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Brief Review: 2012 Union Force

57K views 104 replies 40 participants last post by  Gdog42 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys, so I finally got an opportunity to demo some Union bindings... The 2012 Force.

Alright, let me just start out by saying this is completely unbiased. And of course, this is all just my humble opinion.

These were by far the worst bindings I demoed the entire test fest (two days, around 16 boards). I'm sorry, I just don't get the hype. Sure, they are light, but they weren't substantially light. And the feel, just felt really cheaply constructed. Nifty colors though.

So I have heard from numerous Union lovers that the 2012 line-up has a much needed toe strap upgrade. My thoughts? Really? Are these really an upgrade? Because the bottom lip of the split toe strap didn't even touch my boot. And to be fair, this was the same case for my riding partner David Z. We both have different size boots and brands so it's not a fluke. We both had to go old school and rock the toe straps on top of the toe rather than over.

The ratchets... I can't say much other than they are horrible. I literally had to pimp slap them to release. Cranking them down also felt really sticky. It just wasn't smooth.

I demoed these on a Skate Banana and didn't like the setup one bit. The Force offers nothing in terms of dampening or comfort. Response was okay and it got me down the mountain.

I'll do a more thorough review soon, but I just felt compelled to mention this right now because of all the hype around these bindings.

If you like em, more power to you. I know I'll never purchase a pair at least until they redesign the wretched toe straps and ratchets the correct way. I can give you a long list of much better bindings in the same category.

I demoed Flux RK30's as well. You want good bindings and can't decide between those or Forces? Go with the RK30. I liked those so much that I put them on 4 of the 16 boards I demoed.

Honestly Union... Even Rossignol has a much better toe strap than you. At least their toe straps hug my boot for dear life. Same story for Salomon as well. Two really ski heavy companies design better snowboard toe straps...
 
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#5 ·
Thanks for the review! I've been riding some older Union Inverters, sweet binding, made in Italy from 06/07 only thing wrong with them is the buckles, other than that they're like brand new and the it's the buckles really aren't screwed up just one of them has an issue with the spring so it flaps around a bit. I used to love Union, but noticed that they switched to China for manufacturing and kept the design process in Italy, maybe that switched years ago, but I'm not sure. To me they haven't changed much of anything on the Force, I guess the If it ain't broke don't fix it is working for them now, but from what you're saying it seems like they only made changes to the straps, and are adding more models to the line like the contact pro, and Atlas. I personally have looked into Raiden Bindings due to the lack of change from Union, I wanted to ride something different. I will say Union does have the best customer service I've ever experienced, ladders got stripped out after the first season, told em and I got a brand new set, and it was my error as a newb cranking the crap out of em.
 
#6 ·
Thanks!

Yea, I do highly recommend that you venture out of Union. You might be surprised. I think a lot of the hype is from people who have only tried a couple of bindings and brands. Union might seem like the best thing on Earth when you haven't tried other bindings.

I used to think Flows were the best thing ever until I demoed tons of bindings. I still really love them and I will continue to buy them, but they definitely aren't the best binding out there. Well, no binding is actually lol. Just saying that there are other binding that make me just as happy. :)
 
#8 ·
Well, I can't say for 100% certain because it might fit your boots better, but it sucked for my friend and me. Worst toe strap and ratchets out of the plethora of other bindings we demoed. We shared the same thoughts about the bindings overall as well. Just many other bindings we would rather own.
 
#11 ·
I will agree with you Leo that there is deff some better stuff out there than union, but the one thing that suprises me is that people complain about the ratchets when the ratchets on my contact SLs are the only thing that have not given me problems on my bindings haha, mine have been super smooth cranking and releasing.

Scary thing happened to me with my contacts is that the screws that hold in place the heel strap tend to come loose throughout the day (with loctite) and so i tighten them every day before riding, however this last day, they came super loose without me noticing, and the heelcup went from the "zero" position to the "three" postition after a landing a jump.

Scary stuff, don't buy into the union hype, i did, and now i regret it.
 
#15 ·
Leo was on some Burton Hails (IIRC) size 10 and mine are ThirtyTwo TM-2 size 11.

Yeah we rode two Salomon sticks (Drift Rocker, Salvatore Sanchez) both with the same Salomon bindings but I don't know what model name they were. Decent bindings I preferred to the Unions but nothing to write home about. Their toe strap is funky, it doesn't fully release the ratchet from the ladder so you have to remember that. I kept forgetting, and I trip on myself when I was unstrapping :) but I think once you get used to that it wouldn't be an issue (my wife has Salomon bindings and I've never seen her trip getting unstrapped).
 
#16 ·
I actually had 2008 Burton TWC in 10.

