Union Force SL Used and Reviewed
Union has been making bindings for 6 years. Undeniably there is a ton of comparison between them and older model Drakes as Union does have a lot of the old designers from Drake. If you’ve been around the block long enough you start to notice these similarities as well. So after 6 years how did one of their higher end bindings fair when tested?
Board Used: Capita Black Snowboard of Death 10th Anniversary
Stance: 22.5
Angles: 18 negative 15 goofy
Location: Loveland Ski Area
Conditions: Afternoon sunshine on groomers with some push mounds forming.
Boots Used: K2 T1 DB size 10
Weight: 165
Binding Compatibility: I told the guy give me a binding that’ll match the board, this is what I got. Supposedly a match to the all-terrain stylings of the BSOD.
Binding Adjustability: The heel strap has a knob for easy adjustment. Meanwhile the toe still has a set screw, just doesn’t make sense that one would be tool-less while the other has to have a screw. The toe ramp has 3 areas for placement. Heel cups can be moved forward or backward.
Straps: Toe strap no matter what I did would keep popping off. Pop off my toe edge to throw a 180 and poof it’s not on my boot anymore, butter around yep it’s coming off, set it over the top completely and ollie a roller it came off. It wasn’t that it was adjusted wrong the damn thing would be tight when it was cranked down. Heel strap did its job though.
Highbacks: I could probably ride without one and it would do more than having one. It just felt so chintzy when I’d drive into it on my heelside edge or when pressing.
Binding Flex: Their bindings are always soft so this being on the upper tier of their stiffer flexing ones it was more like just below mid flexing.
Ratchets: They kept sticking I ended up having to kung fu chop the heel ones to release me. Then again I remember using these ratchets in the 90′s on Drakes.
Rider in Mind: Someone that thinks the regular Force is too soft and still wants a Union.
Personal Thoughts: Why did I even subject myself to this torture? I’d rather ride my old Drake F-60′s from 97 than these things. Don’t expect any dampening from these things as well I seriously could feel every vibration shooting up from the board.
What They Say: A perfect fusion of performance and style. The Force-SL is an All-Terrain that upholds Unions strict standards of durability and performance, with the full performance of machined coring strength and the unprecedented comfort and response of our asymmetrical/symmetrical highbacks. Plus , the CNC machined heelcups deliver enhanced reinforcement, while ultra cush EVA bushings dampen vibration for sweet board flex and a smooth ride.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Thank you for this review Angry.
Hmm the ratchets really looks like Drake’s version ratchets, which are pretty weighty but honestly tight very well and I didn’t have any complaints with them on my Drake SuperSport 2006
I agree with your Union assessment. No matter how I tried, I could never get the toe strap to fit right on my Contacts. I ended up switching to some Rome 390 Bosses and they are amazing.
I had the same problem with the toe strap for a while… I found that the placement has to be just right for that not to happen, and it still does sometimes. kinda shitty deal…
Nice review av, almost spot on with what i expected you to say about this binding. when making my binding purchase this year i ended up going rome 390 over the union because they just looked cheap over all.
i think there is a major manufacturing defect with their ratchets this year (probably across all models). Was riding with nate from pitcrew a few weeks ago and at the bottom of the run he was unable to unstrap one toe strap. got his foot out and continued to mess with the strap on the lift, never getting it to unbuckle. he said he had a kid come into the shop a few days prior with the same thing happening. take it for whats its worth.
Owned last years. This is spot on, and i switched to targas.
the eva bushing on the bottom just creates binding slop. When i move my foot i want the board to respond. Why all the glass/carbon injection tech shit to stiffen the base plate when then they put soft foam between the binder and the board?? I guess to minimize response to compensate for the riders lack of skill. Don’t start me about highback, there when you don’t want it, not there when you do.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by angrysnowboard. angrysnowboard said: Check it out Union Force SL Used and Reviewed http://bit.ly/gSiKAc [...]
Over all i’m quite content with my Forces (this year’s).
Toe strap took a while to figure out, but after a few days they fit just fine on my Burton Rulers.
