Union Contact Bindings: The Straps Don't Work

OK, I'd like to make some separate comments about the performance of these bindings, later. I'll do that if/when this issue is sorted out. Before that, I've got to point out the blatant failure of these bindings: the straps are too long! Both the toe and heel straps do not fit for me. The M/L binding size that I have is listed with a UK range of 6 - 9. I've seen it as 5 - 9, 5.5 - 9 and 6 - 8.5. Either way, my 32 boots are UK size 8, which puts me comfortably inside the boundaries...

Heel Strap. It's too long. The following two pictures show my boot stapped in with the straps made as short as they can go. Notice that the buckle is all the way down and there are no teeth left to grip.

In that position the bindings simply aren't tight enough. Here's the result of me trying to tighten them further:

Quick Fix. So after contacting Union support, they suggested a quick fix: take out the connector. The plastic connector is the mechanism for adjusting the length of the strap. This picture shows that using the straps without the connector shortens the length by about an inch:

These next two picture show what it's like when I'm strapped in without the connector. As you can see, the heel strap becomes a usable lenght, i.e. it is short enough for me to get the heel strap tight. There are still some available teeth.

Note that even with the connector removed, the strap is only just short enough. As you can see 3 pictures above, I can't make it any shorter as the padded part of the strap is right up against the heel cup...

But using the bindings in this way isn't ideal; use without the connector brings two problems. 1st, the washer/bolt setup is designed for use with the connector, and in that configuration moving the strap around doesn't loosen the screw. Without the connector, the screw is constantly becoming a little more loose each time you move the strap around as you strap in.

2nd, the strap isn't centered over the foot because it's dragged over to one side. It's a small issue, but still, you're supposed to be able to setup your straps for maximum support and comfort.

Toe Straps. As you can see in all of the pictures above, the buckle on the toe strap has no where further to go. They're adjusted to be as short as possible. The only solution I had to this problem was to place a folded sock inbetween the binding and my boot. Yes, that meant that every time I straped in I had to replace the sock. Useless. Without the sock, the toe strap was loose; I could push it over the front of the boot when fully tightened.

Solution? When I contacted Union I was fairly encouraged: they suggested the heel strap fix, which definitely got the bindings working in resort, and said they would send out smaller parts. This was in response to me asking for smaller straps, e.g. new straps from the S/M model. What I actually got was a smaller connector for the heel. I got nothing for the toe straps.

An astute reader might spot that the smaller connector doesn't actually make a difference; the male part of the strap stops in the same place for both sizes. If I were to cut the plast part of the strap that slides into the connector then yes, I could save 1.5cm or so. But I'm not doing that, and besides, they'd still be too long.

This photo is a little out of focus, but you can still see that with both connectors set at the shortest possible setting, the effective length of the overall strap is the same:

What Now? Let me be clear that I'm not dissing Union, not yet anyway. They sent me the shorter connectors, in good faith I believe, and I haven't told them yet that they don't work. That's because I chose to contact the shop that I bought the bindings from, which I've done twice, asking them to sort it out. They haven't replied yet. Not cool.

I wanted to post these pictures now, in part as a means to show the problem to those who need to see it. I'll update as and when the situation is resolved...

Morzine Day 4: Binding Update

I've taken the day off today. It's painful walking so I don't think it's worth trying to snowboard...

Anyhow, I just wanted to mention something that I encountered yesterday, but forgot to say in the previous post.

On Sunday, which was the first day I'd used the new Union bindings, I didn't really have time to adjust the straps once I'd realised the default settings were too big. So yesterday morning I shortened both the toe and heel straps. For each, there was only one level of adjustment available in the direction I needed to go (shorter), which didn't leave much margin.

And it turns out that the straps are still kinda too long. I can ride with them, for sure. But as I'm cranking up the heel strap I'm always stopping on the last tooth; same with the two strap. I'd definitely like to be able to make them tighter still.

I did try using the toe straps as a cap-strap, but that doesn't work out too well. It's a shame because the bindings feel really nice. I was a little worried that they might be too soft, but the seem ok in that department. As for their lightness and freestyle-suitability: great.

