Scott Road Vertec Vent Boa road cycling shoes review

Scott’s Road Vertec Vent Boa shoes are a highly-ventilated road cycling shoe aimed at racers looking for performance in hot weather, at a slightly more accessible price.

With excellent sole stiffness, ventilation and an adjustable fit, they offer impressive all-round performance for their £229.99 / $229.99 / €229.95 price.

A few extra grams on the scales aside, the only notable low is the Boa L6 rotary dials, which only offer one-way operation, with no micro-adjustment for releasing lace tension.

Scott Road Vertec Vent Boa specification and details

Scott pitches the Road Vertec Vent Boa as its most ventilated road cycling shoe, and it's easy to see why – large sections of the TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) uppers have been cut out and replaced with a heavily vented mesh.

Scott says the Road Vertec Vent Boa uses its lowest volume last (dubbed ‘Racing Fit’) – meaning, they should feel snug and 'glove-like'. This didn’t exactly tally with my experience, but we’ll discuss that later.

The uppers are equipped with a twin set of Boa L6 rotary dials.

These offer micro-adjustments for increasing lace tension and can be popped open to instantly release all tension.

Unlike most premium rotary dials (such as the Boa Li2), though, they only work one way and don’t offer micro-adjustment for releasing lace tension.

The soles are constructed from carbon fibre and nylon composite, with a stiffness rating of 9 out of 10, on Scott’s arbitrary internal scale.

It’s great to see that Scott has included adjustable cleat bolt holes, with a notably large range of fore and aft movement.

Not everyone will need all of this extra range, of course, but it’s a great feature to have if – like me – you prefer to run your cleats relatively rearward (which can help improve foot stability, according to some bike fitters).

In contrast, Specialized’s Torch 3.0 shoes (among others) have fixed cleat bolt holes, leaving you to rely on what’s available with your preferred cleat and pedal system.

The Scott sole also features both heel and arch bumpers, though neither are replaceable.

The Road Vertec Vent shoes tipped the scales at 324g per shoe in a size EU45.

Given the relatively minimalist uppers, I was expecting them to be lighter, but 648g for the pair isn’t out of step with the competition.

That’s a little lighter than Specialized’s Torch 3.0 shoes (£210 / $250 / €250), which weigh 337g per shoe, but heavier than Van Rysel’s competitively-priced RCR shoes (£169.99 / $162.94 / €169.99), which weigh 313g per shoe (both in a size EU45).

Trek’s Velocis shoes (£229.99 / $249.99 / €249.99), are a notable outlier in this department, weighing just 244g per shoe in a size EU45.

As I've commented in other reviews, lighter shoes may help you climb hills marginally faster (all else being equal), but a few grams here or there isn’t something you can feel while riding.

The Scott Road Vertec Vent Boa shoes are available in nine sizes from EU39 to EU47, and in two colours – black or white.

Scott Road Vertec Vent Boa performance

Scott’s Road Vertec Vent Boa shoes offer generally impressive comfort and performance.

In contrast to Scott’s ‘Racing Fit’ description, I actually found them quite roomy compared to similar shoes from other brands, especially in the toe box area.

As a consequence, I found I needed to do the front Boa dials up quite tightly to prevent my foot lifting within the shoe.

Scott’s EU45 equates to a UK size 10.5, though, which is on the large side for my feet. Given this, I suspect a shoe half a size smaller would have been a slightly better fit.

Unfortunately, that isn’t available in the Road Vertec Vent Boa range, and Scott’s next size down (EU44 / UK9.5) would likely have been too small according to the size chart.

As always, with each brand using different last shapes, it’s always worth trying a few options to find out what suits your feet best.

Fit aside, the soles are plenty stiff, with no discernible flex when standing on the pedals.

For context, Scott’s flagship road cycling shoes – the Road RC Ultimate – have a stiffness rating just one point higher (at 10).

Of course, given its a unitless scale, it’s not clear what difference one point of stiffness makes in Scott’s shoes.

Scott also includes its Adjustable ErgoLogic insoles. These have removable arch support and metatarsal inserts.

A set of medium-height arch inserts are included, which suited me just fine. If you want more arch support than this you’ll need to upgrade to a set of aftermarket insoles.

I didn’t like the metatarsal pads, however. These are made from surprisingly hard plastic and while they’re designed to reduce foot numbness, they are noticeably uncomfortable.

It’s fair to say others may feel differently, but the metatarsal pads built into the insoles included with Specialized’s Torch 3.0 or Quoc’s Escape Road Lace shoe are much softer and therefore less obtrusive.

Fortunately, the metatarsal inserts in the Scott Ergologic insoles are removable, and once gone that sensation disappeared.

As expected, ventilation is excellent – the mesh sections on the uppers allow plenty of airflow through to your feet.

Of course, this makes them less useful for year-round use in cooler climes, but the Road Vertec Vent Boas are specifically designed for hot weather, not for the wet and cold of UK winters.

My primary frustration with the Road Vertec Vent Boa shoes was the Boa L6 dials and their one-way adjustment limitation.

It means that if you do any of Boa L6 dials up even just a little bit too tight, you need to pop them open and retighten them.

Of course, this can be done while riding, so it is possible to adjust the tension on the move – something which can’t be done with the traditional laces on Quoc’s Escape Road Lace shoes, for example.

It is, however, a slower and more frustrating experience than with the multi-directional Boa Li2 dials found on other similarly-priced competitors, such as Specialized’s Torch 3.0, Trek’s Velocis and Van Rysel’s RCR shoes (the Van Rysels technically use habu Li2 dials, but these are functionally identical to Boa Li2 dials).

Scott Road Vertec Vent Boa bottom line

Scott’s Road Vertec Vent Boa shoes aren’t the lightest in their class, but they have stiff soles and excellent ventilation, paired with a comfortable and adjustable fit.

At this price, though, the Boa L6 dials and their one-way operation is a small frustration, given many competitor shoes offer Boa’s premium Li2 dials.

If you can make peace with that limitation, though, Scott’s Road Certec Vent Boa shoes are a great option for road cycling in warmer climes.