Here's the deal guys. Both the Contact and Forces got me down the hill. I really do hate the toe straps and that part isn't an exaggeration. They also were honestly the worst two bindings I tested at the test fest.

Now, are they OMG PIECES OF STEAMING ELEPHANT POO? No, they aren't. I've seen worse... *cough* Lamar *cough*.

The thing is, with as much hype as these bindings have, I expected a great deal more. Any company that specifically makes bindings should be better than a company that is very ski focused. The fact that I liked Rossignol and Salomon's bindings more than Unions says a great deal.

Were the Rossi and Salomons really good bindings? Not at all. They were just better than Unions. I won't write Union off altogether though. When they decide to get the toe strap and ratchets right, I will give them another shot. Until then, I'm avoiding them like the plague and will not recommend them.

I just have to wonder how many hardcore Union lovers actually tried a decent amount of other good bindings?
 
#17 ·
I agree with the last part of your post. I myself love my 2011 Forces but have not tried anything else with in the past few years of tech to compare them to other bindings.

After reading a few of your posts I am looking at trying out some RK30's and possibly some Targas this year.
 
#18 ·
I have some white 2010-2011 forces and my ratchets aren't that hard to release or crank down. Atleast it doesn't feel that way to me. The toe strap is killing me though. The little split piece doesn't touch or barely touches my ZF1's. I have to rock them sorta on top of my toe for it to touch completely. That's really my only complaint with them though.
 
#20 ·
Park bindings - Doubles as my all-mountain freestyle since I only do jumps in the park... and recently wide boxes :p

Flux RK30

Rome 390 Boss

Ride Delta

If you have an ICS Burton Board... Restricted Malavita or Cobrasharks. For 2012, add the Cartels to my list

Flow NXT-ATSE or M9SE

K2 Auto Uprise


Freeriding:

Rome Targas

Flow NXT-FSE

Ride SPI or Double Agent

K2 Auto Ever
 
#22 ·
I have no complaints about my 2011 forces. They feel good, I didn't have any problems with the straps or buckles after breaking them in, they look great and my feet have never been more comfortable. My toe strap used to slip out a bit until I figured out how to use it properly.

found these on easy lougin to illustrate what I mean:





If anyone is considering these bindings I wouldn't let this review scare you away. You can't go wrong with forces. :thumbsup:
 
#29 ·
Excuse me sir, but how many bindings have you tried? How many 2012 Unions have you tried?

My word is not gospel by any means. I am just rather disappointed by all the hype only to have the experience I had. I'm not knocking Union as a company as they are cool as a bees ass during the winter.

I don't even hate the overall binding. Just the toe strap and ratchets. Much, much better designs out there. Plus they don't have canted footbeds which is one of the reasons why I'm considering getting rid of my Flows.

Also, I tried both positions on the redesigned toe straps and it didn't work. Maybe just my buddy's and my boot. Who knows, maybe there's even some type of adjustment we missed seeing as how they are demos.

I stand my ground when I say I much rather own other pairs of bindings. As of now, even if you gave me a free pair of Unions, I'd sell it for something else.

By the way, your post has no grounds here as you are talking about the 2011 Unions and I'm talking about the 2012 models.

Spank you very much in the flying fish turd swimming upstream into a grizzly bear's mouth. Oh wait, that's salmon.
 
#24 ·
For $200 you can find better bindings. And the toe strap is completely redesigned for next year. Think 2009 Cartels, but the gap in between the two straps is twice the size.

I didn't get to try the Unions, they were the only company that gave me gripe about not having test credentials despite the fact I was at SIA. Well done, you made changes people have been asking for, you should be getting as many people on the redesign as possible.

Better than Forces for same or less $$:
K2 Indys
Flux TT30
Forum Republic
Raiden Zero
 
#25 ·
i just used my 2011 forces, the toe strap blows. especially on moguls or even a black diamond, by the time i reach the lift, the strap is no longer secure and has slid to the top of my foot. the plastic piece literally is useless, its not even made with a grippy material nor is the underside of the toestrap itself. very dissatisfied with my first purchase from union. nothing to support the hype after much research. i had no issues with the rachets, they tightened very quickly. the bindings look great though
 
#33 ·
I still think it is weird the ratchets didn't work for you guys.
I have a pair of forces and contacts. I honestly didn't really care much for the forces since they seemed to put my feet to sleep with the boots i was wearing at the time.
The contacts have been nothing but awesome for me. but the point im slowly getting to is that the ratchets on both pairs worked perfectly. Super easy to push on then one or two ratchet motions to get them tight and they pop off by hitting the little release.

Sucks hearing about you guys having so much trouble.
 
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