Does anyone have the Contact bindings? My boot size is right in the middle of the range for the Medium/Large size so it seems strange that the straps should be this long!

Union Contact Bindings: Preview

So I've bought some new bindings. After considering the Burton Mission, the Ride Delta, the Union Contact and the Union Force - I opted for the Union Contact.

I first narrowed it down to one of the offerings from Union. They caught my eye, I liked what I saw, I liked the fact that Gigi operates with their bindings and I wanted to try something new.

My first thoughts were to get a freestyle oriented binding. Yeah I ride all over the mountain, but I jib around quite a bit, I've got a short board, fairly soft boots, so I wanted something freestyle-esque from my bindings.

But they were out of stock. Given my initial criteria, I was a little worried that the Force bindings might be a little too stiff for what I was after. Queue a healthy dose of procrastination, and I came to the conclusion that I would buy the Force bindings. If they were a little stiff, that's no big problem. I'd soon get used to them, and if/when I get around to buying a powder stick, I could set them up on that and get some softer bindings too...

And then... the Contact bindings were available again. So I was back to making a decision. I spoke to a guy in some shop and he was thinking the Contact bindings might be too soft, not responsive enough. Maybe they are too soft? I thought. Blah blah, I'm sure this part of the story is getting a little tired.

Conclusion: I bought the Union Contact bindings. I'll find out soon enough what they're like to ride.

So why did I call this a preview? Well, apart from some pics of the new bindings, which you can see on the Internet anyway, I wanted to mention something about the weight.

The Contact binding is supposed to be a "little brother" to one of their higher end bindings: the Force MC, which is dubbed as the lightest weight binding on the planet. Being considerably cheaper than the Force MC, the Contacts aren't quite as light weight, but light non the less...

How light?

Well, I put a small sample of bindings to the test: the new Union Contact, my old Drake MLBs and Ciara's current bindings, the Burton Lexa. All three bindings are Medium in size, although the Lexas are of course, a female specific binding.

Here are the results:

• Union Contact: 800g
• Burton Lexa: 860g
• Drake MLB: 920g

So they're lighter than my old bindings, and lighter than the smaller, female bindings :) Nice. Will I notice much of a difference? Maybe. They do feel a little lighter in the hand, but not by much.

As for the reverse-camber-specific design of the Contacts, it's hard to tell just by looking at them. I haven't strapped them onto my board yet. Also, there's the toe strap that can be worn either as a conventional strap or a cap-strap. I'll comment on these things later...

Here's the proof :)

Burton's Tool Free Lenght-Adjustable Binding Straps

Mini Review
Fairly recently I bought a new set of Burton bindings (not for myself). I was intruiged by the "tool free" adjustable straps so thought a few words here might be useful...

I'll be honest and say that the first time I looked at the straps I didn't see how the mechanism worked. To me it just appeared to be a plastic cover over the screw that is used to adjust the binding strap length: there was still a screw that required a screw driver of some kind. As the bindings weren't mine, I gave it no further thought at that point...

It wasn't until I was on the hill in Flims that I, or we I should say, put the tool-free adjustment to good use.

A friend (with some new Burton Missions) and I decided to swap setups for a run to see what the other's board was like. When I strapped into his setup I couldn't get the straps tight as they were too long. Half way down we stopped to take a look at them. You're supposed to be able to set these without a tool aren't you?...

It's actually very simple. You just flick the cap up and then use the cap itself to tighten/loosen the screw. Bingo. The screw stays within the cap which makes it real easy to take the screw out, change the length and then get the screw back in again without losing it. In no time at all I was securely strapped in and getting a good test of a different board.

For sure it's nothing ground breaking, and you can achieve the same thing with a binding tool, which most people are going to have anyway. It's probably not a feature that's gonna sway your decision when choosing new bindings... However, I'd say it provides a less-fiddly and marginally faster way to adjust your straps. It's really handy - a sweet litlte bonus!

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