Binding Model: Union Atlas

Binding Size: Medium

Stance and Angles: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy

Boot Used: K2 Thraxis

Boot Size: 10

Board Used: K2 Cool Bean

Rider Weight: 200lbs

Location: Copper Mountain

Conditions: High visibility gray skies, warmer temps, some wind, perfect frozen corduroy, chunder, and a little ice for good measure.

Binding Adjustability: You have a pin placement system for toe strap adjustments to get it centered. There’s three spots to adjust the heel strap and two spots for the highback if you need to rotate it. The straps feature flip cams with a locking pin to keep them in place as you set them. There’s the standard forward lean adjustment. The heel cups are fully adjustable as well and take little to no effort to move. Finally you can adjust the toe ramp forward or backward ever so slightly as need be.

Straps: The heel strap is one of those new age straps that features a minimal design with perfect cut outs so that as you tighten it, it contours around the instep of the boot but retains its strength. This helps it stay locked down while minimizing material which can create pinch points. The toe strap has a solid cut out with rubber webbing in it to fit most boot shapes perfectly well.

Ratchets: The ratchets did their job and did it well enough. I never had a problem with them climbing or releasing. In fact the only time one stuck I can honestly attribute it to being jammed up with ice and crap from laying it over on edge and even then it became unstuck relatively quick.

Highbacks: The highbacks are stiff and you notice that when you drive into them. The slight wing that they have does have a little bit more flex but not enough for you to over power it. The forward lean does its job although the natural lean seems to be a tad bit more pronounced than other bindings I’ve used in this category.

Binding Flex: The overall flex of this binding is a pure freeride flex. You notice that right away that this binding needs to be man handled when you charge with it. It’s not going to be for everyone, but then again this is a binding for ripping carves, laying trenches, and plowing down the mountain. Underfoot you’ll notice that with the larger disk you get a more rigid feel to it and that is amplified by using their Camber Disk mounts as it doesn’t give each screw a washer but instead links them together 2 x 2 so the flex is more uniform.

Ride: The overall ride is powerful but not damp. It lets you know that you have the power to do just about anything to your snowboard and it will be highly responsive.

Rider in Mind: Hard charging freeride guy.

Personal Thoughts: This is definitely not the binding for me and that’s fine, I know who this is for and it fits them perfectly. This binding has power and that’s what matters. You can charge with this and not worry. What I liked was that power, what I didn’t like was that you feel everything in this binding. It’s not the dampest thing out there and that’s fine it’s for hard charging, but for those with sensitive feet that notice chatter and vibrations you may want to look elsewhere, but for those that don’t care and want that feel you really can’t go wrong with this as an option.