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Union Flite Pro Bindings Review

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 by Nate 2 Comments

Union Flite Pro binding review

Hello and welcome to my Union Flite Pro bindings review.

In this review I will assess the Flite Pros for all of the freestyle relevant factors of the bindings to see how they perform as freestyle bindings.

As is custom at SnowboardingProfiles.com the bindings will receive a rating out of 100. This is not an exact science but will give some idea of how good the Flite Pros are as a binding for freestyle riding.

Overall Rating

Bindings: Union Flite Pro

Price: $169

Style: Freestyle/Beginner

Flex Rating: Medium-Soft (4/10)

Flex Feel: Medium-Soft (3.5/10)

Rating Score: 78.9/100

Compared to other Men’s Freestyle Bindings

Out of the 17 Men’s Freestyle bindings that I rated:

  • The average score was 79.5/100
  • The highest score was 91.1/100
  • The lowest score was 66.8/100
  • The average price was $250
  • The Flite Pro ranked 8th out of 17

Overview of the Flite Pro’s Specs

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

Specs

Style:

Freestyle

Price: 

$169

Ability Level: 

Ability Level Beginner to Intermediate

Flex: 

Flex 3 half

Weight: 

Super Light

Mounts To: 

2 x 4 | 4 x 4 | Channel

Sizing

SIZE 

US BOOT SIZE

EURO BOOT SIZE

UK BOOT SIZE

S

6-7.5

38-40.5

5-6.5

M

8-10

41-43

7-9

L

10.5+

43.5+

9.5+

Who are the Flite Pro Most Suited To?

The Flite Pro is best suited to beginners who are on a budget or someone who is on a budget and likes to ride playful freestyle and doesn't need to bomb - or maybe to put on a board that they only ride casually on. 

Great for beginners and low speed. 

Best matched to boards of 4/10 flex or less. 

The Flite Pro in More Detail

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

Demo Info

Binding: Union Flite Pro 2022, M

Date: February 24, 2021

Conditions: Sunny! As in not a single cloud. Perfect visibility.

-4°C (25°F) and -4°C (25°F) with wind chill (as in no wind!). Felt warmer than that because of the sun.

Snow was pretty good for the most part. On groomer some harder spots but mostly medium. Off groomer medium with some crunchy spots.

24 hour snow: 2cm (0.75")

7 day snow: 45cm (18")

On groomer: Hard but not icy.

Off groomer: Crunchy with some icy patches

Union Flite Pro 2022 Review

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 555mm (22″)

Board demoed with: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker

Boots demoed with: Adidas Tactical ADV 9.5

Baseplate Length: 24.5cm (9.7”)*

*measured on the top side of the footbed - 24cm (9.5") at base of baseplate. 

Highback Height: 19.7cm (7.8”)*

* from bottom of heel cup to top of highback

Height from top of footbed to top of highback: 25.8cm (10.2") 

Weight: 680g (1lb 8oz)

* for one binding, including screws and disc. The average weight of a small sample size of around 45 bindings (2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022 models) I weighed, was 890 grams. The lightest was 680 grams and the heaviest was 1,160grams. The Flite Pro are the lightest bindings I've ever weighed! And they feel that way - so freakin light!

They made carrying my board feel noticeably lighter, noticeably lighter on the lift and noticeably lighter when riding. 

Mounting and Setup

No issues with mounting. Could sink the screws all good without having to first sink a screws without a washer, which was an issue with Union bindings in the past - so all good there. 

The highback is tool-less but to adjust the strap lengths you need a screwdriver, which is a bit of a pain, if you're looking to make adjustments on the fly. But for this price point, can't complain.  

Flex

Union rate the highback and straps 5/10 and the baseplate 4/10. Staps feel stiffer on the outsides, but soften up towards the middle. And overall I think 5/10 for the straps is about right. But overall flex feel when riding to me was 3.5/10. 

Responsiveness

When it comes to high speed, deep carves, the Flite Pro is pretty lacking to be fair. Not as good control and can't lean as deep when really carving. But not too much of a surprise with bindings of this flex and price. 

They were really good when riding slow though. One of the reason's that make these such good bindings for beginners. 

Board Feel/Butterability

It's decent on these bindings. Not as good as the Contact Pros, which I also rode that day, and also not as good as my control bindings. But given they have a big disc, they actually were better than I though they'd be. I guess that softer baseplate really helps them to flex with the board. 

Pop/Ollie Power

Super easy to access the pop from your board through these bindings, but overall less power/pop that you can extract versus any of the other bindings I rode that day (Malalvita - my control bindings - Contact Pro and Falcor). 

Adjustability

Heel Cup: Yes - which is great for getting your heel and toe overhang centered

Stance Width: The Flite pros have Union's Universal Disc, which you can setup horizontally or vertically. With the heel cup adjustment there's no need to set it up vertically, so setting it up horizontally gives you plenty of stance width adjustability. 

Highback Lean: Yes and tool-less

Ankle Strap Position: No

Toe Strap Position: Yes

Ankle and toe strap length:  Yes but neither are tool-less - you need a screwdriver. 

