Ski boots tend to all look the same, so when a new boot (from a brand-new company, nonetheless!) appears in the wild, it got my attention. Phaenom Footwear is a new-ish outfit pulling talent from across the Alps that’s focused on essentially reinventing how ski boots should be made. Their parent company, Full Stack Supply Co, also owns Faction Skis and United Shapes Snowboards, so the snowsports roots run deep. Currently, Phaenom is offering a limited run of two boot models - the all-mountain/freeride oriented FS 01 120, and the freeride/touring-oriented FR 01 130.
The brand has made an effort to showcase that their unique boots are designed to balance performance and sustainability–they can be fully disassembled, with each piece being replaceable if something breaks (or if you want to mod anything). The FS 01 120 is a sort of hybrid cabrio/overlap design with two huge buckles and a massive rubber powerstrap up top. The look reminds me of the old Salomon SPK/Ghost boots that were popular among freestyle and freeride skiers over a decade ago. In fact, reading back into old product descriptions from those boots, there seem to be quite a lot of design similarities–more on that below.
Features
There isn’t really any other way to say it: Phaenom’s new boot looks really weird. It’s got two huge buckles, a massive rubber powerstrap, and a unique tongue+overlap design. The boot is very clearly designed to be simple, burly, and damp. It’s a freestyle boot, so it’s meant to take a beating. There’s thick plastic and rubber everywhere, all designed to take the sting out of hard landings while allowing enough flex to butters, presses, and whatever creativity you might have in mind in the park.
Inside, the liner is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen come on a stock boot. The outsole has rubber lugs, allowing you to comfortably walk around outside in them like a shoe–that’s pretty neat, and is something I now wish more boot liners had. You can lace up the liner’s tongue with included laces to tighten it further. The liner even comes with a pretty substantial footbed, not the usual piece of throwaway foam found in most boots. The boot’s sole is Grip Walk compatible, meaning it will work with just about any alpine binding out there today.
Forward lean adjustment requires removing the ankle cuff pivot bolts and replacing the rectangular chips they thread into with corresponding 13, 15, and 17-degree chips. It reminds me of the geometry adjust systems found on many mountain bikes.
The boot’s massive power strap is another cool design point, unlike anything I’ve ever seen on a ski boot. There’s no velcro–instead the strap loops back through itself and clips to a plastic buckle, almost like a belt. It’s easy to get really tight, and just as easy to release, and the rubber offers similar damping to a Booster Strap.
Fit
The Phaenom FS 01 120 boot has a stated 102mm last, and I would say it almost runs a little narrower than that after directly comparing it to other boots in the same range. The instep height is relatively low, and actually gave my high arches some issues the first few times I skied the boot. As the liner eventually broke in, the pressure point went away and I was able to ski them comfortably.
The heel and ankle area on these is quite snug, giving a really locked in feel in the back of the boot. That really helps with side to side power transmission, even though the fore/aft flex is quite soft for my tastes. Admittedly, I tend to prefer really stiff freeride/race boots and don’t spend a ton of time jibbing around in the park, but I never felt out of control or sloppy in these boots.
The cuff height feels a bit lower than most other boots, something that I suspect many freestyle riders will actually prefer. I found it allows you to get over the front and rear of your skis a bit easier for buttering.
Finally, there’s ample toe room for the size, and thanks again to low instep height and the snug rear half of the boot, that doesn’t make the boot feel sloppy. I definitely like a bit of extra toe room, and anyone hitting big jumps in the park surely will too.
The Phaenom FS 01 120 is right at home in the park, with a simple, clean design and a TON of comfort.
Photo&colon Carter Edwards
Downhill Performance
Despite looking unlike anything I’ve ever put my feet into, the Phaenom FS 01 120 skis excellently. The two large buckles work as well as any three- or four-buckle combination I’ve ever used, cinching down the plastic in a precise and comfortable way, and the oversized powerstrap essentially works as another buckle higher up on my leg. A decade ago, that boot was the Salomon Ghost/SPK, something we saw on the feet of pro skiers from the X Games podium to big-mountain freeriders like Sam Anthamatten. Why bother with four buckles when two will do the trick?
The FS 01 120 is not particularly stiff, but the really smooth flex and incredibly damp nature of the boot allowed me to ski much the same as I would with a really stiff freeride or race-oriented boot–especially with softer, more jibby skis. I mostly skied this in variable and slushy spring conditions, and the precise fit really gave me confidence at speed. The soft internal bootboard also noticeably takes the edge off hardpack landings.
The lower cuff height gives the boot an interesting character, as I felt it allowed me to lean my weight much further forward and back than with a taller boot. This definitely made playing around on freestyle skis a whole lot more fun.
It really begs to question, do I need the stiffest boot I can find for every day skiing? Probably not, and I bet my legs and knees will thank me later for spending more time on a slightly softer boot–not to mention I straight-up feel like it's making me a better skier as I have to be less reliant on the stiffness of a boot to get my skis where I want them to go. A few years ago, a mountain bike coach explained that riding flats forces you to become a better rider because you can't "cheat" the bike with your clip-in shoes, and that's the exact same sentiment I'm feeling here.
What compromises does the Phaenom FS 01 120 make?
Given its straightforward intentions, I’m hard pressed to find any compromises in this boot. It’s cool to see a brand design a boot from the ground up to be more sustainable, with easy-to-service parts and a simple, burly design. In fact, I'd really just like to see more of these with some additional options on stiffness and perhaps a narrower last width option.
One thing of note is that the forward lean adjustment isn’t actually super easy to do, and having multiple pieces makes me think they’d be pretty easy to lose.
What does the Phaenom FS 01 120's ideal skier look like?
While marketed as a freestyle boot, I’d say the Phaenom FS 01 120 would be an excellent choice for aggressive everyday resort skiers that spend equal time in and out of the park. It’s a bit soft as a hard-charging freeride boot, especially for heavier skiers, but it definitely makes playful, jibby skiing around your home hill really really fun. I’m really psyched to see a new player in the boot game that’s bringing the heat with a creative and very functional take on ski footwear.
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