# Union force problems!!!!



## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Mine are really easy to unstrap...might be a faulty ratchet. Is it only one of them?


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## LTshredTN (Apr 14, 2009)

Extremo said:


> Mine are really easy to unstrap...might be a faulty ratchet. Is it only one of them?



both of them seem hard to release....& they even are kinda hard to get going on the strap so i dno as much as i unstrap thru a day it would get annoying if there like this


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## sook (Oct 25, 2009)

LTshredTN said:


> both of them seem hard to release....& they even are kinda hard to get going on the strap so i dno as much as i unstrap thru a day it would get annoying if there like this


My Year Four Forces got easier with time/use. I have about 60+ days on them and they seem to be holding up just fine. 

Can you give some more details on what is giving you problems strapping in?


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## LTshredTN (Apr 14, 2009)

sook said:


> My Year Four Forces got easier with time/use. I have about 60+ days on them and they seem to be holding up just fine.
> 
> Can you give some more details on what is giving you problems strapping in?



when i try to unstrap the toe strap it wont hardly budge at all, and im afraid it will break if i pull harder! it eventually gives, but its not worth it to me to keep them if i have to do that everytime cause its a pain especially if u unstrap 20+ times a session


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## rader023 (Feb 2, 2010)

LTshredTN said:


> when i try to unstrap the toe strap it wont hardly budge at all, and im afraid it will break if i pull harder! it eventually gives, but its not worth it to me to keep them if i have to do that everytime cause its a pain especially if u unstrap 20+ times a session


 How are you unstrapping? I just pull up on the teeth and pull out. I have the Force SL, but should be same design........


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## hanzosteel (Oct 7, 2009)

it doesn`t work like normal, modern ratchets on releasing, you can`t just rip then back quickly. push down on the end with your thumb like you`re flushing a toilet lever and it will release the teeth from the ladder, then pull the buckle end back away from the ladder end while the teeth are still disengaged.


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## rader023 (Feb 2, 2010)

hanzosteel said:


> it doesn`t work like normal, modern ratchets on releasing, you can`t just rip then back quickly. push down on the end like a pushing down on a lever and it will release the teeth from the ladder, then pull the buckle end back away from the ladder end while the teeth are still disengaged.


 That works, I do the opposite though, instead of pushing now on that end, i pull the teeth end. IMO it is so much easier.


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## crispynz1 (Aug 30, 2009)

hanzosteel said:


> it doesn`t work like normal, modern ratchets on releasing, you can`t just rip then back quickly. push down on the end with your thumb like you`re flushing a toilet lever and it will release the teeth from the ladder, then pull the buckle end back away from the ladder end while the teeth are still disengaged.



It's funny how many people can't work this out for themselves, then moan about how shitty the ratchets are.


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## hanzosteel (Oct 7, 2009)

theyre still shitty in my opinion. not hard to figure out how to operate them, but compare the toe ratchet to any other binding on the market and you will see that it sucks ass. hell, union managed to get their ankle ratchet right, why not apply the same design to the toe? i was hoping the year 6 models would have this worked out but from the previews i`ve seen, they`re still playing catch up. good looking bindings though, but i won`t buy another pair. there are just too many great bindings from rome, ride, etc. that do the job better.


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## crispynz1 (Aug 30, 2009)

hanzosteel said:


> theyre still shitty in my opinion. not hard to figure out how to operate them, but compare the toe ratchet to any other binding on the market and you will see that it sucks ass. hell, union managed to get their ankle ratchet right, why not apply the same design to the toe? i was hoping the year 6 models would have this worked out but from the previews i`ve seen, they`re still playing catch up. good looking bindings though, but i won`t buy another pair. there are just too many great bindings from rome, ride, etc. that do the job better.



Each to their own. There is a thread at the moment slagging ride bindings off for the same problems.

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/bindings/25783-new-rid-rxs-b-tch-undo.html


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## maf05r6 (Mar 3, 2008)

I love my unions and never had a problem with the buckles. They worked great right out of the box. As stated before, you just have to push down on it to release. This was the same way my burtons were.


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## bamorgan7 (Jan 10, 2010)

mine are still kinda bad but they are getting better. i have only had them a week too.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

I acutally think the ratchets they put out this year are pretty damn good. It's just that not every idiot can figure them out.


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## rader023 (Feb 2, 2010)

For the people having problems try this. When unstrapping I push down on one end and pull up on the teeth end with another finger, hell I usually just pull up. So pull up and away from the strap(ladder). If this does not work I give up. I wish I could show you how easy this could be.........


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## boardaddict (Mar 4, 2009)

rader023 said:


> For the people having problems try this. When unstrapping I push down on one end and pull up on the teeth end with another finger, hell I usually just pull up. So pull up and away from the strap(ladder). If this does not work I give up. I wish I could show you how easy this could be.........


Don't fret. Just let natural selection run its course.


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## crispynz1 (Aug 30, 2009)

boardaddict said:


> Don't fret. Just let natural selection run its course.


:laugh: That's great!