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: no

Highback Rotation: Yes, but quite minimal in terms of how much you can rotate it - there are 2 slots for highback rotation. 

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

Let's Break this text up with a video

Shock Absorption

There's not a lot of padding on the footbed - you can almost feel the plastic through it when pressing into it. So you'd think they wouldn't be great for shock absorption. But they're actually not too bad. Not to the same extent as my Malavitas or the Contact Pros or Falcors, but still decent enough. 

Entry/Exit

Straps are actually pretty smooth for the price point. As good as the Contact Pros. But still a step behind the Falcors and my Malavitas. 

Comfort

Overall quite comfortable. Not as comfortable as my Malvitas or the Contact Pros, but still comfortable - and really good for the price point. 

Ankle Strap: Conformed pretty well. Did feel slight pressure on the top of my foot, but very subtle. 

Toe Strap: Just fine. 

Canted Footbed: No

Padded Footbed: Pretty limited padding

Highback: No padding at all on the highback, but didn't get even the slightest hint of calf bite and that's the main thing. 

Ankle Support 

Ankle support isn't bad but also isn't amazing. The ankle strap sits a little lower on your ankle than the average ankle strap. I had no issues with it though. 

Changes for 2022 Model

It might be easier to list the things that didn't change on the Flite Pro - it go a full overhaul. 

- New Baseplate (Stage 8 Duraflex)

- New Highback (Stage 12 Flite Pro Duraflex): The highback makes it look a bit like a mini Falcor, but don't be fooled, this is almost at the opposite end of the spectrum to the Falcor!

- New Toe Strap (TS 4.0)

- New Tool-less Flad (forward lean adjuster)

- New "snap fit" disk cover

- New bushings

- New Heelcup

About the only thing that stayed the same was the ankle strap and the ratchets!

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

RATING
(out of 5)

Contribution to Final Score

BOARD FEEL

4.0

24/30

SHOCK ABSORPTION

4.0

20/25

RESPONSE

2.5

7.5/15

ADJUSTABILITY

4.0

12/15

COMFORT

4.0

8/10

ENTRY/EXIT

3.5

3.5/5

TOTAL after normalizing

78.9/100

They're certainly the most plasticy feeling and looking binding in Union's line, but for the price point the quality is decent enough and the value for money is there for sure. 

For those on a budget, with a soft flexing board or a beginner (who should be on a soft flexing board), they a great option. 

Super easy to turn quick at slow speeds. Not so much on a trench digging high speed carve though. 

More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online

If you are interested in the Flite Pros, check out the links below for more info, user reviews, current prices and availability.

  • US
  • CA
  • UK/EU

>>Union Flite Pro at evo.com

>>Union Flite Pro at rei.com

>>Union Flite Pro at backcountry.com

>>Union Flite Pro at prfo.com

>>Union Flite Pro at blue-tomato.com

Union Flite Pro 2023

If you want to check out some other freestyle options or see how the Flite Pros compared to other men’s freestyle bindings check out the link below.

My Top 5 Men's Freestyle Bindings

PAST REVIEWS OF THE FLITE PRO

--UNION FLITE PRO 2019-2021--

Union Flite Pro BindingsHello and welcome to my Union Flite Pro bindings review. – part of my Freestyle bindings review series.

In this review I will assess the Flite Pros for all of the freestyle relevant factors of the bindings to see how they perform as freestyle bindings.

As is custom at SnowboardingProfiles.com the bindings will receive a rating out of 100. This is not an exact science but will give some idea of how good the Flite Pros are as a binding for freestyle riding.

Overall Rating

Bindings: Union Flite Pro

Price: $159

Style: Freestyle/Beginner

Flex Rating: Baseplate = 3/10, highback = 3/10 (roughly, based on Union’s flex scale graphs)

Flex Feel: Medium-Soft (3/10)

Rating Score: 79.5/100

Compared to other Men’s Freestyle Bindings

Out of the 20 Men’s Freestyle bindings that I rated:

  • The average score was 78.1/100
  • The highest score was 92.6/100
  • The lowest score was 62.6/100
  • The average price was $224
  • The Flite Pro ranked 7th out of 20 

Overview of the Flite Pro’s Specs

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

Specs

Style:

Freestyle

Price: 

$159

Ability Level: 

Ability Level Beginner to Intermediate

Flex: 

Snowboard Flex 3

Edge-to-Edge: 

Medium-Slow

Weight: 

Light

Mounts To: 

2 x 4 | 4 x 4 | Channel

Sizing

SIZE 

US BOOT SIZE

EURO BOOT SIZE

UK BOOT SIZE

S

6-7.5

38-40.5

5-6.5

M

8-10

41-43

7-9

L

10.5+

43.5+

9.5+

Who are the Flite Pros Most Suited To?

The Flite Pros are great as beginner bindings and as freestyle bindings. Especially playful freestyle type riding, or if you're just starting out learning tricks, jumps etc. Not really suitable for extreme freestyle though. 

They are also great for anyone looking for a playful freestyle binding and are on a tight budget. The Flite Pros are considerably less than the average price for freestyle bindings and still a good bit above average. 

