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390 Boss vs Union Contact Pro

23K views 80 replies 20 participants last post by  Lysergic 
#1 ·
guys im back with one last question.. the time has come for me to pick up some new bindings. They're gonna be paired up with an Arbor Blacklist. I ride mostly park with occasional runs through the mountain.

Which bindings would be better for overall freestyle?

I wanted the 390 bosses at first but i heard people are having trouble adjusting them to their boots. I'm gonna be using size 11.5 Burton Hails. I guess it's a 10.5 with the "shrinkage tech."

convince me to get one or the other
 
#6 ·
I've heard the same exact things..i actually had my mind set on the 390 bosses.. but idk what happened lol

Short answer: I've ridden both, liked them both, but LOVE my atlases.

Long answer:

I've heard rome has addressed the "staying strapped in" problem they had on my 2011 390 Bosses, but I just found them to be really "fussy" to set up. The foam padding you can change out is really cool, but was ...not hard, but seemed unneccesarily complicated. More so than Ride's Wedgie and Obviously more than burton's AutoCant.

My Atlases feel at home on my short 149 board and my longer 158 board. They're super easy to set up, wild comfy, easiest to adjust the forward lean (something that's important to me), damp, and just....work. they're my favorite binding of all time. I also like the way the highback is set up. Taller for more response, but flexier at the top so it's still really comfortable.
Thanks for the feedback. I might go to the shop and check the atlases out and see how i like them. Im usually one to go with Union but 2013 Rome Bosses have really good reviews on them
 
#5 ·
Short answer: I've ridden both, liked them both, but LOVE my atlases.

Long answer:

I've heard rome has addressed the "staying strapped in" problem they had on my 2011 390 Bosses, but I just found them to be really "fussy" to set up. The foam padding you can change out is really cool, but was ...not hard, but seemed unneccesarily complicated. More so than Ride's Wedgie and Obviously more than burton's AutoCant.

My Atlases feel at home on my short 149 board and my longer 158 board. They're super easy to set up, wild comfy, easiest to adjust the forward lean (something that's important to me), damp, and just....work. they're my favorite binding of all time. I also like the way the highback is set up. Taller for more response, but flexier at the top so it's still really comfortable.
 
#7 ·
We just got shipment of Uinions so I finally got to get my hands on some Atlas's. To me they seem to be the most promising Union to date. I have a bit of worry that the heel area may ultimately collapse under hard riding and or heavier riders over time (like 100 days maybe) but thats it other than the toe area. The straps are literally impossible to get to fit right. I spen 2 hours playing with all the settings you can on the binding with both the K2 Maysis and 32 Lashed. No matter what I did it will pop up on top of you toe if you wash out toeside or take any kind of digger. With a less than ideal fit, they'll just pop up under hard riding.

If you go Atlas see if you can wrangle some Burton caps. The ratchets seemed to fit on the Union ladders (but I have not ridden or know anyone that has to confirm long term pheasability) so you can just use the whole strap and ratchet. Which s good casue the Union toe ratchet is sub par.
 
#15 ·
I never had a problem with Union straps. I've owned the 2011 DLX and the 2012 Contact Pro. I used them with 2006 DC Super Park boots. They fit perfectly and I didn't have to adjust at all. I found it works best if you strap the upper part of the strap directly over top as you would the old classic style toe straps. When you do this, the lower part of the strap tightens up real nice on the front of the boot. It has never slipped on me before. I honestly don't see what people hate about them, unless I just got lucky with the size/shape of my boots.
 
#19 ·
Two questions for ya both. How many days do you have so far? And how many different bindings have you ridden the last 2 years?

Cause I have 6 days already and 2 more before the weekend and have probably ridden more bindings in the last 2 years than you'll ever ride.

Not to mention I have a few large brands looking at me for prototype testing.

Nice try though.

And still, even taking 15 minutes is too fucking long to set up a toe strap for a company that ONLY makes bindings. Union toe strap 2.0 was their best. It didn't work on smooth rounded toe boxes but at least it worked on boxier boots.
 
#26 ·
How is it I can try every setting possible and they don't fit right, but that means I don't know how to set them up right. Is there some secret setting you have to unlock with a passcode? I didn't try left, right, left, right, up, down, A, B, start... Should I try that next time.

Not to mention I am not the only one who finds the toe straps terrible.

How do I get these bindings? They send them to me for review? Yeah that.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Dude, We don't KNOW how you managed to mess it up. That's why we're trying to see pictures.

We're trying to help you, bro.

Also, the original poster is asking about 390s vs Atlases. I've ridden both and like my Atlases better. I'll bet if he buys Unions he'll be able to set them up better than you can.

I don't care how you get your bindings. I buy mine from a store. At the end of the day, we can only ride one binding and one board at a time. My bindings are Unions.

