# NOW Select/Drive vs Union Atlas



## SnowDragon (Apr 23, 2012)

I've ridden the Now IPOs and Drives.
For the type of riding you describe, the Drives are the choice over the Selects.

Can't comment on the Unions.


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## AmberLamps (Feb 8, 2015)

I have the selects, not the stiffest bindings, but still very responsive and a true joy to ride Pow with. Also super fun for laying deep carves on groomers, they perform well in pretty much everything I have thrown at them. You really cant go wrong with either binding, If you want to try something new go with the Now's.


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

I have some Drives and Union Factories. The Factories turned into the T.Rice model with some small differences but they are pretty much the same binding.
But for what it's worth I find the Factories more responsive then the Drives. 
At any rate for the riding you describe stiffer is better, the Atlas is a 7/10 while the Rice is 8/10 and not that much more money. I'd rate the Drives as a high 7 or low 8 in comparison to the Factories. Not to take anything away from the Drives I love them and they definitely are unique and more customizable with the different bushings.


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

Haven't ridden the Atlas... but I'll give some random (rambling) experiences with the Now Drives on different boards and so on.

1. older IPOs on a NS Cobra... nothing outstanding, but a solid binding, comparable to the Burton ~Cartel/Mission which is not a bad thing at all.

2. same NS Cobra on 2015 Now Drive and wow! A TON of response, and made handling chop and carving a lot nicer altogether. I can definitely see why AmberLamps likes em so much on the Trooper. Same goes for pow... awesome.

3. Charlie Slasher on Now Drive vs Genesis: I got much more response from the Drive compared to the Genesis. Genesis was fine on the Charlie, but the Drives make it a lot more versatile, more agile in pow and nicer on groomers. The Genesis are definitely more comfortable, and on all out pow they are very nice on the Charlie. But the Drives make the Charlie handle a lot better everywhere else and more agile in Pow.

4. Now Drive on Dupraz D1+ is perfect. Don't want anything else on it. I'm thinking of setting them up with permanent Loctite 

The Atlas seem to be a good solid, versatile binding. Kinda like the Genesis maybe with more response... to me, the canting, stiff base and mild highback makes em appealing; but I haven't tried them.

The Drives are more full on freeride bindings. Tall/Restrictive highback with pretty stiff base and disc. The highback is not that stiff though, and together with the different bushings, that makes them actually pretty nice and damp. I don't like them much for park or messing around because your boots are fixed in there. 

I think a kind of more direct comparison to the Atlas would be Select or Pilot; and the Drive to the TRice/Factory/Diode etc. Which makes the Drive a pretty cool option since I think they cost less than those bindings. I do ride the Drives with the ankle strap "high" and then switched to a Genesis ankle strap and those two bits add a bit of response. The default ankle strap ("low") position lets you move your boots around much more, but you lose a bit of response.

Really want to try the Pilots. I'm hopefully demoing them for a day this next weekend to see what's up and compare them to everything else I have.


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## Bsarosi (Jan 5, 2013)

Great info, F1EA! Sounds like the Drives are more what I'm looking for and may be a step up from the Atlas in terms of responsiveness. Appreciate everyone's feedback.


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## psklt (Jan 5, 2016)

I have the '15 Union Factory and '16 NOW Selects. The Atlas is a bit softer highback than the Factory/T.Rice but same baseplate and would compare more to the Select. The Factory/T.Rice are more on par with the Drive, and Charger with the O-Drive.

I've ridden a few Union's over the years and I loved the Factory at first on an array of different boards, but I slowly began to notice a dead feeling/lack of response in quicker/tight tree turns after a few months. The canted footbeds are good, but packed down pretty quick for me on my back foot. Beginning of this season I was noticing that *something missing* feeling from the Factory pretty much all the time, especially when I really needed that quick performance so I went and picked up a pair of Now Select's instead of the Pilot's for the tighter heelcup and more bushings. 