The Flite Pros in More Detail

Union Flite Pro 2019O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Flite Pros are capable of.

Demo Info

Bindings: Union Flite Pro 2019, Medium

Date: March 22, 2018

Conditions: Puking snow! A lot of fresh powder and everything just filling in all day. Being a weekday, nothing was getting too tracked out anyway, but even if it did it would have just filled in again. Visibility was of course not ideal, but far from whiteout as well (mid-level vis). It was cold (had to be for the snow) but not super freezing. Just nicely cold – and superbly powdery!

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance Width: 550mm (21.7”)

Board demoed with: Rossignol One 2018, 159cm

Baseplate Length: 24cm (9.5″) – that’s measured on the top of the footbed. 22.5cm on the underside of the baseplate – it angles up to the top of the footbed.

Baseplate with Toe Ramp Extended: 25cm (top) – 1cm of extension available

Highback Height: 19.6cm (7.7″)

Weight: 760 grams (1lbs, 11oz) – per binding, including disc and screws*

*Lighter than all of the bindings I weighed (average of a small sample of bindings was 864g)

Butterability/Board Feel

Even though they don’t use the mini-disc, I found the Flite Pros provide pretty good board feel anyway – it helps that they have quite a soft base plate. Still not as good a board feel as Union bindings with the mini-disc but pretty good.

Flex

Union rate the flex as follows:

Baseplate: 4/10

Highback: 4/10

I would say they feel about a 3/10 overall.

Adjustability

You can adjust a lot of things on the Flite Pro including:

  • Forward Lean (tool-less)
  • Gas Pedal (1cm extension)
  • Heel Cup (for easier boot centering)
  • Toe Strap Position
  • Toe Strap Length
  • Ankle Strap Length

The main things missing adjustability-wise were:

  • No ankle strap position options
  • Ankle and toe strap length adjustments aren’t tool-less

Shock Absorption

The Flite Pros absorb shock really well and have a healthy amount of padding in the foot bed. This is pretty important, IMO, when you’re landing jumps and tricks all day.

Comfort

The Flite Pros might be a low cost binding but they are far from uncomfortable. That padding that helps with shock absorption of course also helps with comfort but the ankle strap – even though it’s their low end ankle strap is still decently comfortable.

Responsiveness

They don’t provide a heap of response when getting up speed and aren’t like overly supportive when really railing a carve. But they are nice and maneuverable when riding at slow speeds – helping with slow approaches to features.

Snowboard Compatibility

The CPs come Union’s universal disc, which is compatible with 2 x 4, 4 x 4 and the channel – so pretty much any board out there, these days.

Changes for the 2021 Model

The 2021 Flite Pro gets a new ankle strap – the “Forma” ankle strap. The 2020 model had the “Classic” strap. The Forma is a nice upgrade, IMO. 

Changes for the 2020 Model

The 2020 model is, as far as I can tell, identical to the 2019 model, apart from the colorways.

Changes for the 2019 Model

As far as I can tell, the 2019 model is the same as the 2018 model, just with some new colorways.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

RATING
(out of 5)

Contribution to Final Score

BOARD FEEL

4.0

24/30

SHOCK ABSORPTION

4.5

22.5/25

RESPONSE

2.0

6/15

ADJUSTABILITY

4.0

12/15

COMFORT

3.5

7/10

ENTRY/EXIT

4.0

4/5

TOTAL after normalizing

79.5/100

If you're looking for bindings for riding freestyle and want them with a very friendly price-tag, then the Flite Pros are definitely worth looking at. 

Even though the price is so good, and they're Union's cheapest bindings, they're still far from what I would consider to be "cheaply" made. 

They are also a great option for beginners. 

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Filed Under: 2019 Snowboard Binding Reviews, 2020 Snowboard Binding Reviews, 2021 Snowboard Binding Reviews, 2022 Snowboard Binding Reviews, 2023 Snowboard Binding Reviews, Men's Freestyle Binding reviews, Union Tagged With: Union Flite Pro Bindings, Union Flite Pro Bindings 2020-21, Union Flite Pro Bindings 2021-22, Union Flite Pro Bindings 2022-23, Union Flite Pro Bindings 2023, Union Flite Pro Review

About Nate

Nate is passionate about and loves learning new things everyday about snowboarding, particularly the technical aspects of snowboarding gear. That, and becoming a better rider and just enjoying and getting the most out of life.

Comments

  1. aaren says

    December 23, 2022 at 5:32 pm

    hi I just bought a pair of these, and i was curious how you get the snap fit disc covers off easily to quickly tighten your screws. it seems like a hassle to try and pinch them closed from the outside with a needle nose pliers

    Reply
    • Nate says

      December 24, 2022 at 4:08 am

      Hi Aaren

      Thanks for your message.

      I just looked back over my notes, which noted that it was tricky to get the snap fit disc on and off. However, I did do it by hand, so you can, but it just requires quite a bit of Force. I didn’t figure out an easier way to do it unfortunately. I imagine that it would become easier overtime after it’s been snapped on and off a number of times.

      Reply

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