# Union Atlas vs Contact Pro for quiver



## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

One binding, two boards. K2 WWW which I know is jibby but from what I've seen, isn't such a noodle as others perhaps.

Second board: Proto HD, Time Machine, K2 Happy Hour. All mtn freestyle.

I'm thinking the Contact Pro is better? But want to make sure. It's really hard to figure out without a top to bottom description of all of their bindings.

Curveball is something from Flux. I've been on the Flux DMCC lights a couple years back, but wanting to try something new from them, as well as try Union out.


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## lowfill707 (Nov 22, 2013)

i pulled the trigger on the atlas' for this season and got to try them out for the first time last week at [email protected] mt. hood. theyre a great binding, really comfortable and plenty responsive. my only complaint is the the ratchets on the toe straps were a pain in the ass to release but as the day went on they got a little smoother. if youre planning on using the toe strap capped there might be better designs, i personally never cared for the caps and love it as a standard over the toe style strap. thankfully you can go either way. as for the contact pro, i havent used them yet, but i wouldnt hesitate to grab another pair of atlas for any all mountain setup.


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## Mystery2many (Aug 14, 2013)

Contact Pro has my vote! :thumbsup:


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## kctahoe (Nov 14, 2010)

lowfill707 said:


> i pulled the trigger on the atlas' for this season and got to try them out for the first time last week at [email protected] mt. hood. theyre a great binding, really comfortable and plenty responsive. my only complaint is the the ratchets on the toe straps were a pain in the ass to release but as the day went on they got a little smoother. if youre planning on using the toe strap capped there might be better designs, i personally never cared for the caps and love it as a standard over the toe style strap. thankfully you can go either way. as for the contact pro, i havent used them yet, but i wouldnt hesitate to grab another pair of atlas for any all mountain setup.


What year did you buy, cause this years ratchets work great! And the new toe caps are awesome! I haven't rode the atlas but have this years contact pros, love them, so comfortable, plenty responsive, and still soft enough for butters and jibs.


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

Both perfectly good bindings. Atlas has a more conventional feel to it, while Contact Pro is all about precision.

It is really a question of style/personal preference.


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## SnowDogWax (Nov 8, 2013)

Have Contact Pro, Force, & Atlas best is Atlas, Force Second.


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

hktrdr said:


> It is really a question of style/personal preference.


This.

Atlas is more the conventional binding and definitely not too much for the Weapon and plenty for the others you're looking at. Think Force with a bit more flex out of the frame. The Contact Pro, assuming 2014, is more your skatey surfy precision binding. As I found out, the new one better melds your boot and binding into one. It flexes in all the right ways under foot to let you get around the board and leverage the board any way you see fit. However, you do have to know how you want to leverage the board and actually be able to do that with a softer binding. Once you've put the binding into the position you want it and then snap into it you do get a ton of response down into the board, but you have to like that style of riding. I rode them on a freeride gun and a mid flex all mountain deck and they were really rad on both. But that fits my style well, and having ridden the Holograms for a year which give a similar effect/feel I was already used to that loose precision style.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

I kind of get what you're saying, but then can't figure out which one suits me better :laugh:

Might just go with the pro to see if I like the different feeling of it. I still have 390 Bosses around (not a fan of those) if I do indeed decide I like a traditional feel.


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

jdang307 said:


> I kind of get what you're saying, but then can't figure out which one suits me better :laugh:
> 
> Might just go with the pro to see if I like the different feeling of it. I still have 390 Bosses around (not a fan of those) if I do indeed decide I like a traditional feel.


One easy way to think about this is to ask yourself how you use your highbacks:
Do you like them responsive and, maybe, with quite a bit of forward lean? Do you push into the highbacks for your heelside turns and carves? If yes, the Atlas is a better fit for your style.
Or do you use your highbacks more nunaced most of the time and only use them gradually, while relying more on shifting your weight in order to influence the board? Then you are more of a Contact Pro kind of guy.

BTW what did you not like about the 390 Boss? They are actually somewhere between the Atlas and the Contact Pro in style.


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## lowfill707 (Nov 22, 2013)

kctahoe said:


> What year did you buy, cause this years ratchets work great! And the new toe caps are awesome! I haven't rode the atlas but have this years contact pros, love them, so comfortable, plenty responsive, and still soft enough for butters and jibs.


they're last years model. the toe ratchets are a little hard to release so if you're not wearing gloves you run the risk of shredding the shit out of the top of your fingers on the ladder(which i did a couple times setting them up for my boots). like i said though, as they got some runs under them they started to loosen up a but. as far as running the toe strap capped, that was just a visual observation. it just doesnt LOOK that secure compared to other bindings ive seen/used with cap specific straps. im personally an old fashioned over-the-toe kind of guy so i didnt even bother trying it that way to see. i love my atlas' but keep my high backs tilted as far back as possible(i dont like much forward lean). after reading some of these comments wouldnt mind giving the contact pros a try myself now.


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## Madbob14 (Feb 28, 2013)

Just shredded my finger in mammoth trying to get the toe rachet off on the Atlas!!! 

It usually isn't that hard to get off but it was pretty stuck on there this time!

Maybe I need to buy the new toe straps.

I have the 2013 model.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

hktrdr said:


> One easy way to think about this is to ask yourself how you use your highbacks:
> Do you like them responsive and, maybe, with quite a bit of forward lean? Do you push into the highbacks for your heelside turns and carves? If yes, the Atlas is a better fit for your style.
> Or do you use your highbacks more nunaced most of the time and only use them gradually, while relying more on shifting your weight in order to influence the board? Then you are more of a Contact Pro kind of guy.
> 
> BTW what did you not like about the 390 Boss? They are actually somewhere between the Atlas and the Contact Pro in style.


Shit I do both depending on mood/what I'm doing :laugh:

I dunno. For some reason my freestyle has taken a huge hit with the 390 bosses. I can't explain it and can't figure it out. Before the 390 I had Malavitas and Raiden Blackhawks. The blackhawks aren't marketed as freestyle much but I felt more comfy on them on ollies, jumps and small boxes (no rails for my old ass ... yet) and buttering around the mountain.

When I go for an ollie for example, I was able to keep the board flat and pop off cleanly, giving me good pop. But ever since I got the 390's whenever I do this the board goes onto it's toe edge, so my pop and landing are very sloppy. They seem stiffer than I was expecting. Maybe I'm clamping the straps down too tight but that wasn't a problem with my other bindings.

I'm going to take my old K2 Uprises out this weekend and see if it's my technique that got sloppy and not the 390s.


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