Profile – The Aldila RIP Phenom shaft is the next generation of the RIP line, even though it was originally tested on tour and disguised as the RIP Beta. Much like the Beta, the Phenom features a mid-high ball flight, but stands in a different category altogether when it comes to feel. The Phenom combines a firm butt, stiff tip and softer center section, which give the shaft much more responsiveness through impact (an often complained about point on the RIP line). The result is a shaft that’s in the hands of many top players on tour, who are hitting high, boring drives with less spin. There is currently a made-for 60 gram version of this shaft in the Taylormade R11S driver.
What Makes it Work – This shaft is a modification on the tour-proven RIP line and features much of the same technology, including the Reverse Interlaminary Positioning (RIP) technology (which in a nutshell allowed Aldila to layer carbon fibers from strongest to weakest in the shaft). This bit of re-engineering saved a ton of weight and allowed for an incredibly stiff tip section. What’s different however, is Aldila’s use of computer modeling and a new composite construction to develop a new shaft profile called the ‘Hyperbolic Flex Zone’. This new profile repositions the fibers of the shaft to make a shaft with a firm butt, stiff tip and softer mid-section amplifying feel, but maintaining consistency, power, and accuracy. This soft mid-section is what helps produce a shaft that hits the high-boring drives while maintaining an incredible stable feel through impact, and comparably low spin. The 70 gram version of this shaft is significantly stiffer in feel than its 50g counterpart, which is evident in the significant drop in torque, this range of shafts is geared towards better players with faster swing speeds.
What People Say – The Aldila RIP Phenom shaft is a serious upgrade to the Beta. While the Beta is still very solid, the new shaft introduces an incredible amount of feel that’s worth the extra pricetag. The Phenom despite hitting the ball on a higher trajectory still does so with less spin than its RIP brethren. The mid section of this shaft has incredible responsiveness. For players with slower smoother swings, it keeps up and feels great, but for those with faster moves into impact, the shaft can quickly transition into impact on-line and with solid feel. The Phenom has a much less boardy feel then the Beta, and for faster swing speeds tend to generate an even higher trajectory. Depending on your swing speed you should keep a close eye on dispersion for the 50g versions for R and Stiff shafts, as the torque on this shaft is quite high. If you prefer consistency over feel, you may want to look elsewhere, but give this shaft a try regardless.
Full Shaft Details & Specs – Below are the full details and specs of the Phenom line. There are some made-for versions available in 60grams for the Taylormade R11S, and also 80 gram versions (seen in Titleist 913 drivers and R11s fairway woods), but we’ll share what’s available from Aldila on their 50gram and 70gram versions of this shaft.
Aldila Phenom 50 Regular Flex Shaft
Weight: 49g
Torque: 5.4
Trajectory: Mid
Aldila Phenom 50 Stiff Flex Shaft
Weight: 52g
Torque: 4.8
Trajectory: Mid
Aldila Phenom 50 X-Stiff Flex Shaft
Weight: 54g
Torque: 4.2
Trajectory: Mid
Aldila Phenom 50 Tour X-Stiff Flex Shaft
Weight: 54g
Torque: 3.8
Trajectory: Mid
Aldila Phenom 70 Stiff Flex Shaft
Weight: 72g
Torque: 3.2
Trajectory: Mid
Aldila Phenom 70 X-Stiff Flex Shaft
Weight: 75g
Torque: 2.9
Trajectory: Mid
Aldila Phenom 70 Tour X-Stiff Flex Shaft
Weight: 75g
Torque: 2.5
Trajectory: Mid