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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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#35 ·
hmm, sounds like they messed something up trying to make things better.

Wonder if it is something they'll have worked out by official release.


Also did you get a chance to test out some canted bed bindings? If so would you mind throwing up a review of the ones you tried and what you liked and didn't like about them?
 
#37 ·
I have the 08/09 Force MC. I like the response on the bindings but the ratchets are pretty bad. It does the job of holding my boots in but during couple of cold days at Mammoth, one of the ratchet would freeze up and would not lock down to the ladder. After many mins of struggle I can get it to work but I expect such expensive bindings would have better ratchets. Not tomention the paint peel and chips like nobody's business. Although I like the looks of the 2012 Force SL, think I am gonna look eslewhere, for less money, I can probably pickup a pair of Rome Targa, Ride Double Agent or Flux. All of them have excellent ratchets from what I read on this forum. I just need some good stiff bindings since I mostly free ride and occasionally hit a jump or two.
 
#47 ·
I was looking at the Flux tt30s, SF45s, and the Union Force and Force SL. I've ridden Union for years and really liked em', but mine were made in Italy, much better quality than what they're getting in china, I know flux and Union are both made in China now. Where they're made aside, the tt30s don't have any urethane or dampening other than the foot bed. I got SF45s in the end and like them a lot, took a bit to get them dialed in, but really like the toe cap and the ankle strap. They're really cush and seem to get better each day. I would say the ds45 and sf45 are closer to what the Force is;)
 
#52 ·
I agree ... my 2011 force bindings are fine ... it took a while to figure out exactly how the toe strap fit properly but once I did it was great. I never had any trouble from the ratchets or anything in general. Like he said, don't let the review scare you, I know people who hate Burton Missions.
 
#53 ·
I don't hate Union. Hate is a strong word. I do Hate the toe straps and toe ratchets on their pre-production models. They said they tweaked them for the production models.

Honestly, there are plenty of Union supporters here who also complain about the toe straps and toe ratchets. And the 2011 model of yours is different from the 2012 that I reviewed.

Anyway, this review is not relevant anymore since they changed the production model.
 
#57 ·
Ok I just told my shop to put some union forces aside for me and wait until my board come in tomorrow for me to pick them up together was this a mistake? I just found this thread today of course after I finally had my mind made up. I don't demo I don't have any past experience with bindings other than the burton freestyles I've been riding for the past 4 years (they held up nice and for an entry level binding I tear it up in them)so before I go to the shop tomorrow is their another binding I should look at for all mountain light weight and good responsiveness? Also doesnt help that the people at the shop are 100% Union all day.
 
#58 ·
different strokes for different folks. I ride contacts on my park board and havent had any problems. I rode the forces at snowboard camp and only had issues with a sticky ratchet and that's about it. I liked the forces and like to the contacts a lot. They're super durable. I'm sure you will be fine on the forces. In the worst case if you really are skeptical you could return them if you dont ride them and try something else.
 
#61 ·
I won't speak for Leo, he obviously has tried a lot of gear and works in a snowboarding related career. His advice is usually sound and fairly well thought out. That being said, I sit in a cubicle and get overpaid to surf this forum.

I *believe* most people's issues with the straps stem from how well it actually fits around the toe of their boot. That being said, you'll know if you have an issue. Union wouldn't be a prominent company in the snowboarding world if they didn't have something worthwhile to contribute. Don't stress too much.

Companies that produce crap are often flamed quickly. That's one of the many joys of the information era. If next years Raiden or Flow lineup was complete garbage, low quality parts, super flimsy...people would discover it within a month or two and their sales would drop off the map. Luckily that's rarely the case these days. With the amount of testing and engineering, it's usually not a problem. If it became one, you'd like see a recall or replacement before you were left in the cold.

/end rant
 
#63 ·
Look, some of you are completely missing the point. I never once said, "Union is crap. Their entire company sucks and their bindings swallow."

Before I made this thread, I was super interested in Union bindings because of how fanatic Union users here used to be (They no longer ruin threads about other bindings thankfully). Almost every single thread about Flow bindings were completely derailed by Union followers. Other binding threads were full of "Union is the best hands down" which resulted in me and others asking them what previous binding experience they have and most replied with something along the lines of "Old Burton Customs"...

Yes, I openly admitted I was antagonistic about Union at first. It really wasn't towards the company. My whole argument is, they are a binding specific company. They use the DuPont plastics which are by all means high-grade and durable. But why is it that they cannot solve the toe strap issues? Their old bindings had issues with the toe strap and ratchets, and the redesign which was supposed to address this continue to be plagued by poor fitment and sticky ratchets.

Then you have a company like Rossignol which is very Ski orientated. Even this ski orientated brand makes toe caps that fit snug and ratchets that do not get stuck.

This is just honest criticism and the opinion of a few gear testers like Dave and myself. Don't think of it as "Union fucking blows". Think of it more as, "Come on Union, we know you're capable of designing a better toe strap and ratchet."

/endrant :laugh:
 
#64 ·
I get what you're saying but your opinion means a good deal to me. You've tested more bindings it seems then I will ever own. So if you say for $200 there are better choices it's stupid for me to think otherwise. Especially since whatever I end up with I would like to hold onto for a few seasons.
 
