Rice became involved after he was cut by the team over at DC (imagine cutting T-Ricky from your team roster?). For the past three years, he’s worked with the team in Italy on perfecting the technology. Rice has ridden for Union bindings for 13 years. In August of 2024, he and the Union team revealed […]
Rice became involved after he was cut by the team over at DC (imagine cutting T-Ricky from your team roster?). For the past three years, he’s worked with the team in Italy on perfecting the technology. Rice has ridden for Union bindings for 13 years. In August of 2024, he and the Union team revealed a 100% redesigned Falcor binding. The typical snowboard baseplates are made of a single layer, while the Falcor uses two individual layers. There’s more durable bushing to act as a suspension system and reduce vibrations, and should allow riders to have more freestyle flexibility.
Travis Rice revealed that he was collaborating with the research and development team at Union to create a new snowboarding boot. The boots have been shown at recent trade shows, according to Bjorn Leines and Rice during a recent episode of The Bomb Hole Group Chat. Tap or click below to watch. Keep reading for more information about the boots.What sets this boot apart, Rice said, is the precision to flexibility. When a boot is typically made, Rice said that companies will target a specific level of stiffness, and assign that to a boot in the middle of a size range. If a size 9 is that ideal stiffness, smaller sizes will be a little bit stiffer, while larger sizes will be more flexible. Union has found a way to alter the chemical compounds of the boot’s shell to provide consistent stiffness to a boot throughout its entire size run. Union dipped its toes in the boot game already with its children’s boot the Cadet. Designed with a kid-specific design and construction and easy to use BOA closure system, that has been on the market for a few years now. It’s just the latest step outside of the box for Union. In 2024, the company announced that it would create a version of its Atlas bindings that is compatible with Burton’s StepOn system. Those were relased in limited batches earlier this year.“This is a completely re-engineered way to manufacture a boot and a lot of consideration went into, you know, how do you build a platform that can service relatively easily this like myriad of use cases?” Rice said on The Bomb Hole. “You don’t have to compromise into these smaller kids and women sizes to size 14 hooves.”“I don’t know that’s public knowledge yet but Union is launching boots next season,” Leines said during a conversation about bindings. “Travis are you you’re going to ride them, right?”
Union Bindings Company is getting into the boot game, and it’s involving one of the greatest snowboarders of all time in the design process.
Union Bindings Company is getting into the boot game, and it’s involving one of the greatest snowboarders of all time in the design process.