So far after ~30 days on the Now's I really enjoy them. They're just stiff enough to really rail a carve and bomb open steeps, they power everything from medium - med/stiffer boards very efficiently, very quick edge to edge especially in trees, just soft enough to butter, and great in pow so far. The bushings are an interesting concept and I've found them to be actually pretty helpful instead of a gimmicky new tech thing. I'm taller and like a bit of canting to help get my knees bent more comfortably, so I put the hard bushings on the inside and medium bushings on the outside. The ankle straps are stitchless and cover more surface area on the boot which feels more supportive but not constrictive. The Union Factory ankle straps I do like, but at times they can feel a little too short height wise and can feel almost like a wire digging into the top of my ankle when cranked tight. The Now ankle straps are also flippable from binding to binding and I used them flipped most of the time for more lateral support than heel hold. The heelcup on the Select is nice and tight and really holds the boot in, I felt the Union heelcup to be a touch too wide for my 8.5/9 boot. The toe straps are also very good and precise around my boot. The skate tech is supposed to reduce that dead feeling I got at times from the Union, and I would definitely say I notice the difference. It took a few days to get used to the feeling of Now's, but they're pretty much all I ride now.

For reference I'm 6', 165lbs, 8.5 Ride Lasso boot, and ride the Select's on a GNU Rider's Choice 157.5, Jones Hovercraft 156, and a Yes. The Greats 156 and they're plenty efficient on all of them from charging at 60mph on groomers to tight tree runs. For a really aggressive all mountain/freeride board I think they come up just a little bit soft. I've tried them on my Jones Aviator 156 a few times and they just couldn't power the board well enough outside of nicely groomed areas, whereas my Union Factory does a better job here...just have to deal with that dead feeling at times.

If I could trade my Factory for the Drive's straight up I'd do it in an instant and just use them for hard charging freeriding on the Aviator. Try to see if a local shop that carries them will let you demo a pair


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## PalmerRider (Jan 25, 2012)

I'll be out on my 2016 union atlas bindings for the first time tomorrow so I'll try to post my thoughts later tomorrow night


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## SplitUtah (Jan 7, 2016)

Never had a ton of luck with Union bindings. I've had two pair, liked them for riding pow, but both pairs lasted less than a season of heavy use before the high backs started flexing too much and causing heel lift.


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## PalmerRider (Jan 25, 2012)

Seems like there is a lot of love on this site for the Now bindings


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## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

PalmerRider said:


> Seems like there is a lot of love on this site for the Now bindings


Now bindings on neversummer boards


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

PalmerRider said:


> Seems like there is a lot of love on this site for the Now bindings


I'm actually a "fan" of both Burton bindings and Now; but for different reasons.

Funny thing is... even the Now Drives didnt make me love the NS Cobra enough to keep it; but by far, the board felt best with The Drives.

Also, i do see a LOT of Now in the mtns around here. Much more than this forum represents. I see lots of Union and Burton too. Boards it's a big mix: Lib/gnu, Burton, Yes, Rome, Rossi, Salomon. 

By the way... here is an old school video (full of 90's punk rock - hell yea) featuring NOW head guy JF Pelchat (he's at 08:35):


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## SGboarder (Jun 24, 2012)

psklt said:


> I'm taller and like a bit of canting to help get my knees bent more comfortably, so I put the hard bushings on the inside and medium bushings on the outside.


Shouldn't that be the other way around?


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## PalmerRider (Jan 25, 2012)

F1EA said:


> By the way... here is an old school video (full of 90's punk rock - hell yea) featuring NOW head guy JF Pelchat (he's at 08:35):


Good stuff F1EA. I grew up with punk rock of the 90s. I'm jealous of the snow you guys get in BC. Maybe I'll make that trip one year in the not too distant future


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## PalmerRider (Jan 25, 2012)

For what it's worth I rode my new setup today yes PYL 159 and union atlas bindings. Bindings were as advertised; plush yet responsive. I would say they are more smooth than very responsive. Probably good for mid-stiff boards but if you have a very stiff deck might be better off with a stiffer high back depending what you like. I really liked the set up though. I appreciated the shock absorption of the atlas when bombing the crud but still responsive enough to rail hard turns in hard pack. The PYL is amazing compared to my 10 year old Palmer crown. Just as stable at speed but more nimble and easier to turn. Only knock is it doesn't glide as well in the flats as the crown (and that's with a fresh wax) but that's not a big concern since I'm usually riding steep terrain.


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

PalmerRider said:


> Good stuff F1EA. I grew up with punk rock of the 90s. I'm jealous of the snow you guys get in BC. Maybe I'll make that trip one year in the not too distant future


Yeah when it snows out here it snows a lot. Also lots of terrain, even on the smaller/less popular resorts.

