Union Binding Company snowboarding
3 reports to CPSC, the latest made Jan 23, 2024. A report isn’t a recall.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own search is on saferproducts.gov.
At a glance
From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.
- 3reports to CPSC
- Jan 23, 2024the latest report was made
- Feb 22, 2022the earliest
- 0with the company’s comments
- Brand
- Union Binding Company
- Maker
- Union Binding CompanyMakers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
- Product
- SnowboardingThe activity, its clothing or equipmentCPSC’s product type: Snowboarding (Activity, Apparel or Equipment) (code 5031), in Sports and Recreation: Ice & Snow Sports
By month
The numbers, as a table
| Month | Reports |
|---|---|
| January 2024 | 1 |
| February 2022 | 2 |
How badly anyone was hurt
- No one hurt 3 CPSC: Incident, No Injury
As each report says it, in short words; CPSC’s own words are under each.
The reports, as CPSC published them
Reports people made to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC publishes each one after sending it to the company named, and doesn’t guarantee they’re accurate. A report isn’t a recall.
Each report is the words of the person who made it, as CPSC published them. The company’s comments, where CPSC published any, are set apart as the company’s own.
CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.
-
No one hurt Made Jan 23, 2024, sent to the company Jan 26, 2024, published by CPSC Feb 9, 2024
The product, in the report: 2022 Size small all black Union Explorer Splitboard bindings. Black binding with silver pin locking mechanism. Purchased from Evo on November 9th, 2021
I, a 28 year old woman, was using the 2022 Explorer Bindings on the ride down the pin to hold the binding on my board together in ride mode came undone 5 separate times. It was terrifying being unable to control my board in a no-failure situation. The first time I heard clinking on my board as I was riding down and glanced back to see the pin flopping on the tether behind me. This happened multiple times on the front and back bindings. Worst of all was my final run the front pin came undone and my front binding began to twist off losing my front angle and causing me to have to emergency stop. These bindings are straight up unsafe for use and should not be used in the backcountry where the consequences are so high. I was using the product to the specifications and sent the company a video of the locking mechanism coming undone with very little force applied. I did not sustain any injuries but had to make multiple emergency stops.
- Model
- 2022 Union Explorer Binding EB-197533-1001
- Serial number
- EB-197533-1001
- Bought from
- Evo Seattle
- Bought
- Nov 9, 2021
- Where
- cougar, Washington: Other
- Who was involved
- Age 28, Female
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Union Binding Company, made or sold by Union Binding Company
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
-
No one hurt Made Feb 25, 2022, sent to the company Mar 25, 2022, published by CPSC Apr 8, 2022
The product, in the report: Union Binding Company 2022 Explorer Splitboard Bindings Size Large Color Blue https://unionbindingcompany.com/products/explorer
Union Bindings Company - 2022 Explorer Splitboard Bindings
The bindings can be mounted to the splitboard in both “ride” and “touring” position. In ride position, they are mounted to two sets of plastic discs that are mounted to the board via metal plates. The bindings are then put on over the discs and rotated 90 degrees into riding position. A metal pin is then inserted through a hole in the baseplate of the binding, through the channel of the plastic mounting disc and into another hole on the other side of the baseplate to lock the binding down. There is a plastic arm that is attached to the end of the metal pin at 90 degrees. This arm is used to rotate back into a plastic locking mechanism on the outside of the baseplate. At the end of the plastic arm, there is an indentation where it should snap into the locking mechanism, but there is also a hole in this spot which they tie a canvas like string to attach to the rear strap of the binding. If this string is not attached, you risk dropping and losing the pin in the snow which would render the bindings completely useless. This attached string does not allow the plastic arm to press down enough to click into place in riding mode leaving it susceptible to slipping out while riding. I’ve attempted to push the pin arm into locking position with my hands wrapped around the unmounted bindings for leverage. With the string attached, it’s impossible to get them to lock in place in a warm living room, let alone mounted to a board covered in snow on the mountain with cold hands or gloves on. When unlocked, the pins slip out of the baseplate and discs extremely easily. I have tested them out for 3 days riding resorts to try to get them to work, but they fail almost every single run. This has caused the bindings to rotate 90 degrees mid ride and has even caused them to pop off multiple times. Luckily I stuck to easy runs with no obstacles, so while I fell multiple times I wasn’t hurt more than a few bruises or pulled muscles, but the potential for disaster is ever present with these bindings, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else was not as lucky as I was.
The toe strap is also secured poorly. Each strap attaches to the plastic strap arm by using two pins that press through holes in the arm. The pins are only a few millimeters tall and barely have a lip at the end to keep them locked in. They also sit flush with the plastic arms making it difficult to press back into position when they pop out, especially when snow gets anywhere near them. Union normally uses a screw of some kind for this, but the system used here fails constantly, and combined with the pin locking issue make these massively unsafe.
- Model
- 2022 Explorer Splitboard Bindings
- UPC
- n/
a - Serial number
- Returned to vendor before obtaining serial
- Bought from
- Backcountry.com
- Bought
- Jan 25, 2022
- Where
- Winter Park, Colorado: Place of Recreation or Sports
- Who was involved
- Age 32, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Union Binding Company, made or sold by Union Binding Company
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
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No one hurt Made Feb 22, 2022, sent to the company Feb 24, 2022, published by CPSC Mar 10, 2022
The product, in the report: Union Explorer Binding Black Size L
I was snowboarding using a snowboarding binding produced by the company Union Bindings. The binding is called the Explorer. The pin locking mechanism that holds the binding onto the snowboard came unclipped. The pin then walked it’s way out of the binding and my foot and the binding were able to rotate and disengage from the board causing me to crash. Fortunately I was not injured but I could have been seriously injured. The fact that the pin locking mechanism failed, came unlocked, and allowed my foot to disengage from the board could have led to me loose control and crash into a tree or other object. It could also have led to me twisting or breaking part of my leg or knee since now one foot was connected to the board and the other was not. This has happened to me multiple occasions and it is clear the design of the pin locking mechanism is defective and dangerous. After searching online I found numerous other owners of these bindings are experiencing the exact same issue.
- Model
- Explorer
- Bought from
- The House
- Bought
- Aug 10, 2021
- Where
- Broomfield, Colorado: Place of Recreation or Sports
- Who was involved
- Age 30, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Union Binding Company, made or sold by Union Binding Company
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
CPSC’s disclaimer
Disclaimer: CPSC does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.
Word for word, from the disclaimer in CPSC’s export.
Sources
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, SaferProducts.gov public database export.
Released Oct 25, 2026 and checked Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.