scotty100

Looking for comparisons regards flex and stiffness. thanks

UNION INHOUSE

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!

phony_stark

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.

scotty100

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.

scotty100

Thanks man - good info. Have you ever ridden the contacts or contact pro? Are these suitable for all mountain freestyle or are they outright park?

Supra

Do you seriously represent Union? That was the worst answer I've ever read! OP is asking for info about Unions and you tell him how Burton is #1 and how their bindings "were comfy and rode great". You really should hire Phony to replace you!

phony_stark

Rode them both. Contact Pro, for me, was absolutely suitable for all mountain freestyle.

Contacts, for me, were not but if I were a park rat, would be the best binding ever.

UNION INHOUSE

Uhmmm, okay?

-Burton is the world's #1 binding supplier.
-They make great products.

Not sure what your issue is with me saying that.

UNION INHOUSE

Phony is correct here. It's all about personal preference.

The Contact & Contact Pro would be directed more towards freestyle/park/jumping/jibbing if you wanted to pigeon hole it. Gigi helped design it, and rips the hell out of Alaska on em. Dan Brisse jibs on Atlas' so there you go.

If you want an overall softer binding, go with the contact family. If you want more power and response, go Atlas family.

Thanks and Happy Friday!

scotty100

Thanks for the info. I doubt I'll have the chance to demo so trying to figure out where each binding fits in the scheme of things flex-wise. I appreciate it's also down to personal preference and "feel" and difficult to pigeon hole as a result. But just a broad outline in terms of stiffness and flex across the range is helpful to get me looking in the right place to begin with.

For what it's worth I'll be riding a Yes Great Beauties board and the bindings I'm considering are:

Union - Contact Pro or Atlas
Burton - Cartel or Malavita
Flux - DMCC light

I think something forgiving (but not too forgiving) in terms of highback flex is what I'm after. I'm still fairly new to the sport and would probably benefit from med or med-soft binding as I look to develop my skills etc.