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2010)

unions are fucking gay, but atleast you've got piece of mind knowing that you're up-to-date fashion wise, and going with a ''progressive new binding company''.

because burton, ride, flux, flow, drake etc dont know how to do it at all.

thank fuck they did the airblaster edition a while back. nothing like bright fashion colors to reel in the masses. why not match 'em up with some ashbury goggles too? fuck yes i could always give my money to someone like oakley or smith, who've been doing goggles for donkeys years, but why do that when i can give my money to a brand-spanker with one generic design? well, i like the tight pants look so i kinda HAVE TO buy my goggles from a company that lacks experience BUT whose team also likes tight pants.


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## rader023 (Feb 2, 2010)

buller_scott said:


> unions are fucking gay, but atleast you've got piece of mind knowing that you're up-to-date fashion wise, and going with a ''progressive new binding company''.
> 
> because burton, ride, flux, flow, drake etc dont know how to do it at all.
> 
> thank fuck they did the airblaster edition a while back. nothing like bright fashion colors to reel in the masses. why not match 'em up with some ashbury goggles too? fuck yes i could always give my money to someone like oakley or smith, who've been doing goggles for donkeys years, but why do that when i can give my money to a brand-spanker with one generic design? well, i like the tight pants look so i kinda HAVE TO buy my goggles from a company that lacks experience BUT whose team also likes tight pants.


Im not going to argue if unions are good bindings or not, but they are on year five, and they designers did come from drake, so I dont think lack of experience is a problem with Union. Besides of all the companies you mentioned, my K2 AUTO's kick the crap out of them anyway.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

buller_scott said:


> unions are fucking gay, but atleast you've got piece of mind knowing that you're up-to-date fashion wise, and going with a ''progressive new binding company''.
> 
> because burton, ride, flux, flow, drake etc dont know how to do it at all.
> 
> thank fuck they did the airblaster edition a while back. nothing like bright fashion colors to reel in the masses. why not match 'em up with some ashbury goggles too? fuck yes i could always give my money to someone like oakley or smith, who've been doing goggles for donkeys years, but why do that when i can give my money to a brand-spanker with one generic design? well, i like the tight pants look so i kinda HAVE TO buy my goggles from a company that lacks experience BUT whose team also likes tight pants.


WTF are you even saying?


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2010)

Mine were the same way when I got them but after weekend of riding they seem fine.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2010)

before i got my forces i noticed alot of people complaining about this. I cant be happier with these bindings and have still never had a problem. You will be thanking the exceptional baseplate next time you take a hard landing....keep the forces.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2010)

LTshredTN said:


> ok, so i bought a pair of union forces, put them on my board so i can set the straps up...the damn toe strap ratchet is hard as shit to get undone when unstrapping!! are they suppose to be like that?? i feel like that after a few weeks of doing that or days that it will break! im thinking about sending them back and tryin something else



the trick is to press the ratchet on the end closer to the toe cap. i had the same problem theyll break in

i love those bindings


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## Jiro (Mar 27, 2010)

LTshredTN said:


> ok, so i bought a pair of union forces, put them on my board so i can set the straps up...the damn toe strap ratchet is hard as shit to get undone when unstrapping!! are they suppose to be like that?? i feel like that after a few weeks of doing that or days that it will break! im thinking about sending them back and tryin something else





Have Unions from the year 1. Quality of the ratchets are going down and the toe straps never seem to improve. Yeah the toe ratchets will break in? after some time, and it will be due to wearing of the ladder belt. Cap straps from Rome, Burton, and Flux all work much better on UNION itself. Shame they can't make any decent toe straps that work, since otherwise their bindings are pretty good. Anyways their toe ratchets are flimsier than the past, and this might be the problem.


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## lorcar (Jan 31, 2010)

got Union data last week, never used so far, nor i have experience with other bindings. 
I must admit I also thought toe strap is really hard to undo, and I wondered why the hell they didn't use the same system as in the ankle strap???? can anyone answer this plz?
The toecap seems to be poor, but if after so many years they keep doing it I must think it works!
Since I have northwave boots, I was about to buy Drake bindings, but since my size is exactly between Drake L and M size and I couldnt try, I switched to Union


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Jiro said:


> Have Unions from the year 1. Quality of the ratchets are going down and the toe straps never seem to improve. Yeah the toe ratchets will break in? after some time, and it will be due to wearing of the ladder belt. Cap straps from Rome, Burton, and Flux all work much better on UNION itself. Shame they can't make any decent toe straps that work, since otherwise their bindings are pretty good. Anyways their toe ratchets are flimsier than the past, and this might be the problem.


Yeah I have a a pair of Force from Unions second year and the quality on the toe straps and ratchets are getting shittier every year. I guess that's what it takes to keep the binding at $199 every year. I'm debating whether I'm going to stay with Union or switch to flux next year. Damn shame because everything else about Union is pretty good.


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## Triple8Sol (Nov 24, 2008)

Extremo said:


> Yeah I have a a pair of Force from Unions second year and the quality on the toe straps and ratchets are getting shittier every year. I guess that's what it takes to keep the binding at $199 every year. I'm debating whether I'm going to stay with Union or switch to flux next year. Damn shame because everything else about Union is pretty good.


Make the switch.


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## rader023 (Feb 2, 2010)

I am amazed that you guys are finding the ratchets shitty. Are the Force SL ratchets different than the regular force ratchets. Not the toe straps themselves.............terrible.


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