I haven’t had any issues with the ratchets. Having switched from 05/06 Drake Super Sports and their awesome ratchets I was expecting to be disappointed with the Forces but I was wrong, they work just fine.
The only thing I find stupid is as you mentioned, having tool-less adjustment for the heel strap but none for the toe strap. WTF?!
Damn!! I wanted to what you thought about the BSOD, but i guess the binders ruined any real opinion. Still, how is that deck compared to the optimistic?
That review is coming Mo.
Thanks Brotha, looking forward to it. Followed you on the artifact rocker with the bosses and i’m lovin that setup.
this review is the perfect example of why everyone should go out to the demo themselves and ride products they are interested in purchasing. angy boarder sounds like he must be a level 3 ski instructor.
Would expect a comment like that from the rep.
I switched from ride delta mvmt to union forces. I couldn’t be happier. I have never bucked my toe strap, but then I am anal about set up, or maybe my big size 13 thirty two boots just fit them perfectly. They are the most comfortable binding I have ridden yet.To each his own. Most of us will never get to test the quanity of products you do over the time period you have. I think this might make you jaded to an extent. When you have tested the best enough even a good product will seem sub par. No binding or board is perfect for everyone, but in my opinion Union makes a good binding. Keep the real reviews coming, love your style!
I just demoed the 2012 Union Force bindings… finally got to try out this Union hype…
FUCKING HORRIBLE! Worst bindings of the test fest for sure. And all these people are telling me that the 2012 has a way better toe strap??? The bottom lip of the strap didn’t even touch my boot. I had to go old school and strap it over the top of the toe rather than on the toe. And the ratchets… kung fu chop is right. David Z actually needed help getting his off.
Come on Union, even Rossignol has way better toe straps than you.
I think its all what boots you have. I’ve gone through 2 pairs of Union Forces in the past 4 years with Vans Mantras and Ride Deuces and have NEVER had a problem with any of the toe straps. At all. So I’m thinking its just the different shapes of different kinds of boots.
Good for you. I’ve had issues on 2 versions of Fargos, 3 different versions of T1′s, and countless others of my friends have had it with 32s, Rides, Salomon, etc. etc. Different strokes for different folks. Make a better strap that’s more universal problem will go away.
Shit , after reading all this I really don’t know what to buy Rome Targas, or Drake Radar, or Atomic White Russians. I had Sims Vipers and should say that Sims makes really crap. The polymer parts cracked after first week of using, later the toe strap was flipping off all the time, the other thing was with highback adjustment. Can someone advise me what kinda bindings would be better to use with Lib Tech Jamie Lynn 154 Snowboard, I am kinda all mountain rider and sometimes like to make rails etc…
This guy must be a beginner or intermediate rider because he obviously has no clue WTF he is talking about. Im 29 years of age,been riding since I was 12. I have rode almost every brand of binding known to man, The Union Force SL by far the best. I purchased my SL’s at the beginning of the 10-11 season, I ride on average 45-60 days in a season. Never once did I have any problem with discomfort or the straps busting loose. I am a 90% park rider and ten% all mountain, so i push these baby’s to the limit every day im out there. From 25 to 70 foot kickers, booters, rails, boxes, not once have my bindings malfunctioned in anyway what so ever, hell they still look like they came straight out the box. Now its 2011-12 season, ive already been out 7 or 8 times, still nothing. The straps are cush and have no pressure points anywhere..ANYWHERE. Out of probably 15 pairs of bindings in my life time these were the only ones i could ride ALL day non stop without having to get out of them because my ankles were getting sore all over. They are top of the line cNc designed, lightest, most comfy, and toughest bindings on the market today. The feel is just incredible, landings are dampened, the toe strap does not come off if you would know how to correctly adjust your bindings to your foot size and stance. So have fun and go buy your Tech-Nine, Burton, Forum, k2, Rome, Ride, Drake…if they even make them anymore, whatever binding you decide to buy, I promise you, you will be missing out on the greatest bindings man can buy. If you need me to take pictures of mine to prove that their still mint im down just tell me the time and place. Union Respect!!
All I got from this post was, I’m a loyal fanboy that doesn’t shred that often so I think I’m right even though I haven’t ridden as long as the person that posted this.