#65 ·
Union doesn't have durability issues. That's a complaint that's rare. They do use very high quality plastics from DuPont... Zytel. This stuff is bomb-proof. The Unions should definitely last you more than a couple of seasons. They also have lifetime warranty their baseplates and heelcups. This isn't limited, they replace it for the life of your bindings. So break it over and over and they will replace it over and over.

I say try the Unions in the shop with your boot first. Make sure it fits your boot good. Otherwise, you're going to be fishing for frankenstein parts. That's another option. Get some Ride Toe straps and put it on the Unions. I've seen many Union users do this.

Another factor to consider is the lack of canting in Union bindings. I'm a huge fan of canted footbeds because I rock a wider stance and have a bad left knee.

I'm not trying to steer anyone away from Union. Just giving you points to consider. Canting isn't for everyone. People that have boots that fit the bindings well have no issues. But for the rest of us, there are better options.
 
#67 ·
This is a complete threadjack...

How did your hand/finger heal up, Leo? I remember you saying you messed it up, but I can't remember how. Without more coffee, the search feature has rendered itself overwhelming.
 
#68 ·
LoL Nef...

Thanks for remembering and asking about that. I still have the metal implant on my 5th metacarpal (bone to pinky). I did tons of PT on it so that helped get most of my strength back. Still get arthritis pains though and I think that will never get better. Rather, worse

But I can ride! :thumbsup:
 
#70 ·
i have not tried the 2012 forces and will not be buying any this season for my new board but i would like to defend the so called horrible ratchets and toe straps of the 2011 forces. i put over 100 days last year in france on forces and never once had the toe strap come loose or slip and the ratchets where fine, yes not the smoothest on the market but not anything to worry about. i think boot choice makes all the difference with the unions. i was wearing vans aurora and they fit tight. i got lucky and the french guy that sold me my setup knew his stuff and ran me through all the bindings that fit with the vans and which wouldn't. he laid out 6 boot binding packages that he thought had the best fit and where still the style i was looking for.

leo- what would you run on a NS heritage with vans boots. bit limited to brands at the resort i'm working but can get burton, flux, flow (been thinking either cartels or nxt) think they also have the tt30?
 
#71 ·
I'd do something mid-stiff or stiff for the Heritage. Cartels, Restricted Malavita, and Diodes are great choices. Diode being optimal if you have a great discount/proform and can afford it. I would do Restricted Cartels over the regular ones for the Asym ankle strap. You can flip the strap according to what you want. More support or more flex. The Restricted Malavitas have this same strap, but the overall binding has a bit more play to them than the Cartels. Diodes are just a light, responsive beast. Insanely light.

For Flow, definitely the NXT-FSE for most response. I owned these bindings and loved them. One of the more responsive Flow bindings out. Had good dampening and was light. Of course it comes with Flows rocker baseplate... in all honesty though, I didn't notice it. Maybe that's the magic of it? :dunno:

I've only demoed the Flux RK30's so no help there.
 
#73 ·
Ride Toe Strap Upgrade Kit - Online Snowboard Shop

I actually just got Force's today, and was kind of like WTF at the toe straps when they wouldn't release smoothly. I actually cut my finger open. They feel great, but I'm wondering if those toe straps will fit the Force's, or if I should just return them and get something different.

For what it's worth, I was riding my friends beat down, 4 year old burton freestyle's last year and the toe straps were smoother than the forces.
 
#75 ·
A ton of people put the Ride toe straps on their Unions. There's an entire thread full of them on EasyLoungin and they are a huge Burton/Union forum.

If you like everything else about the Unions and this is your only issue and the price of the Ride's is chump change to you... go that route.
 
#74 · (Edited)
I've used rossignol jones xp, rossignol hc2000's and burton cartels and my union forces are by far the best pair for board integration/feel and response. I will say the straps and buckles leave much to be desired but you do need to adjust them correctly and have the right size binding. They also smooth out over time.

My two cents: Pick up a pair of Union Atlas'. Asymetrical straps and high back makes leaps and bounds compared to the Force.
 
#79 ·
The whole ratchet problem is very very common on the unions. Almost everyone I know that rides them complains about it. I've even seen a few people putting burton straps on their unions....
 
#80 ·
By the way, let's not try to use the old argument from authority fallacy. If you want to compare binding experience, I can do that. Even better, BurtonAvenger will make you look like a peon with his gear experience and most of us know what his opinion on Unions are. That is if you want to continue with your fallacy.

I'm providing constructive criticism and even providing options to fix the Union toe strap issue. You do nothing but shove two wildabeast penises in your ears and scream "LALALALALALA UNION IS PERFECT WITHOUT ANY ISSUES LALALALALALALALALA".
 
#83 ·
Why is everyone bitching about the straps... The biggest issue with these bindings is the baseplate. There like an inch thick, creating the ultimate dead-zone and they weigh a ton. They're sandbags on your ankles.

Response is good.
Shock absorption is good.
Ratchets freeze up sometimes.

BUT MY GOD THESE THINGS ARE HEAVY.
 
#84 ·
Want to know why? Because a few of us criticized Union for the toe straps and ratchets and the "OMG UNION IS PERFECT" people like NWO go all ape shit with condescending remarks.

With that said, Unions are super light now. I'm speaking for 2012 models.
 
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