Union Atlas Pro Bindings Review

Hello and welcome to my Union Atlas Pro review.

In this review I will take a look at the Atlas Pro as freeride snowboard bindings.

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

Overall Rating

Bindings: Union Atlas Pro

Price: $499 (USD recommended retail)

Style: Freeride

Flex Rating: Stiff (9/10)

Flex Feel: Stiff (8/10)

Rating Score: 86.3/100

Compared to other Men’s Freeride Bindings

Overview of the Atlas Pro’s Specs

Check out the tables for the Atlas Pro’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

Who are the Atlas Pro Most Suited To?

The Atlas Pro is best suited to those who are looking for stiff, powerful bindings, who like to bomb and carve. Not those who want the stiffest bindings going around (unless you're a lighter rider and then you may feel them that way), but for those who want that touch of forgiveness but still something that's stiffer than mid-stiff. 

Definitely not for beginners or playful riders/casual cruisers. You want to be really driving these things pretty hard. 

Best matched to boards in the 6/10 to 9/10 flex range and even better suited to the 7/10 to 8/10 flex range, IMO. 

Test/review details for the Atlas Pro

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Atlas Pro are capable of.

Demo Info

Binding: Union Atlas Pro 2025, M

Date: February 27, 2024

Flex

Highback Twist: When twisting the high back I found the medial side (inside) to be stiffer than the lateral side (outside) and a really large difference.  The Atlas Pro was stiffer medially than the Atlas (which I also had for testing at the time, along with the Falcor and STR). but actually a touch softer laterally (but not as much difference between them laterally as there was medially). Medially stiffer than the Falcor and STR, but a touch softer than the Falcor laterally. The STR was significantly softer laterally and a little softer medially. 

Highback Pullback: When trying to pull back on the highback, I could barely move it at the top and the base of the highback, but there was a little bit of flex half way up. Surprisingly the regular Atlas had less flex halfway up the highback and was very similar at the top and bottom - though there was so little movement that I could get from them it was pretty hard to tell and might have to apply more force to get a proper reading. But by my feel, the Atlas Pro had the stiffer twist flex, but the Atlas a touch stiffer in pullback flex. The Falcor was really stiff on pullback in one spot, but also had some quite flexy areas (see Falcor Review for details). 

Ankle Strap: The Atlas Pro had the overall stiffest ankle strap of the 4 that I was comparing. But only a little bit stiffer than the Atlas, followed by the STR and then the Falcor was the softest ankle strap of the 4. 

Toe Strap: The toe strap looked and felt like it was the same one used on the Falcor. Overall medially/laterally and torsionally quite soft and flexy. This was the softest equal of the 4 toe straps with the Atlas' being a little stiffer, then the STR's a little stiffer again. 

On Snow

The overall flex feel on snow was quite stiff. But I wouldn't call it a 9/10 stiffness. Not as stiff as some super stiff bindings - there's still some forgiveness in there. But it was stiffer than a mid-stiff flex. I settled on 8/10 and I think that's just right. It's stiffer than the Falcor and regular Atlas, but not as stiff as something like the Flux XV, Bataleon Astro Fullwrap or Jones Apollo Pro. 

Responsiveness

My first couple of turns I could feel the power of these bindings. My board felt twitchy and like it was being overpowered. I got used to this a bit, but I would definitely prefer softer bindings on the board and these bindings on a stiffer board. 

It was less agile at slow speeds and less forgiving than my control bindings - and vs the Falcor and Atlas, but still decent agility at slow speeds. It did however actually make my board feel more catchy at slow speeds - which I think comes down to that twitchiness. On at least 3 occasions I found it grip and rip turns unexpectedly - almost like it was turning the front of the board and not the rest! It wouldn't have this effect on a stiffer board. My control board was just too soft for it, particularly torsionally. 

Now, they did make my board a significantly better carver and better at high speeds. Felt super confident bombing and laying edge over at higher speeds vs how I would be able to with my control bindings on there. 

Board Feel/Butterability

Board feel wasn't as good as my control binding but decent enough and wasn't too difficult initiating ollies. For presses it was certainly easy to flex the board into a press - in fact it made the tip and tail feel softer and easier to press, in a sense, but because you're not getting as much board feel, it feels like you're not feeling the flex as evenly, so it's a little more sudden and made it quite difficult to control and quite hard to lock in. Easy to over-flex/overpower the board, like it was on slow speed turns. 

Pop/Ollie Power

While it was a little more difficult to initiate ollies, it gave at least as much power as my control boar. 

Adjustability

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

Stance Width: Micro adjustments possible - can run disc horizontal and that allows micro stance width adjustments.  And given you can use the heel cup for boot centering, you're pretty much always going to be able to run the disc horizontal, as the only advantage of running the disc vertical is to adjust for boot centering. 

Highback Lean: Yes and tool-less

Ankle Strap Position: No

Toe Strap Position: Yes - 2 position options

Ankle and toe strap length: Tool-less

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: Yes - a 1cm range. 

Highback Rotation: Yes - 2 position options

Compatible with: 2 x 4 | 4 x 4 | Channel

Overall really good adjustability, which made it nice and easy to get good boot to binding and binding to board fit. 

Shock Absorption

Compared to my control bindings and compared to the Falcor, I found noticeably less shock absorption in the Atlas Pro. It wasn't anything terrible, but it was average. 

Entry/Exit

There's nothing special going on but the ratchets are smooth enough for easy ratcheting and releasing. You don't have to crank it very much before it's in a good position, so that does speed up the process a bit. 

Comfort

No pressure points and no calf-bite, which was the main thing. Not quite as comfortable as I I found the Falcor or my control bindings, but still nothing that was uncomfortable about them either. Straps conformed well and while they did feel a bit of chatter and shock on landings, it wasn't terrible. They have a canted footbed, so that helps with fatigue too. 

Ankle Support

I felt the ankle support was really decent, without being too restrictive. But more on the supportive side, than the surfy side, for sure. 

Mounting

Nice and easy for the most part. A little annoying having to have to remove a screw to access the disc, but a tiny inconvenience. Otherwise really straight forward and lots of adjustments you can make to ensure your boots fit your bindings well and your bindings are in a good position on the board. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

The Atlas Pro are right at that level where they start overpowering a mid-flex board. But man do they give you a lot of power for carves and hold up really well at high speeds. I didn't find them oppressively stiff, but definitely stiff enough to put them in the stiff tier, rather than mid-stiff. 

They're average at slow speeds and for shock absorption (not terrible, but nothing above the average, in my experience) but those are their weakest points and everything else about them was right up there. 

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