DC Phantom BOA Snowboard Boot Review

Hello and welcome to my DC Phantom snowboard boots review. 

In this review I will take a look at the Phantom as freeride snowboard boots.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Phantom a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other freeride boots.

Overall Rating

Boots: DC Phantom

Price: $399 (USD recommended retail)

Style: Freeride 

Flex Rating: Stiff (8/10)

Flex Feel: Stiff (8/10)

Rating Score: 89.9/100

Compared to other Freeride Boots

Overview of the Phantom’ Specs

Check out the tables for the Phantom' specs.

Specs

Sizes

Who are the Phantom Most Suited to?

The Phantom are best suited to riders who want stiffer boots that can handle good speeds and hard carves, but still want some forgiveness and slow speed performance and want good shock and chatter absorption. 

Not for beginners - too stiff for that, IMO. But higher end intermediates who have a more aggressive style or are stronger/more athletic or bigger riders shouldn't have difficulties with these boots. Nor advanced to expert riders, of course. 

Best matched to boards in the 6/10 to 9/10 flex range and even better for the 7/10 to 8/10 flex range, IMO. 

The Phantom in More Detail

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Phantom are capable of.

Demo Info

Boots: DC Phantom 2025

Size: 10 (US Men's Sizing)

Date: January 15, 2025

Entry/Exit

Took a bit of effort to get my feet in initially, but nothing major. Took a bit of time to open them out as the lower cables (operated by the side boa) wouldn’t budge when lifting the tongue, so had to manually pull at those to loosen them up. Then on the inside you've gotta get the liner shin strap out of the way, then loosen the lacing harness.

Liner

Tightening the liner, there’s a typical lacing harness, with a pretty cheap looking/feeling toggle. And then there’s the Velcro strap for getting the top of the liner tight against the shins. It worked really well for me and there was enough Velcro that I could get it nice and tight on my semi-skinny legs. And it would go further for skinnier legs and plenty of room the other way for thicker legs too.

The liner lacing felt like it required more physical force than the my control boots to get it tight but using that extra force I was able to get it nice and tight. Heel hold with just the liner lacing down up was a touch better in the Phantom vs my control boots (with just liner done up), though pretty close.

Shell

The Shell is tightened with 2 independent BOAs as is typical in a double BOA system. The side BOA tightens the very end single cable as well as the 2 farthest down the foot crossover laces – so you could say 4 of them or 2 crossovers, I guess. They are completely independent of the cables that the front boa tightens. The pair of crossovers that’s the furthest from the toes connects through a plastic piece on the tongue of the boot.

The cables that are the closest to the toes that the front boa controls are also attached to that piece in a separate section of it. The one that goes through that piece is a single cable. Then there are 2 crossovers and a another single one that joins up to the coiler that the front boa also controls.

I found, even after really cranking those two boas and getting the liner nice and tight, that these boots still feel really comfortable with only a minor hot spot on the top of the foot. And I could definitely have the lower boa cables done up looser than they are (and likely would for my preferences).

With all done up, very close in terms of heel hold, but I’d say the Phantom just a touch better than my control boots. 

Foot to Boot Fit

My first impressions were that they were super snug - to the point of bordering on being tight - but still really comfortable.

Length Fit: My toes were just brushing the ends when standing up straight and pulled away slightly from the ends when I bent my knees and had my weight over my ankles, which is typically a good sign that they are a good length fit.

For the tops of my toes there was less room in there than with my control boots. My toes could still wiggle a little but, but not a lot. 

Width: I found I could slightly move my forefeet side to side, when really trying, but it wasn't easy to do. I couldn't feel my toes on the sides of the boots (maybe a little bit on the pinky side), so a good bit of room for my toes. . I’d say medium at narrowest and maybe just bordering on mid-wide, but prob closer to medium.

Top of Foot (Instep):  There was a bit of pressure on my in-steps. But it was nothing that was painful or anything. A touch uncomfortable, but not bad at all, and I really gave that side BOA a good crank.

