Review: Phaenom FS 01 120

Measurement skied: 27.5Stated Weight: 2100 gStated Flex: 120Binding Compatibility: ISO 23223 GripWalkForward Lean: 13, 15, 17 degStated final width (27): 102 mm

The Phaenom FS 01 120 is offered now.

Intro

Ski boots are inclined to all look the identical, so when a brand new boot (from a brand-new firm, nonetheless!) seems within the wild, it obtained my consideration. Phaenom Footwear is a new-ish outfit pulling expertise from throughout the Alps that’s centered on primarily reinventing how ski boots must be made. Their guardian firm, Full Stack Provide Co, additionally owns Faction Skis and United Shapes Snowboards, so the snowsports roots run deep. Presently, Phaenom is providing a restricted run of two boot fashions – the all-mountain/freeride oriented FS 01 120, and the freeride/touring-oriented FR 01 130.

The model has made an effort to showcase that their distinctive boots are designed to stability efficiency and sustainability–they are often absolutely disassembled, with each bit being replaceable if one thing breaks (or if you wish to mod something). The FS 01 120 is a form of hybrid cabrio/overlap design with two enormous buckles and a large rubber powerstrap up prime. The look jogs my memory of the outdated Salomon SPK/Ghost boots that had been common amongst freestyle and freeride skiers over a decade in the past. In truth, studying again into outdated product descriptions from these boots, there appear to be various design similarities–extra on that under.

Options

There isn’t actually another approach to say it: Phaenom’s new boot appears to be like actually bizarre. It’s obtained two enormous buckles, a large rubber powerstrap, and a singular tongue+overlap design. The boot could be very clearly designed to be easy, burly, and damp. It’s a freestyle boot, so it’s meant to take a beating. There’s thick plastic and rubber in every single place, all designed to take the sting out of exhausting landings whereas permitting sufficient flex to butters, presses, and no matter creativity you would possibly take note of within the park.

Inside, the liner is without doubt one of the nicest I’ve ever seen come on a inventory boot. The outsole has rubber lugs, permitting you to comfortably stroll round outdoors in them like a shoe–that’s fairly neat, and is one thing I now want extra boot liners had. You may lace up the liner’s tongue with included laces to tighten it additional. The liner even comes with a fairly substantial footbed, not the standard piece of throwaway foam present in most boots. The boot’s sole is Grip Stroll appropriate, that means it is going to work with nearly any alpine binding on the market in the present day.

Ahead lean adjustment requires eradicating the ankle cuff pivot bolts and changing the oblong chips they thread into with corresponding 13, 15, and 17-degree chips. It jogs my memory of the geometry regulate techniques discovered on many mountain bikes.

The boot’s huge energy strap is one other cool design level, in contrast to something I’ve ever seen on a ski boot. There’s no velcro–as a substitute the strap loops again by means of itself and clips to a plastic buckle, nearly like a belt. It’s straightforward to get actually tight, and simply as straightforward to launch, and the rubber presents related damping to a Booster Strap.

Match

The Phaenom FS 01 120 boot has a said 102mm final, and I might say it nearly runs a bit of narrower than that after straight evaluating it to different boots in the identical vary. The instep top is comparatively low, and truly gave my excessive arches some points the primary few occasions I skied the boot. Because the liner finally broke in, the strain level went away and I used to be in a position to ski them comfortably.

The heel and ankle space on these is kind of cosy, giving a extremely locked in really feel behind the boot. That actually helps with facet to facet energy transmission, although the fore/aft flex is kind of tender for my tastes. Admittedly, I are inclined to favor actually stiff freeride/race boots and don’t spend a ton of time jibbing round within the park, however I by no means felt uncontrolled or sloppy in these boots.

The cuff top feels a bit decrease than most different boots, one thing that I think many freestyle riders will really favor. I discovered it permits you to recover from the entrance and rear of your skis a bit simpler for buttering.

Lastly, there’s ample toe room for the scale, and thanks once more to low instep top and the cosy rear half of the boot, that doesn’t make the boot really feel sloppy. I undoubtedly like a bit of additional toe room, and anybody hitting large jumps within the park certainly will too.

Downhill Efficiency

Regardless of wanting in contrast to something I’ve ever put my toes into, the Phaenom FS 01 120 skis excellently. The 2 massive buckles work in addition to any three- or four-buckle mixture I’ve ever used, cinching down the plastic in a exact and comfy means, and the outsized powerstrap primarily works as one other buckle greater up on my leg. A decade in the past, that boot was the Salomon Ghost/SPK, one thing we noticed on the toes of professional skiers from the X Video games podium to big-mountain freeriders like Sam Anthamatten. Why hassle with 4 buckles when two will do the trick?

The FS 01 120 just isn’t significantly stiff, however the actually easy flex and extremely damp nature of the boot allowed me to ski a lot the identical as I might with a extremely stiff freeride or race-oriented boot–particularly with softer, extra jibby skis. I principally skied this in variable and slushy spring situations, and the exact match actually gave me confidence at pace. The tender inside bootboard additionally noticeably takes the sting off hardpack landings.

The decrease cuff top provides the boot an fascinating character, as I felt it allowed me to lean my weight a lot additional ahead and again than with a taller boot. This undoubtedly made taking part in round on freestyle skis a complete lot extra enjoyable.

It actually begs to query, do I want the stiffest boot I can discover for day by day snowboarding? In all probability not, and I guess my legs and knees will thank me later for spending extra time on a barely softer boot–to not point out I straight-up really feel prefer it’s making me a greater skier as I’ve to be much less reliant on the stiffness of a boot to get my skis the place I would like them to go. Just a few years in the past, a mountain bike coach defined that using flats forces you to change into a greater rider as a result of you’ll be able to’t “cheat” the bike together with your clip-in footwear, and that is the very same sentiment I am feeling right here.

What compromises does the Phaenom FS 01 120 make?

Given its easy intentions, I’m exhausting pressed to search out any compromises on this boot. It’s cool to see a model design a boot from the bottom as much as be extra sustainable, with easy-to-service elements and a easy, burly design. In truth, I might actually similar to to see extra of those with some further choices on stiffness and maybe a narrower final width choice. 

One factor of notice is that the ahead lean adjustment isn’t really tremendous straightforward to do, and having a number of items makes me suppose they’d be fairly straightforward to lose. 

What does the Phaenom FS 01 120’s preferrred skier appear to be?

Whereas marketed as a freestyle boot, I’d say the Phaenom FS 01 120 could be a wonderful selection for aggressive on a regular basis resort skiers that spend equal time out and in of the park. It’s a bit tender as a hard-charging freeride boot, particularly for heavier skiers, nevertheless it undoubtedly makes playful, jibby snowboarding round your private home hill actually actually enjoyable. I’m actually psyched to see a brand new participant within the boot recreation that’s bringing the warmth with a artistic and really purposeful tackle ski footwear. 

The Phaenom FS 01 120 is offered now.