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The Good Ride Take

The Union Contact Snowboard Binding Review by The Good Ride

For years now the Union Contact has been a good entry level or freestyle binding for riders of almost any level.  Union does a good job at any price point and we only have a few minor complaints about the binding.

Flex-This is a medium to soft flexing binding and although you don't get as much response per flex as the Union Force SL or Union Atlas they do a very good job for their price.

Adjustability- Some of our riders really crank their straps down to the point of pain and they seem to have issues with all Union Bindings they try.  The straps seem to get stuck if you do.  If you don't crank down your bindings then don't worry about this. Another issue with the Union Contact bindings is they can adjust for your size shoe very well but you can't adjust the position of the ankle strap very well.  The reason is the heel loop adjusment piece also holds the ankle strap.  Most have three holes for multiple ankle strap positions but this only has one unless you want to re-position your foot on the binding. It also has 1 screw to hold the heel loop in place instead of 2 with the Force lines.  The removable toe ramp is different from the Force bindings as well.  It provides the same effect but isn't anywhere as easy as the Force's to remove and adjust.  Another difference is the toe straps have 2 positions where the Force only have one position.

Comfort-These bindings are pretty comfortable and other than some complaints about the ankle strap there are no issues with pressure points.

Response-We like the base plates responsive nature and the stiffer high backs. The Contact's base plate is lower to the board and a more mellow. The high back is also softer than all the force High Backs. They say this is ideal for reverse camber boards and soft park boards that tend to turn a little easier.  We were surprised to see that these can handle a mid flexing hybrid camber  board without any issues as well.  This bindings ride incredibly well and still have that same ability as the Force to bend the board torsionally and make it incredibly easy to turn.  It turns a 4 hole board just like a Burton EST binding on a Burton Board.  We were really impressed with how it turned cambered and rockered boards.  These bindings make turning easier and therefore make it easier to accomplish more in the park or mountain.

Weight- These didn't go on a scale but they are pretty light.  They seem comparable to the Burton Custom's and other bindings in their price range.

Lateral Movement- The force ankle strap doesn't make the best board to move your board up and down when it comes to butters or jibs. That being said not many bindings in this price range do much better.

Dampening and Shock Absorption- Like the Force MC and Force SL the heel has been milled out to provide a lot of room for EVA foam to give you lots of shock absorption which is far superior to the Force .  It also has EVA across the top of the base plate like all Force bindings. This is just as or more shock absorpant as almost any top binding out there in it's price range.

We'd like to see a bigger ankle strap like on the new Atlas and hope that will trickle down in the years to come.  We'd also like to see 3 sizes instead of 2.  Despite these minor complaints we are always very impressed with the Union Contact and felt this could handle just about any rocker or hybrid park board out there.

The Good Ride Take on Capita and Union (same parent company)

Union- Union really lead the charge with the concept of eliminating the dead spot bindings create on snowboards.  Because of that they have some of if not the easiest turn initiation out of any binding we have tried.  The bindings with the Force style base plate really shows this and can make a stiff snowboard turn easier than most bindings out there.  The bindings with the Contact style base plate have a more mellow turn initiation.  The last few years many companies have picked up on this design style and Union isn't alone any more in this category.  Still Union makes some of the best bindings in the industry.  One of the only complaints we have is the buckle on the toe strap is very difficult to undo when it’s cranked down.   We would like to see something like the ankle strap buckle that releases with little effort.  Another complaint is the adjust-ability of their bindings.  You can make some minor tweaks to make the bindings work for you but Union pales in comparison to Burton when it comes to adjust-ability.  If you aren't that into adjusting and want possibly the best turn initiation in the industry the Union's are your choice. 

Capita- Capita knows how to make a good sturdy park and all mountain board.  They even have a good Pow board that’s priced appropriately for the amount of times you’ll use it a year.  As you start to look closer in the tech of Capita you can see little issues like some of their boards still have an extruded base instead of a sintered base.  You won't really see this on their high end boards like the Black Death but you will see it on their mid to entry level boards.  Because of this style of production you can sometimes find a Capita snowboard for $100-$200 less than some of their competitors in that class range.   If you are willing to put up with low tech in some places but still receive good performance Capita might be a good choice for you.

A Good Ride Take on Binding Tech
Metal vs Plastic Bindings

This is a Goodride breakdown for all you that are having a tough time choosing your bindings and what to make of the material you are looking at. Most bindings are Metal, Plastic or some combo of the 2.

Metal Bindings have a lot of great aspects. Almost all-metal bindings are made from aluminum. Aluminum is great when it come to weight to stiffness ratio and also pretty durable. There is one key issue with metal/aluminum bindings; they transfer all the vibrations from the board right into your feet. This is the same principle that pelage “bass-less” bindings, your feet got totally tired or fatigued. The newer generations have much better/damp bases so this problem has been minimized and in some cases eliminated. There are some companies that make great bindings despite the vibration issue with Aluminum. Some that come to mind are Ride and Rome.

Plastic Bindings also have many great features but let’s address some technical stuff first. Most plastic bindings are really hardened glass plastic mix. The high-end stuff tends to have a more carbon, and carbon fiber added for extra stiffness and weight savings. Plastic bindings really dominate the market right now and most top bindings these days are mostly or all plastic. They can be really stiff and react well to your commands. The new bindings finally dialed in the carbon/ fiber integration to the point that the bindings will perform with the stiffness of metal and absorb more chatter. Most industry leaders have limited or completely eliminated metal from their bindings and we feel that with the materials used right now this is the future. Some mostly plastic companies that we feel rock are Burton, Flux and Union.

What kind of binding should you buy? It’s a tough call. Both Plastic and Metal bindings offer freestyle, freeride and all mountain styles. At this point we feel that plastic bindings are edging out metal bindings when it comes to the very high end $300+ category. However it is a tough call in the below $300 category as to which material has the advantage.

Company Info & Specs

Union Contact 2012

Contact

True Board Flex, True Board Control

Product Video

01 Contact Base—Dupont™ Zytel® ST

• 02 Injected Dual Zone EVA Bushings
• 03 Extruded, Anodized Aluminum Heelcups
• 04 Quick-Adjust Forward Lean
• 05 All New Direct-Connect Strap System
• 06 3D Multi-Layer Strap Core

• 07 PU Leather Straps
• 08 Tool-Free Size Adjustment
• 09 Magnesium Buckles
• 10 Universal Disks
• 11 Grade 8.8 Hardware
• 12 Lifetime Warranty Base

Injected Dual Zone
EVA Bushings

Two separate zones provide improved dampening and true board flex.

All New
Open Toe Straps

Multi-Positional options with new open Ultra Grip™ design.

Magnesium
Buckles

Twice as light, and four
times stronger than aluminum.

Extruded Anodized
Aluminum Heelcups

Anodizing process adds 30% strength—
completely indestructible.

BLACK

RASTA

CMYK

Union Contact 2011

Union Contact 2010

All new for 2009, the Contact features a crucial, ultra-minimal binding-to-board contact point for the least possible interference with your board's true flexing pattern. Packed with freestyle firepower, this binding is extremely lightweight and a perfect compliment to any reverse camber snowboard on the market.

Pictures

Union Contact 2012

Union Contact 2011

Union Contact 2010

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