UNION CONTACT PRO BINDINGS REVIEW
Price: £200
Flex: 7
Sizes: S-M/ M-L/ L-XL
Entry system: Classic
Union’s self-proclaimed goal since day one has been to produce “the best bindings on the planet”. It’s a bold mission statement, but one that has helped them become phenomenally successful. They’ve grown from a small start-up into one of the biggest players in the binding market in a mere nine years and now have one of the most star-studded snowboard teams on the planet, including Travis Rice, Gigi Rüf, Danny Kass and Dan Brisse.
The Contact Pro is Gigi’s signature binding, a super-light, high-end freestyle model that’s designed for the kind of all-terrain domination that defines Gigi’s riding style. Union pride themselves on their baseplates, which are designed so as to have as little material in contact with the board as possible. It may sound counter-intuitive, but this is actually a good thing, as it allows the board to bend naturally, without the stiffness of the binding affecting the flex too much. The Contact baseplate is the most extreme in the Union range, with only 5 per cent of the baseplate touching the board. Having less material in the baseplate also helps keep the weight of the binding down, as does that spindly highback, which again is one of the lightest that Union make. Like all Union bindings, this has an extruded aluminium heelcup, which is both light and strong, and magnesium buckles. Despite the light weight and the lack of any extraneous material, the flex on this binding is actually pretty stiff. Several of our testers commented on how responsive the bindings felt, and how solid they felt when riding fast. “Lightweight and powerful, but not overly aggressive,” said one very experienced tester, adding that these are “one of the best bindings I’ve ever tested.” So perhaps Union’s mission statement isn’t so bold after all.
BUY THESE BINDINGS AT: boarderline.co.uk, boardriders.co.uk, thesnowboardshop.co.uk, snowlab.co.uk,
theboardbasement.com, tribalriders.com, halfpipelondon.com