Around Ankles: I got a tiny bit of ankle pressure on my outer ankle bones, but really very little.

On Snow: My initial impressions of the fit of these boots from when I first tried them on remained through the on-snow test. Nice and snug, bordering on tight, but really comfortable as there were no major hot-spots. The only real difference I felt from the initial try on that the slight bit of ankle pressure on my outer ankle bones moved to my inner ankle bones. But again, nothing that was super uncomfortable or anything. 

True to Size?: I would say yes. After riding they had let off a little in terms of that tightness, but I still don't think I could ride them in a 9.5. And a 10.5 would pack out to be too big over time. So, the 10 was just right for me, which is my typical size.

Boot to Binding Fit

Heel width: It was a bit of a squeeze to get them all the way back into my bindings heel cup – and they get a little stuck in there. I was still able to get them back and it’s not hard to release them, but still a tight fit overall. 

Toe width: Theres a little space at the toe end of the bindings. Similar amount of space to my control boots. 

Ankle Strap: To fit in my bindings optimally, I needed to lengthen the ankle strap by 2 holes. 

Toe Strap: Surprisingly the toe strap was just right where it was setup for my control boots. Surprisingly, because these have a longer overall footprint. The fronts of the boots must be narrower or have less height. 

Carving and Slow Speed Response

They weren't quite as good as my control boots for slow speed turning, but still really decent for this flex of boot and for how good they were for carving/high speed support. They were better for slow speed response vs the K2 Thraxis and Salomon Malamute, which I was also testing around that time. 

Not as beefy on high speed carves as the Thraxis but I preferred the Phantom for moderate speed carves. Noticeably better for carving and high speed support vs my control boots. 

Heel Hold

The heel hold started out great but did did worsen a little over time but not bad and that's pretty typical of new boots and part of packing out/breaking in process. I needed to retighten them a couple of times, but that should become a less frequent occurrence once they're fully broken in. 

Adjustability

The lower and upper sections of the shell are completely independent of each other - which is always good for a more custom fit. Not as adjustable as traditional lacing, but easier to and faster to tighten. 

There's nothing out of the normal for adjusting and if you want to adjust the liner tightness, you need to open the tongue of the boot first, to gain access. 

Comfort

Nice and snug but no obvious hot spots anywhere. There was a little pressure on my left inner ankle after riding (which was on the outer ankle when I tried them on initially) but it was minor and I could have happily ridden in these from sunrise to sunset, right from out of the box. 

Shock Absorption

Stomp Test: I felt them noticeably damper than my control boots. My control boots are getting older now, but there was a noticeable gap between them. 

On-Snow: The shock absorption felt a little better than my control boots and also better then the Thraxis and Malamute.  Overall felt like they absorbed shock and chatter really well. 

Traction/Sole Quality

They have a Vibram sole and every part feels like rubber. Except maybe the red part where the arch would be (I say where it would be, because the sole is pretty flat). Feels nice and grippy everywhere except that red section. Decent pattern variety and just below average tread depth. Also has some rubber feeling grips on the inside side of the sole near the toe end. Guessing these would be good when stepping up snow/ice steps for that bit of side grip.

Reduced Footprint

I measured a sole length that's 2.7cm longer than their mondopoint, which is just below average. Their heel bevel is below average - very little lift in the heel, but their toe bevel is well above average. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The Phantom came through our testing process with flying colors! They were comfortable, supportive, absorbed shock well, had good heel hold, a high quality sole and a reduced footprint.

And perhaps most importantly for this type of boot, they performed well for carving and high speed riding in general and did so, while still having that little bit of forgiveness to make them pretty decent for riding slower/less aggressively in. 

Top top it all off, as a bonus, I reckon they look pretty darn good too. That's in the eye of the beholder of course, and you may not agree on that. We don't take looks into account in rating gear, as we don't see it as a big factor but others might give it more weight and that, of course, comes down to personal taste.