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Burton Cartel, Mission and Malavita - what are their Union equivalents?

19K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  scotty100 
#1 ·
Looking for comparisons regards flex and stiffness. thanks
 
#2 ·
Are you talking about Re:Flex?

Trying to give you an exact comparison would just an educated guess. We don't tear apart competitors bindings, or even put them through the testing facility. We honestly just worry about Union and our progression.

I've ridden all 3 of these though and had a good time. Flex & overall feel was quite a bit different than Union. They were comfy and rode great. Just a different feel.

Burton makes incredible stuff. They're #1 for a reason. Snowboarding is lucky to have a good leader. Can you imagine if Atomic or something like that was #1?

Cheers!
 
#4 ·
No problem - thanks for the reply, and yes I meant Burton Re-Flex. I have never ridden any Union bindings but interested to explore what you guys have to offer. I just don't have a good sense right now what the flex rating is for each Union binding in the range. I do have a better sense with Burton regards flex with the 3 models mentioned, hence was wondering what Union equivalents would be. For instance, Force seems close to Cartel but what about Contact and Contact Pro etc. I'm looking for something medium to medium-soft for all mountain freestyle.
 
#3 ·
I'd say this is almost an impossible question to answer definitively, but I can give you my experiences.

I'd say the Cartel/Mission and the Force are very close to each other as far as what you'd expect out of them feeling wise. Stiffer and responsive straight back with not as much lateral flex.

And the Malavita and Atlas are close as far as what you'd expect feeling wise.
Both are plenty responsive straight back, but feel softer laterally.

Ramblings:
It's weird and correct me if I'm wrong. But Union advertises the Atlas as an All Mountain binding, but I find it to be soft enough to do juuuuuust fine in the park. Whereas burton advertises the Malavita as park binding but last year's was firm enough to do juuuuuuust fine all over the mountain.

Where these comparisons start to break down is when you throw in anything using the contact/flite baseplate. This is where, I think, for non-EST bindings, Union has burton beat as far as innovation goes. Their "jib" and "entry level" offerings, to me, offer a little more variety and something quality for every rider.
 
#12 ·
One question you need to ask is: do I want canting? If you do than Burton is your choice.

Really all the bindings are good and will do what you want. You really can't go wrong. Look at your budget, (can't believe I'm saying this) look at the colorways and decide what you like. Don't over think it.
 
#13 ·
Nothing wrong with looking at colorways....I like my shit to be matchy.

Some of the best advice I learned about playing a musical instrument (guitar) was, get something that's cool to look at, so you'll wanna pick it up and play it.

I think the same thing can go for gear, since most gear will, for the most part, work for you.
 
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