Union Ultra bindings Review

Who are the Ultras Most Suited To?

The Ultras are best suited to those who like their bindings nice and stiff and responsive and like to charge hard and carve aggressively, but at the same time still want good board feel. 

Matches well to medium-stiff to stiff flexing boards (7/10 to 9/10 flexing boards).

For advanced to expert rider's only and who like an aggressive style. Not suitable for beginners or intermediate riders. 

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 545mm (21.5″)

Board demoed with: Rossignol One LF 2018, 159

Baseplate Length: 26.3cm (10.35”)*

*measured on the top side of the footbed - quite a bit of angle down to underside of baseplate - which measured 24.3cm (9.57")

Highback Height: 21.1cm (8.3")*

* from bottom of heel cup to top of highback

Height from Bottom of Baseplate to top of Highback: 26.0cm (10.24")

Weight: 980 grams (2lbs, 2oz)*

*for one binding, including screws and disc. The average weight of a small sample size of 26 bindings (2019 & 2020 models) I weighed, was 894 grams. The lightest was 760 grams and the heaviest was 1,000grams. 

The Ultra is quite heavy, which was extremely surprising given how light the 2019 model was - just 780 grams (1lb, 11oz). Adding 200 grams between models seems crazy. Maybe the production model is lighter. 200 grams per binding is super noticeable. You can notice much less than that. I had to reweigh it a few times to make sure - and even re-weighed other bindings of mine, to make sure the scales weren't off. 

Flex

Ultra, from deciphering their new scale graphs seem to rate the highback as 9/10 and baseplate as 7/10. However in their video (see below), they rate it 7/10 overall, so it's a bit confusing. In any case, the overall feel was stiffer vs last year. I would say 8/10 overall on snow. And that highback is super stiff - can barely twist - so 9/10 for the highback would be accurate, by my feel of it. 

Responsiveness

When you get some speed going, these bindings really help you to get on edge and get really deep into a carve and I could hold carves noticeably deeper and longer vs my control bindings (Burton Malavita). 

Not overly maneuverable at slower speeds - but these are bindings that are made for riding more aggressively - and stiffer bindings typically aren't agile at slow speeds - so I was expecting this for sure. 

Board Feel/Butterability

Really good board feel, especially for bindings this stiff. Though they have that heel to toe response in spades, you can still butter well in these bindings and they give you a good feel with the board. Largely down to the mini-disc they use, I would say. 

Pop/Ollie Power

They help to get some good pop out of the board. Typical of most stiffer bindings, you do need to load them up a bit more than you would with softer bindings - but when you do, they give good pop power to the board.

They didn't feel quite as good in this respect vs the 2019 model - and that's probably something to do with them being heavier - and maybe the stiffer base plate is a contributing factor to why the pop isn't as easy to extract. 

Let's Break this Text Up with a Video

Adjustability

Like most Union bindings, there is some good adjustability for the Ultras. The thing I like most is having that adjustable heel cup so you can make sure you get your boots centered. 

Heel Cup: Yes 

Stance Width: The mini-disc has to be mounted horizontally, but that's a good thing for stance adjustability. And since you can adjust the heel cup, there's no need to run them vertically anyway, as you can adjust your boot centering with the heel cup adjustment. Because they're mini - there's not a massive amount you can do with stance width options, and sometimes you have to go like 5mm off the stance width you were aiming for, but I've never found that to be a big thing.  

Highback Lean: Yes - easy tool-less adjustment

Ankle Strap Position: No 

Toe Strap Position: Yes

Ankle and toe strap length: Yes, tool-less

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: No

Highback Rotation: Kind of with the heel cup adjustments, though I'm not sure they're really designed for it

Compatible with: 2 x 4 | channel - with the minidisc they're not compatible with 4 x 4 boards. They're aren't too many of those around, but just so you know they won't be compatible if you have a 4 x 4 board. 

Shock Absorption

These bindings absorb shock and chatter really well. The padding is relatively firm but has good give to it. It feels like there's gap between the layers of padding, like a cushion of air, which aids in that give. 

That same cushion of air feel is on the highback padding too. 

Entry/Exit

Nice smooth ratchets typical of Union. Nothing else making entry exit easier, but they're fast and smooth to strap in an unstrap from. 

Comfort

These bindings are really comfortable, which isn't always the case with stiffer bindings. But the Ultras do comfort really well, IMO. 

Ankle Strap: The ankle strap is super nice. When I first held it, I thought it felt very stiff and didn't know if it would be that comfortable, but when riding I didn't even notice it. It conforms really well and feels comfortable and supportive. 

Toe Strap: Typically good strap from Union here. It's one that you can really crank and it's still comfortable but allows you to get a really secure feel. But you do need to make sure you crank it enough. 

Canted Footbed: Yes

Padded Footbed: As per the shock absorption section above, the footbed has some decently thick padding which feels like there's a pocket of air between layers.  

Highback: The padding on the high back feels like it has that same pocket of air. I didn't feel any kind of calf bite or any discomfort from the highback - which can sometimes bet he case with stiffer highbacks. 

Ankle Support

The Ankle support has really improved on the Ultra over the last couple of years. The new ankle strap is wide and stiff and just gives you a nice secure feel. Really good ankle support. The only thing that would make it better, would be if there was an option to go with  a higher position for the ankle strap. Personally I like it where it is, for my feel, but to have that option, if you wanted it a bit higher on the ankle is always nice. 

Overall, the Ultra definitely prefers speed over riding slow - super responsive at speed and you could really dig in and hold carves deep. Made my board feel more stable at speed and carvier. 

And it manages all of that whilst also having great board feel and being really comfortable and supportive.