Hagan Ultra Binding

Will these be update to incorporate the new "rolling in system" springs Hagan is releasing?

I have to agree with everyone else who have reviewed these bindings. Simple, lightweight, reliable....they do everything I want them to do and have given me zero issues in about 150 days on them. I am a bigger guy 6'1 and over 200 lbs, I made the mistake of initially buying the Low Tech Race 2.0 and they just are not built for a guy of my size. These however have never released on me when they weren't supposed to. I currently run them on a 184 Dynafit Carbonio and have no problem driving them with this binding. I suppose the best thing I can say about these bindings is I like them enough to have already purchased another pair for my next low-fat ski. No bad feedback on these whatsoever.

I am a huge fan of these bindings. They're a competitive race weight and are far more confidence inspiring than any other binding at this weight that I have tried. The heels are mind-bogglingly light, but very solid (I love this release mechanism). The toes are works of art. The roller ball that works in the lockout is super smooth and fast for racing. These bindings are fast. Quick to step in, get out of, and fast skiing, a great race binding!

I have these now on a pair of hagan ultras and my race skis. I have them on adjustment plates on both skis. The pair on the ultras have been well used. The titanium heel springs wear much faster than the steel springs on other race bindings, but they're easy enough to replace and swap out. The heel flaps have a tendency to come loose, flop, then break when you step on them. But again, easy enough to manage if you keep them reasonably tight. If you do break them, it's a quick swap out and the flaps are replaceable. You can rotate them sideways and use them in flat mode if you do break the flap, so it's no biggie there if they do break. The toe lock is on a wheel, which makes for smooth action. I was skeptical of durability there, as opposed to ratcheting over grooves like some others, but no issues yet there.

I mounted the 2017-18 version on Hagan Ultra 65 skis for Scarpa Alien 3.0 boots (for ultra color stylin’). So far I’ve used them for only one race, and with even no prior use/practice, everything worked smoothly: toe lever, heel flap, entry, exit, etc.

I’ve previously used two pairs of the Hagan ZR, and the Ultra 65 differs only in the pincer springs (down from four to two, which still work fine, despite the boasting of a certain brand about its “six pack”) and the crampon clip (now removable, yet no longer included). The only long-term durability complaint I’ve ever heard is that the heel flap can break if you’re not careful to keep the adjustment screw tight so that it’s always flat on the pins when skinning. But that’s an easily replaceable part anyway. And of course the Ti heel pins will eventually notch, but you can double the life by reinstalling them upside down once they get excessively notched.

I have these as ATK SL Evos (Hagan Ultras are just rebranded versions). Nice very lightweight race binding, weigh in at 110 g on my home scale. The two spring method seems to work just as well as the classic four spring, I can't see much of a difference, but if it saves weight then great. The toe lock out is efficient and pops up and down with a reassuring snap.

What I really enjoy is that the quality of machining of these bindings is well above other bindings I've owned (plum, dynafit, etc) ATK has removed every excess portion of metal and you can see that both the quality of metal used and machining processes are top notch.

I got a pair of these before SkimoCo had them in stock, so unfortunately I didn't get to give the good fellas of Booter Friday fame my business -- but I figured I'd throw a review up here for any potential/interested buyers. Short version, not only does the mono-link work well, I actually think it works better than a traditional two-spring (duo link?) race binding (e.g. Low Techs, ATK race, or Plum 145, the latter being my typical choice). I got the Ultras mounted up on a pair of Hagan race sticks this past fall and was immediately impressed with the smooth lever operation when I did some carpet transitions. It snaps forward and back easily, but not so easily that you'd be unclear on whether your toes are locked or unlocked while you're panting at a skin-to-ski transition. I like the shorter lever for this purpose too, since you're not liable to over-crank it just because you're moving quickly. What's good about the mono-link, though, is that it doesn't seem to bite as ferociously as a traditional tech toe. This gives an extra millisecond to wiggle your boot fittings to keep it metal-on-metal and not gouge chunks out of the plastic toe -- something I did a lot during my first year racing. Caveats: the Hagan NA distributor was very confident that the binding had an unofficial "flat mode" created by rotating the heel piece, but my heel piece is totally fixed. Not sure if this was a shop error that happened in mounting, but if flat mode is important to you, definitely check into this.