Union Force Snowboard Bindings

2012 Union Force Snowboard Bindings

This is the Union Force Binding I’m sure you’ve heard of the Union Force Binding before – it’s the number one selling Union binding for seven years running. Seven years ago Union put the Force into production and it hasn’t stopped since. It’s an all-mountain killer that has constantly evolved and been upgraded throughout those years. The base plate of the Force binding is a Stage 2 DuPont Zytel ST base plate that has a lifetime warranty of course.

There is a couple of additives to these base plates – in the medium/large size there’s a 7% fiberglass additive, and in the extra large size it’s going to have a 14% additive. The cushioning of this Force binding is an injected EVA cushioning system. In the small size the durometer rating is going to be a 55 and the large/extra large size is going to have a 65 – so it’s going to be a little more dense in the larger size sizes and a little bit softer in the smaller sizes.

The high back is the Flight quick adjustment forward lean high back, of course. It has multi-zone flexes as well. It is made out of the DuPont Zytel ST material. It’s going to be a little bit softer on top and gradually gets stiffer on the bottom. There’s actually three zones: the first zone offers 50% strength and 50% flex; the middle zone here offers 75% strength and 25% flex; and the lower section, the bottom flex zone, is going to be 100% strength and zero flex. So the higher up you go in the high back, the more it’s going to flex. The high back also has a classic full-wrap EVA padding as well. The heel loop is an extruded aluminum heel loop that’s actually 30% lighter than traditional aluminum, and this also has a lifetime warranty as well. So if anything goes wrong with the heel loop or the baseplate, Union will exchange it or replace it for free.

The straps of the Force binding are the direct connect straps; there’s multi-layered 3-D tapered ankle straps. This ankle strap is actually a little bit wider on the medial section and gradually tapers off for more comfort on the lateral section. And the toe strap is the new contact open toe strap. You can actually wear it two different ways. You can wear it on top of your foot, traditionally, like this, or in front of your foot, the new way. Both ways will keep your foot down. The new cap toe way will actually keep your heel locked in that heel cup just a little bit longer. Both straps have a length adjuster so you can adjust the length of these straps down the center of your boot. And of course both straps have magnesium injected buckles ,so they’re going to be nice and lightweight. And the universal base plates that go in here work well with the Channel system, 3-D patterns or 4-hole patterns.

Like I said, there’s a lifetime warranty on both the base plate and the heel loop, and the 8.8 grade hardware is pretty much indestructible. On the footbed, of course, is going to be the EVA padding but there’s an accelerator pad that has three different positions as well. So if your feet grow and you don’t want to get new bindings, move that accelerator pad out or move the extruded aluminum heel-cup back and you can definitely do that as well. Nice adjustments all over the place. This is the Union Force – no wonder it’s been around so long and sold so great. It’s a well-rounded binding with constant adjustments. I rode these two years ago, and you know, I might just go back to ’em again!