An advice to everyone is to keep options open until last minute, and follow the conditions. If you luck out and get a stormy week, you'll have a blast no matter where you go.



SGboarder said:


> Shouldn't that be the other way around?


Yup. Canting is supposed to be soft inside/hard outside.


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## deltapapatango (Dec 31, 2015)

Now bindings kinda look like they may be sloppy ro ride??? Seen for the first time today with that rocker. Never used please tell otherwise.


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## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

deltapapatango said:


> Now bindings kinda look like they may be sloppy ro ride??? Seen for the first time today with that rocker. Never used please tell otherwise.


Sloppy? Not even close. Relaxed and responsive. Better not to "assume" if you haven't ridden them.


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## deltapapatango (Dec 31, 2015)

ridinbend said:


> Sloppy? Not even close. Relaxed and responsive. Better not to "assume" if you haven't ridden them.


Reason why I asked. I didn't assume anything. Looking for input from users as I am a potential buyer.


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## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

deltapapatango said:


> Reason why I asked. I didn't assume anything. Looking for input from users as I am a potential buyer.


They're super fun to ride with. Less energy exerted to get the same results as other bindings.


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## AmberLamps (Feb 8, 2015)

deltapapatango said:


> Now bindings kinda look like they may be sloppy ro ride??? Seen for the first time today with that rocker. Never used please tell otherwise.


They are a true joy to ride, they also allow me to ride a lot longer (per sesh) than any other previous bindings, because I don't get as fatigued.

Deff give them a try. I have the Select, and I have been throwing them on all my decks this season, and I have a bunch of other good high end bindings that aren't getting much action due to these bindings being so epic.


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## PalmerRider (Jan 25, 2012)

The more I read about the now bindings the more I want to try them. If I find a good deal closer to the end of the season I might jump on it. 

I know one of the knocks on the binding is that the heel cup is overly tight which can be uncomfortable. To the guys that have them have you noticed this and has it been an issue at all?


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## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

PalmerRider said:


> The more I read about the now bindings the more I want to try them. If I find a good deal closer to the end of the season I might jump on it.
> 
> I know one of the knocks on the binding is that the heel cup is overly tight which can be uncomfortable. To the guys that have them have you noticed this and has it been an issue at all?


I have large drives 1.0 , my 11.5 boot is snug but I personally enjoy the tight connection. :wink:


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## SnowDragon (Apr 23, 2012)

ridinbend said:


> I have large drives 1.0 , my 11.5 boot is snug but I personally enjoy the tight connection. :wink:


I ride medium Drives with my 8.5 Ride Trident boots.
Absolutely love the "snug" heelcup. The boots feel locked in to the bindings.

The new Pilots have a wider heelcup to address any concern about the original heelcup being too snug. I recommend taking your boots in to a shop that has the Pilots and any other Now binding to determine which you prefer.


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## psklt (Jan 5, 2016)

Yeah oops I typed the bushing setup for my canting backwards, hard outside medium inside. 

I find myself hardly looking at my Unions nowadays. The heelcup on the Select is tight, but pretty perfect for my boot. The Pilot has the same flex as the Select, but a wider heelcup and design. 

Definitely try to demo a pair before buying. I was really pleasantly surprised by comfortable and versatile they are


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## Loki (Mar 6, 2015)

I put a pair of O-Drives on a 173 Chairman, and it was a match made in heaven 

I also have a pair of Now Select for freestyle/parking and I like it. I'm not in the best shape and I really notice the difference in thigh burn after a days riding on these compared to the Burton bindings I used last year.


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

GreyDragon said:


> The new Pilots have a wider heelcup to address any concern about the original heelcup being too snug. I recommend taking your boots in to a shop that has the Pilots and any other Now binding to determine which you prefer.


Yeah, this.

Try and go check them out in person if your boot is size 10.

I have 10.5 Focus boa, fits snug in L 2015 Drives. I also use L Burton Genesis and it fits and can be centered in both bindings. But Focus boa have a HUGE footprint, so other 10.5 boots may fit better in M. Just o and try them. If Drive/Select is too tight, Pilots are a bit bigger.


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