# Union Atlas or Union Falcors



## mjayvee (Nov 18, 2015)

Falcor (mini disk) will have more play for freestyle, while also being sturdy & responsive for drops and high speed. IMO, it has the best of both worlds for freestyle and freeride. I personally own 2 pairs of Falcors.

Atlas (full size disk) will be more locked in for hard charging and not be as playful. I consider the Atlas to be more of a freeride binding.

Just a fair warning- others on this forum will tell you how much they love Rome and Now bindings, possibly Nitro and Burton also.

You may even get roasted or trolled for even mentioning Union bindings. Haha

I just happen to be a “recovering” Union addict that is sympathetic to people interested in Union bindings.


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## jacobenchile3 (Jan 12, 2017)

mjayvee said:


> Falcor (mini disk) will have more play for freestyle, while also being sturdy & responsive for drops and high speed. IMO, it has the best of both worlds for freestyle and freeride. I personally own 2 pairs of Falcors.
> 
> Atlas (full size disk) will be more locked in for hard charging and not be as playful. I consider the Atlas to be more of a freeride binding.
> 
> ...


Kinda confirma what I was thinking! I am a big fan of burton bindings for freestyle, but since the diodes and gen x were discontinued I feel like their lineup lacks what I'm looking for right now.

The only thing I am worried about is the durability of the falcors. I had some Union Ultras with carbon hi backs that both cracked and broke after 20ish days on the mountains.


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## mjayvee (Nov 18, 2015)

The new Falcors have redesigned and reinforced highbacks. 

But because they are a new model, we have yet to see what the durability will really be like.
And I am also not so sure about the new adjusters on the toe and ankle straps.

I have never had an issue with the highbacks on my 2018-19 Falcors, but that is based on my climate. The cracking of carbon highbacks may likely be due to colder temperatures.

Have you considered Bent Metal?
I would look at the Transfer or Cor-Pro.
Got my first pair of Bent Metals last season and I was impressed.

How about Rome Katana or D.O.D.? 
Maybe even Nitro Team Pro?
(I will let other people tell you about those bindings, since I have no personal experience with those brands).


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

At 220lbs I'd be worried about carbon highbacks like on the Falcors too. There's no way around the physics tradeoffs - stiffer carbon is going to break more easily under extreme pressure than a flexible material. And the carbon on the new Falcor is still a fairly thin strip. So I'd pick the Atlas of those two.

I used to own the Union TRice Pro bindings pre-Falcor that had the carbon insert on the highback and those were pretty great, despite hardware issues (screws backing out, they've fixed that) and it turns out they weren't as comfortable as other bindings (Burton, Rome). I'm also not a fan of how ridiculously huge Union baseplates tend to be, and how you have to screw in the footbed and I'm always losing that screw. But other than that, nothing wrong with Union.

For me Rome bindings are more comfortable and mostly trouble-free. Buddies of mine that ride Union and then step into one of my bindings always comment on the comfort. I really like Now and Burton's stiffer bindings, but I'm finding the same thing as you - you're paying a huge Burton premium for a binding that's stiff enough for a big guy doing freeride things.

Arbor Cypress is a very similar design as Union with none of the typical Union issues.


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## CocaCola Kicker (Jan 30, 2019)

What kind of boots do you have


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## AC93 (May 1, 2020)

jacobenchile3 said:


> Kinda confirma what I was thinking! I am a big fan of burton bindings for freestyle, but since the diodes and gen x were discontinued I feel like their lineup lacks what I'm looking for right now.
> 
> The only thing I am worried about is the durability of the falcors. I had some Union Ultras with carbon hi backs that both cracked and broke after 20ish days on the mountains.


The Cartel X is a stiff and hard charging binding.


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## Elevation212 (Apr 21, 2019)

Can’t speak to the new falcors, I’ve been riding 18/19s on my yes PYL at 250lbs and have had no complaints, have north of 80 days on them at this point


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## Chris83 (Sep 17, 2021)

jacobenchile3 said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> I'm looking for a new set of bindings and have narrowed it down to either Union Falcors or the Union Atlas.
> 
> ...



Hi! 

I have Falcor 2020, but the highback brokes after 2 months and i 'm not a havier rider. I don' t know the new Falcor highback is stronger, I 'm affraid about this. Besides that very good and comfortable bindings, but i change to Atlas or other Now, Flux, Rome, Nitro, Ride etc... I have Cartel X EST, but little bit better the Falcor for me...


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## bob2356 (Jul 13, 2012)

Am I the only person in the world that has had nothing but great experiences with Union bindings? I've got a pair of forces from the stone age with god only knows how may days on them on a board I only ride occasionally now that are pretty much bullet proof and a pair of STR's on both of my day to day boards that I have 100+ days on each pair without a bit of problems. Simple and reliable bindings. I'm a big guy at 230 and ride aggresively on east coast ice 100 days a year (until covid) so it seems strange so many people here have so many problems. Me thinks the ladies doth protest too much.


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## Chris83 (Sep 17, 2021)

bob2356 said:


> Am I the only person in the world that has had nothing but great experiences with Union bindings? I've got a pair of forces from the stone age with god only knows how may days on them on a board I only ride occasionally now that are pretty much bullet proof and a pair of STR's on both of my day to day boards that I have 100+ days on each pair without a bit of problems. Simple and reliable bindings. I'm a big guy at 230 and ride aggresively on east coast ice 100 days a year (until covid) so it seems strange so many people here have so many problems. Me thinks the ladies doth protest too much.


I have 2019 Force, and i think the force very good bindings, before trying the Falcor... 😅 But now i know the very big difference the two bindings... Maybe the Force is has stronger highback, but the Force is a "Trabant " and Falcor is a "Ferrari" about.... 😅


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## mjayvee (Nov 18, 2015)

Just ordered the 2022 Atlas and planning on using it mainly on my powder board (Rome Stale Fish) 

I will still try the Atlas on the daily driver (Lib Tech Dynamo) to see how it feels and compares to the Falcor. 
_*(I will have to report back when the season starts).*_

I have not regularly ridden a standard disk binding for 4 seasons. 
For the past 3 seasons, I have ridden the Falcor and mixed in with the Strata for 2 seasons (also mini disk).

Admittedly, there have been a few occasions that the mini disk on my front binding has gotten loose. 
I made a slight adjustment on my front binding angle & used clear nail polish for my binding screws and it has seemed to hold up better.

I never had screws come loose on standard disks, so I think the Atlas will help with keeping everything locked in during days of riding heavy PNW powder.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

I've never had a problem with mini disks. I'm into lateral flex in bindings, so I guess mini disk is a good thing in my book. I do check my screws every session or two though. A #3 phillips stays with my gear at all times lol.

I've also never had a problem with Unions besides loosing a heel strap screw. I moved on from Union mostly because I prefer the feel of composite heelcups.


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## mjayvee (Nov 18, 2015)

WigMar said:


> I've never had a problem with mini disks. I'm into lateral flex in bindings, so I guess mini disk is a good thing in my book. I do check my screws every session or two though. A #3 phillips stays with my gear at all times lol.
> 
> I've also never had a problem with Unions besides loosing a heel strap screw. I moved on from Union mostly because I prefer the feel of composite heelcups.


I always check my screws before every session, but I do not always carry a pocket tool. (That is something I will need to change/improve for the upcoming season).


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