PS. All this internet celebrity silliness, doesn't make you look superior, it makes you look small. Are you small, Nivek? (I've ridden 4 days, btw)

Henry, I had the same problem, it took me a long time to set them up and they just seemed fussy and were kind of a hassle to move from board to board. I'm sure if I got it down though, I'd be able to set them up more quickly.

They ride fine though, have fun on those things!
 
#27 · (Edited)
I have not tried unions yet, but Just picked up some 2012 390 boss. I've read what people said about setup and listened to Leo when he said to read the setup page first, then try to fit them to your boots. Helped out a lot understanding the adjustments first then getting into it. I think it took me an hour or so to set them up but that's because I mounted them to my board and noticed something was off and had to take them off and re-adjust it a second time. They seem solid so far although I have not gotten to ride them yet.

On first take the ratchets feel good and they made me realize instantly how bad rides ratchets really are. I'm not sold on the toe cap, I think rides and Burton's (when I looked at Burton's) are a lot nicer, but if they stay put and hold well theres no problem. from all you ear about union it sounds like all are better. The 2 peice canted footbed I think is much more complicated than it needs to be, but if your not planning on changing the cant angles or to putting them on other boards you don't need to worry about it. They also seem narrow compared to my ride bindings. My old ride deuce boots do not fit them width wise, but my new Ride Triads barley do. I'm thinking its because I'm on the large end of the S/M binding and if so they need a M/L 3rd sizing option.
 
#38 ·
You're damn right it's getting tiresome.

We don't deal Romes so that's a no go. No way for it.

You bitched about it taking me forever to change things. K2 uses a ladder system which is infinitely faster than screws. That's why I brought that up. And Salomon on the Arcade and up is using a screw and ladder system that is also faster. A binding only company should be better. Every other major player is doing tool less, seems a shortfall to me.

Again somehow your sub human brain power can't comprehend that I ran through every single combination of adjustments. At some point it was exactly where the fucking engineers designed it to be. It was a sub par fit. On a couple of the most common boots on the market, it was sub par.

But I'm done arguing.

OP. Here's this to read.

"From Nose in the C3 Thread:

"Contest time. Got a pair of coveted TEAM bindings, you pick the size, for the dude that best hijacks any and all threads in the Snowboarding Forum. Yep, I said it. Not looking for anyone to be pro C3, COAL, Union or CAPiTA, just looking for educated people to get in there and drop some knowledge.

Contest runs til Monday November 12th, you PM me a list of your threads in on the 13th, winner announced on the 14th. I don't give a shit if your pro Burton, Union, CAPiTA, DWD, Airblaster, whatever, just as long as there is a bombardment of knowledge thrown in that forum, enough to rattle the cages of the establishment and get people thinking outside of the God damn box that they live in." "


So there's that. Take there bitching and arguing for what it is. Pandering for free shit.

Classy mother fuckers.
 
#40 · (Edited)
I know about that post.

PM Nose, I don't want the fucking team bindings. I just think he's right. It's time to stop some of the misinformation.

Readers at home can check the stats on my posts. This is NOT the first or even the second time we've gotten into it (maybe you don't remember because you're an internet superstar with LOTS of bindings that don't need mom's help to set up).

I come over here about every week or two. Look for stuff SnowWolf has written (unbiased imho). Someone asks about something I've ridden, I post about it to help out. When it's about Union, you say something SILLY or antiquated, I respond that you have been misinformed. Then you drop a bunch of insane stuff that makes no fucking sense under the guise of "industry knowledge" when there are a lot of people out there that are not experiencing the same problem, or have a solution to said problem that you had a hard time finding so gave up.

Post the fucking picture of your problem and relax, man.
 
#41 ·
Reading through the arguments is time consuming haha. Although people say union has bad toe straps.. I again can't see why they won't fit over the hails considering they're overall profile is smaller. I'm most likely gonna pick up the atlases because they're at the store.. Much easier for me. 390s seem great but I
Think I'll have more trouble getting the boot to work the binding
 
#42 · (Edited)
Dude, you'll love your Atlases, my fave binding of all time, some others agree.
Regarding Rome, seriously, I rode 390 bosses and liked them, they're fine bindings, I just like my Atlases more.

Post pics when you get them set up!

edit: sorry about the shitstorm on your thread. Nivek knows a LOT about snowboards and is, often, constructive, and knowledgeable, but Union is an exception. H really really REALLY doesn't like Union for some reason or another....
 
#44 ·
The thing about the Atlas, no bullshit, is they, like the contact pro, will work on any board you put them on.

I've ridden them on something as soft as my arbor draft and as stiff as my charlie slasher and the response seems to be whatever you want it to be.

It seems weird, but it's true.
 
#46 ·
They'll be tits on the blacklist...in fact that's probably the perfect match as, I've heard the blacklist is on the softer side of medium, flex wise. The Atlas is the same.


Compared to the Force, lighter, a little softer, and more lateral flex but still responsive. I also prefer the on the fly forward lean adjuster, I think it's the best in the industry.
 
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