Performance, ease of use, durability, value.

The Ultra World Cup is made for HAGAN in partnership with ATK in Italy. HAGAN partnered with ATK, well respected for quality, craftsmanship and functionality, to bring what we feel are their best products to North America. The Ultra World Cup is identical to the ATK SL World Cup.

• Description
• Technical Features
• Related Products
• Instructional Videos

• The Ultra World Cup binding is our update to the extremely successful Ultra race binding -- the most popular race (and light touring) binding in America. The "Rolling In System" uses finely-machined rotating bushings for remarkably easier step in, much better durability and greatly improved release consistency.

  Let's dive a bit deeper into those improvements:

  1. Easy Entry – The rotating bushings dramatically ease step in. In extensive testing I never needed to stomp down more than once, even in deep powder. In fact, usually I don't need to stomp at all. Just a slight push, sometimes just body weight, and I snap in. This will especially be appreciated by lighter female and junior racers/tourers.
  2. Improved Durability – The steel bushings are much harder than titanium, and much more resistant to wear. They vastly improve longevity. Normal titanium U Springs wear quickly, sometimes needing to be replaced in less than a year of heavy use. After significant use, I see NO wear on the new Rolling In System U Springs.
  3. Release Consistency – Plain titanium U Springs quickly develop notches through use. These notches eventually grow to the point that the springs need to be replaced. Well before that, however, they begin to affect consistency and reliability of release.
  4. Cost – The Rolling Pin System U Springs are much harder to manufacturer. The CNC milling is precise. Sold separately, the Rolling In System U Springs cost much more than our standard U Springs. (Yet I highly recommend them as an upgrade when replacing worn U Springs on your older bindings.) 

  The HAGAN Ultra World Cup binding is the same 110 grams as the previous version. Monolink Technology® – the Ultra toe springs are only on one side– reduces weight and complexity and increases reliability.The toe Easy Entry System uses a polymer wheel bearing to ease step in.

  An improved locking lever, with added grip surface, eases locking. Most of the time you needn’t bother with that, though. The toe lever automatically snaps into a "semi-locked" position upon step in — the semi-locked position is strong enough to avoid release in less technical climbs. This auto feature saves a few valuable seconds in transition. The toe can be manually fully locked when desired.

  HAGAN’s prime values are durability, performance, ease of use and value. The Ultra World Cup improves on all of them! Mount the Ultra binding on the Ultra 65 ski and you have the most dependable, highest performing ski/binding race system on the planet.

  The Ultra World Cup is the perfect complement to HAGAN Ultra Series skis. Or pair the Ultra with the narrower Core and Pure Series skis for the ultimate lightweight backcountry skiing set up.

  Note: All reviews before April 2020, and many after, are for the previous Ultra version without the Rolling In System springs.

• • Weight: 110 grams
  • Made of ultra-light aluminum with titanium U-springs.
  • Automatic Semi-Lock System.
  • MONOLINK TECHNOLOGY 1.0: Only one of the toe arms has springs. This provides higher clamping stiffness in addition to lower weight.
  • “Easy entry system” for even better boot step-in performance with extremely reactive and powerful closure and a new front lever that provides more comfortable locking and unlocking, with a "dimple" for the pole tip for using your ski pole to release the toe piece.
  • Polymer wheel bearing for easy toe locking and unlocking.
  • RACE SETTING: Release values are fixed at approximately a DIN value of 8 for lateral release and 9 for vertical release. The retention strengths were refined over the years by our team athletes as the best balance between safety and stability. 
  • Crampon attachment slots. Integrated crampon hooks sold separately.
  • Adjustable Heel Pin Cover System - easily adjust the rotation of the heel cover to your desired resistance.
  • Ski leashes, ski brakes and replacement parts readily available.
  • Sold in sets of two, including screws.

   

  The Ultra is a ski mountaineering race binding with an ultra light weight of only 110 grams. It features easy locking and unlocking of the toe piece via a polymer wheel bearing.  

  A hardened titanium alloy on the rear fork pins reduces wear and step in force. The Ultra includes slots for easy mounting and removal of crampon hooks. The optional crampon hooks pictured are sold separately. Lightweight aluminum crampons are available in four widths. 30mm and 60mm adjustment plates are also available. For inbound use, a lightweight universal ski brake (easily removable and reinstall-able) is also available.

  "Flat mode" can be enabled by mounting the heel piece 5 to 5.5 millimeters behind the boot heel instead of the standard 4 millimeters. The rotary release uses a ball and spring mechanism. When mounted, the ball and spring are retained by the ski surface when rotated. Rotated unmounted, the ball and spring will go flying out and a long search may ensue.

  Check and adjust the tightness of the Heel Pin Cover System periodically! Heel Pin Cover Plate rotation needs to be sufficiently tight so that the plate stays in place, either fully closed (uphill mode) or fully open (downhill mode). Adjust the tightness of the cover plate with a #10 Torx wrench. If the plate is too loose, it can rotate into a upright position, and subsequently break when a boot steps down on it.

  Heel pin cover plate breakage is not covered under warranty, but we provide replacement cover plates at low cost.

• R01 30mm Adjustment Plate
  R04 60mm Adjustment Plate
  Ski Brake
  Safety Leash
  75mm and 91mm Crampons
  Replacement Heel Plates
  Replacement U-Springs

• Videos showing how to replace Hagan Ultra and ATK World Cup U springs:

   

   

  Video showing the Seeger Tong: