Bataleon Astro Fullwrap Bindings Review

Hello and welcome to my Bataleon Astro Fullwrap bindings review.

In this review I will take a look at the Astro Fullwraps as freeride snowboard bindings.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Astro Fullwraps a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other Freeride bindings.

Overall Rating

Bindings: Bataleon Astro Fullwrap

Price: $419 (USD recommended retail)

Style: Freeride

Other Uses: Aggressive All-Mountain

Flex: Stiff (8.5/10)

Rating Score: 88.4/100

Compared to other Men’s Freeride Bindings

Overview of the Astro Fullwrap’s Specs

Who are the Astro Fullwrap Most Suited To?

The Astro Fullwrap are best suited to those who have stiffer boards and need stiff bindings to drive those boards hard. They are for those that like to bomb and really lay their carves over and need a binding that will support high speed aggressive carving and just high speed in general. 

They're not bad for slower speeds (but best suited for faster,  more aggressive riding) and actually have really decent board feel for their flex too.

They suit someone who wants to get good shock absorption out of their bindings and bindings that will hold strong in varying conditions like crud/chunder. 

Definitely not for beginners - you've got to really take control of these bindings and they work much better on stiffer boards than softer boards. 

Best suited to boards with a 7/10 to 9/10 flex. When on my 5/10 flex control board, it made my board feel twitchy as they were too powerful for it. They felt great on a stiffer board though. 

The Astro Fullwrap in More Detail

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 560mm (22″)

Board tested with: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker

Boots tested with: Adidas Response ADV, size US9.5

Footbed length: 24.1cm (9.5”) 

Footbed Length Fully Extended: n/a

Baseplate Length (underside):  22.8cm (9.0")

Highback Height: 21cm (8.3”)

Weight: 1040 grams (2lbs, 5oz)

* for one binding, including screws and disc. The average weight of a small sample size of around 80 bindings (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 models) I have weighed is 920 grams (2lbs). So the Astro was a little heavier than normal and felt a touch heavier on snow too, but not by much. 

Flex

In Hand: Pretty hard to get any twist out of the high-back on the Astro. But there's some there. The Rome Katana (which I was also testing) had more twist flex - as did my control bindings (Burton Malavita). In terms of pull back flex, there was nothing - couldn't pull it back at all. The Malavita is much the same in terms of pull back, but there is a bit of give there on the Katana. Not much but a little bit. 

The Astro's ankle strap felt quite stiff. Certainly stiffer than the Malavita and Katana. The Astro's toe strap is also quite stiff. The Katana felt the same as the Astro (quite stiff) with the Malavita being a little softer than the Astro and Katana. 

On Snow: The overall flex feel on snow was quite stiff. Couldn't quite get it to the stiffness of a 9/10 flexing binding, like the Flux XV or Union Atlas FC. But felt a fraction stiffer than the likes of the Rome Cleaver and Salomon Quantum. 

Responsiveness

These bindings are super responsive at higher speeds and really up the carving ability of the board - and how hard you can dig carves in at higher speeds. To a point that on my test board, they made it feel twitchy - they were too much for that board (which is a 5/10 flex). Putting them on a stiffer board (Jones Aviator 2.0), they were much better suited and felt great at higher speeds. 

Not as good as the Katana or Malalvita at slower speeds though. But still decent enough. They didn't feel like you were driving a tank at slower speeds or anything. 

Board Feel/Butterability

Really good board feel, especially for how stiff they are. Not quite as good in terms of board feel as the Malavita, but still really decent - and as good as the Katana, which was surprising. 

Pop/Ollie Power

Took a little more effort to setup for ollies, but good power, once you put that extra effort. 

Adjustability

Heel Cup: Yes - which is great for helping with boot centering.

Stance Width: Even though it’s a mini disc, there’s still 4cm to work with - and because the disc doesn't have set holes for the screws but rather one big oval, you can get a good bit of micro adjustability for your stance width.  

Highback Lean: Yes - tool-less.

Ankle Strap Position: Yes - 3 positions

Toe Strap Position: Yes - standard 2 positions.

Ankle and toe strap length: Yes - as with every binding. Adjustments can be made tool-less. 

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: There's not technically extension. You can't make the footbed longer. But you can move the footbed more towards the heel or more towards the toes to help with better centering your boots over the footbed.  

Highback Rotation: Yes - 3 positions. 

Compatible with: 2x4 | 4x4 | Channel

Even though it's a mini-disc, there's enough space to do 4x4, which is cool, so you can make use of boards with setback inserts that sit 4cm behind the main insert pack. 

Vs the Katana, this doesn't have the ankle strap pivot mount or an ability to cant the highback. But otherwise is a very adjustable binding. 

Shock Absorption

There's a good bit of padding in the footbed. I measured it as 2.6/2.3cm at the toe end (canted footbed) and 2.3cm/2cm at the heel end. It's quite a dense/firm feeling padding, rather than being soft/squishy. 

On snow, they did an amazing job of absorbing shock/chatter. Felt really damp. If it wasn't for NOW bindings, they probably would have had enough for a 5/5. 

Entry/Exit

The ratchets were nice and smooth when cranking them down or releasing them. Easy to unstrap on the move too. 

Comfort

Overall nice and comfortable. 

Ankle Strap: At first I had a bit of a pressure point on the top of my left foot. But I'd had it earlier in the day too, so I think I'd cranked the lower part of my boots a little too tight. After I loosened off the lower section of my boot a little that pressure point eased. All round the ankle strap conformed well and was comfortable. 

Toe Strap: Had no complaints about the toe straps. They fit well, no pressure points and stayed on nice and secure. 

Canted Footbed:  Yes. 

Padded Footbed: Great padding and shock absorption (see more in shock absorption section above). 

Highback: No padding whatsoever on the highback, but also I didn't get any calf bite or anything from it, which is the main thing. 

Ankle Support

The ankle support felt good to me. There's no ankle strap position adjustment - so you can't set it higher on your ankle for more support or lower for more freedom. But I liked the feel and position where they are set, so was really happy with how they supported my ankles. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

When matched with a stiffer board, the Astro are burly bindings that can drive your board hard, handle any speed and lay over deep carves with ease. 

They're not as good for slower speed riding - and for higher speeds on softer flexing boards (6/10 and below) they can make the board feel twitchy. 

But for everything else, they really have no weaknesses, with great shock absorption, great adjustability and really good board feel.