Phaenom announced the global launch of its new, innovative ski boot collection—high-performance footwear that is comfortable, stylish and cyclical. Following four years of research and development, Phaenom’s collection emphasizes original boot molds, patent-pending technology and a design- and circularity-based ethos.
Phaenom’s Freeride and All-Mountain Freestyle Boots are the freshest new entrant to the ski boot and technical footwear space in years with an exciting development roadmap ahead.
The inaugural collection offers two product lines: fs (all-mountain freestyle) and fr (freeride). Crafted in Montebelluna, Italy, and engineered for freeski performance, Phaenom’s key differentiators include:
- Hybrid Cabrio x Overlap Boot with a clean two-buckle design;
- Patent-pending Phaenom strap providing rebound, shock absorption and flex control from one recyclable material;
- An all-black design supports the restoration and reuse of the boot and its parts, with all elements of the boots’ construction designed to be repairable and recyclable.
The fs product line includes four models designed to achieve flex perfection and shock absorption, whether soaring down a technical tree run or catching air off your favorite natural features on the mountain. The fr family also includes four models, nearly identical to the fs models yet differentiated primarily by the walk mode and tech inserts, engineered to be efficient on the way up and dependable at top speed going down.
“We believe technical footwear should be simple and modern,” said Head of Product Daniel Tanzer. “Our team, a cohort of footwear experts in Innsbruck, Verbier, Paris, Montebelluna, and Asia, combined deep experience with new development techniques and materials to bring a fresh approach to ski footwear. We share a mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable processes, materials and circularity within the outdoor footwear industry without ever sacrificing performance and style. We are a Certified B Corp and proud 1% for the Planet partner from day one.”
Tanzer added, “We set out to create a new ski boot brand because we saw a gap in the market for a performance freeski product that was at once circular and design-driven. The trends were going towards mass-market, overlap and super-light touring. For us, freeski is about fun, excitement and versatility. Our goal at Phaenom is to pave the way for the future of product design.”
“One of the main challenges we’ve encountered along the way has been navigating the technical complexities of creating a ski boot that meets our high performance, comfort and sustainability standards,” continued Tanzer. “Ensuring that each component is repairable and recyclable while maintaining the necessary durability and performance has required extensive research and collaboration with experts from various fields.”
“It took us four years of intensive R&D to bring a new ski boot to life. In total, we had 40 prototypes in hand with several updates of the wall thickness of the shells, mold modifications to reinforce some areas of the boot, repositioning of buckles, testing different material combinations, and last but not least, the inner liner iterations to get the best fit in place. Instead of discarding our numerous prototypes, we recycled them and reused every component, from shell, buckles, straps, screws, and panels.”
CEO Alex Hoye shared, “Foremost, we are thrilled that our industry-exclusive hybrid cabrio x overlap boot has delivered on a vision of fantastic performance in ankle and heel grip with comfort for a broad range of skiers. The results are above our expectations, but most of all, our retail partner and athlete testers tell us that the design is a game-changer.”
“A two-buckle boot with our patent-pending Phaenom strap makes a mark in form and function. It also means we can make the only fully recyclable boot on the market with the most recycled content,” added Hoye.
The brand name Phaenom describes a remarkable person or act of nature, which extends to the brand logo, an impossible loop as a symbol of natural phenomena. It symbolizes the continuous cycle of development.
Phaenom debuts globally with strong support from its retail partners. The company has orders booked to fill 200-plus doors, globally, across 125 key accounts.
Image courtesy Phaenom
