if your feet pushed hard against them anywhere, but the soles are heat mouldable.

Moulding the soles is a relatively straightforward process: you just heat an oven to 70°C and then put your shoes inside for 20 minutes. After taking them out you can alter the fit of any tight areas with something like the round end of a screwdriver. You can repeat the process as many times as you like. The EVA innersoles are heat mouldable too.

Even so, I still find the process a bit scary. You don't want to be the person who incinerated their shiny new £325 shoes, do you?

Tub rub?

It has to be said, though, that some people don't get on with Bont's tub-shaped design. If your feet don't fit in the tub there's only so much moulding you can do – a standard sole design is more forgiving – so try before you buy. Put the Bonts on and it'll be pretty obvious whether a little bit of moulding will relieve any small areas of pressure or whether you'll be fighting a losing battle.

I find the Bont sole particularly comfortable because its distinctive shape is closer to that of my foot than other shoes, and I know many people find the same thing. I don't feel like anything is being squashed, squeezed or cajoled here, and I've never experienced any hot spots with the Vaypor S. I know this might sound weird but a lot of shoes simply aren't all that foot-shaped! The outline of the Bont sole looks like the outline of a foot, and that makes a lot of sense.

The outer sole has heel and toe guards to provide some protection and grip, and a grid on the forefoot makes matching up your cleat positioning a cinch.

The uppers are made from Durolite synthetic material, which looks a lot like leather and wipes clean quickly and easily. Beneath that there's a proprietary material that, Bont says, has 'similar strength characteristics to Kevlar'. I'm not sure whether or not it'll stop bullets, but I do know that it doesn't stretch so your feet are held firmly in place.

Boa Li2 dials

Two Boa Li2 dials take care of closure on this version of the Vaypor S. Li2 is Boa's premium product and it works superbly, allowing one-handed micro-adjustment in both directions, even through overshoes. When you want to release the tension completely, you just pull the dial upwards. It could hardly be simpler. 

The Li2 dials are low profile, have a composite grip around the edge so your fingers don't slip, and their unfussy look is pretty stylish. I've no reason to doubt they'll prove as durable as all the other Boa dials I've used, and if you do ever smash one up in a crash, replacement is pretty simple.

The only downside of white Boas is that if oily fingers get the textured edges horribly dirty, getting them clean again is a bit of a mission.

Padded collar

You know how some saddles manage to be incredibly comfortable despite little in the way of padding? The Vaypor S pulls the same trick. There's a small depth of cell memory foam around the opening (the 'collar') and the heel, and the tongue provides cushioning against the Boa dials and laces, and I've found it perfectly sufficient.

This foam doesn't retain water, which is good news when you sweat or get caught in the rain – as I have. My feet didn't dry particularly quickly afterwards – these aren't the airiest option out there – but at least the shoes didn't feel too heavy with water and they were dry by the following morning.

> Buyer’s Guide: The best performance cycling shoes

You do get ventilation courtesy of holes in the uppers above your toes and across the tongue. There are also vents in the toe bumper and the foot arch. You don't get mesh panels in the uppers, though, if you're a hot-footed type and that's something you particularly need.

Value

There's no getting around the fact that £334 (current conversion from €399) is a lot to pay for a pair of cycling shoes, although the Fizik Vento Stabilita Carbon road shoes that we reviewed recently are £375, and the Specialized S-Works 7s £370 (and we've reviewed still more expensive shoes).

There has to be a good reason to spend this kind of money and the Bont Vaypor S certainly offers something very different from the norm both in terms of shape and tech. Personally, I'd be willing to pay the premium because these shoes work so well for me although, of course, foot shapes vary considerably.

Conclusion

You might think this is a gushing review and I guess that it is, but the Vaypor S shoes aren't just like a thousand others out there, they're a totally different take. You can get lighter shoes and you can get ones with more ventilation, but these are stiff-soled, supportive, secure and very comfortable. If only they were cheap as well.

Verdict

Super-stiff, supportive and comfortable road shoes, the only hurdle being the big price