# 45Nrth Cobrafist



## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

Ok, 45Nrth just hit one out of the park... anyone seen their New Pogies yet? They're using bar-ends to secure the pogies to the ends of the bars... A perfect solution.

I may need to steal something like this for my DIY pogies... I don't have a good way to secure the ends of the pogies to my bars, since I have ergon grips on the end and can't use a normal loop!


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## WhyMe (Aug 9, 2013)

Just saw these this morning- look great. Any idea on pricing? And can they be ordered online? I could not find any info. Thanks


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

According to NCC's Facebook page: "The Cobrafists are $125 and Bergravens are $85."


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## WhyMe (Aug 9, 2013)

Good price- they might be worth picking up. Thanks for the info


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

Yep. Still won't fit my Jones Loop bars, so I'm glad I have my custom-made ones.... But I really like that bar-end attachment idea.


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## WhyMe (Aug 9, 2013)

Totally agree the bar end attachment is a great idea. 

Does anyone have any experience with the cobrafists yet? Or still too new. 

Thanks


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## smithrider (Dec 24, 2005)

Universal Cycles has the cobrafists in stock as of this morning. I think supplies will be limited and they will go fast. Just picked up two for the wife and me and will report back once I get some time in with them.

Edit: Universal just contacted me stating the errantly showed inventory on their site and will be canceling my order. Guess the wait continues.


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## WhyMe (Aug 9, 2013)

Looks like Bikeman.com has the cobrafists in stock now. I just ordered one and once the come in, I'll post a review.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## PMC (May 5, 2004)

I have a set that I've yet to mount. The local shop with lots of fatbikes had 4 sets last weekend when we were picking up a new Mukluk 2 for the wife so I scored a set (she can use my moose mitts :^). The guy said he expected them to run out before this coming weekend.

We've got some cold weather coming in and I'll have them mounted up for riding this weekend and will report back. Overall design looks very solid and like others have already mentioned, that they bolt onto the bars and have foam stiffeners looks to be a real winner. I also like that you can zip vent from the top and or bottom which should come in handy.


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## kylehampton (Mar 25, 2004)

I mounted my Cobrafists this weekend and I want to give some initial feedback.

First off, the good. These pogies are extremely warm and look great. The primary reason I purchased them was the venting feature, which works great. They are also really stiff out of the box which helps as far as getting in and out of them easily. The material seems like it will be very tough and not rip with contact.

They went on so easy, I am inclined to remove them on warmer days rather than just keep them on all winter as is my usual policy.

OK - Here are some issues. I have a 660mm Salsa handlebar and these things are too wide to really allow anything to be mounted on the bar. I finagled a headlight in there but it is tight. The main problem seems to be that the end cap attachment does not allow any free space off the ends of the bar the way a Dogwood pogie might. 

Speaking of those end plugs. They were a bear to get into my carbon bar. And - as I had feared - they render it impossible to use bar ends. I am considering the purchase of a 700mm bar and then sliding my controls in to leave more exposed bar on the outside. I am thinking this may give me enough room to use bar ends. If you don't use bar ends, then this won't likely be an issue but I really like to have multiple positions for my hands.

I may try the CF's without the end caps and just tape over the holes. I will report back on the stability of the pogies without them.

The biggest annoyance though is the mesh sleeve inside the top portion of the pogie. I honestly cannot understand how this design flaw survived testing. The mesh pocket is loose - which I assume is because people may want to fill the pocket with something fairly large. But the band is far too loose to hold heat packs. What's worse is that one's fingers slide right into the mesh pocket when inserting one's hands into the pogies. Because you are wearing gloves, this may not be obvious until you go to apply the brakes and realize you are stuck in there. 

Like I said, pretty incredible no one noticed this in testing. Maybe my pogies have an abnormally loose pocket but the bottom pockets are just as loose.

I am planning to sew my top pockets shut before riding again.


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## PMC (May 5, 2004)

I'm going to echo everything Kyle has said as issues with these.
I got a couple of good rides in with them and while they're warm and work well they leave you very little space on the bars for lights or a bar bag or whatever you'd mount on your bars.
Also didn't care for the pockets and found myself putting my hands in the tops when reaching for the bars. I won't use the pockets and will probably cut them out.
No issues with the bar plugs on alloy bars, they mounted right up. 
They were warm enough that I vented them when the outdoor temps were between 8 and 10 degrees and while you're not moving a ton of air they do work.

Overall I like them even though they're not perfect but I don't know of a perfect set.


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## Gritter (Dec 21, 2010)

Thank for posting your reviews, PMC and kylehampton. I noticed UC just got them in stock and selling them like hotcakes,, only 3 left and sure to be gone soon. I'm glad I found this thread and now I don't think I have to have them. Any recommendations for better versions?


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## kylehampton (Mar 25, 2004)

OK - So I tried to run these pogies without the end caps inserted. I inserted some foam plugs in the holes.

Pretty much a complete disaster. As bad as the Dogwood pogies are at flopping around, the Cobrafist sans end plugs was even worse. They shifted far forward and were incredibly cumbersome. 

Maybe bar ends and pogies simply don't mix.


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## rwlogan (Sep 4, 2013)

Picked mine up from LBS over lunch and got to try them out on a night ride just a few hours ago. I wanted to be on the safe side, so I wore a medium weight cycling glove and threw a hand warmer packet in each side. Towards the top I had to take the hand warmers out because it was getting too hot. The vents worked great, but the covers alone with the mid-weight MTB gloves were perfectly warm on the whole DH (about 4 miles long). For reference, it was about +10*F. I feel like I could get down to about 0*F before having to throw a hand warmer in. As long as it's above 10F, I'll probably just use my normal summer MTB gloves.

Install was a breeze; bar ends fit fine in my stock Salsa aluminum bars. One thing worth noting is that the included bar ends are not proprietary; you could use any bar plug that fits your bar if you have a thicker-walled carbon one. 

I had the same issue as others with the top pocket catching my fingers. It didn't take long to figure out a different motion to do with my fingers before wrapping my hands around the bars in order to avoid the pocket, but I'll still be fixing that at some point. Anyone have ideas for a fix that will leave the pocket usable? Maybe velcro to hold the pocket shut?

I just moved to Utah from Texas, so this is my first fat bike winter, and these are my first experience with pogies. I haven't ridden Bar Mitts or others to compare, but I tried them on at the shop and it feels like these would be light years better in sub-zero temps.


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## PCT (Jun 29, 2009)

Those neat bar plugs will not fit any of my carbon bars - the flat metal disc is just too big. As a temporary fix I have crammed some plastic end caps in as tight as possible, but they will probably fall out soon in heavy action. Otherwise a great product, although as others have mentioned those mesh pockets are uber lame and will be removed asap.


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## gopherhockey (Jun 3, 2004)

kylehampton said:


> The biggest annoyance though is the mesh sleeve inside the top portion of the pogie. I honestly cannot understand how this design flaw survived testing. The mesh pocket is loose - which I assume is because people may want to fill the pocket with something fairly large. But the band is far too loose to hold heat packs. What's worse is that one's fingers slide right into the mesh pocket when inserting one's hands into the pogies. Because you are wearing gloves, this may not be obvious until you go to apply the brakes and realize you are stuck in there.
> 
> Like I said, pretty incredible no one noticed this in testing. Maybe my pogies have an abnormally loose pocket but the bottom pockets are just as loose.
> 
> I am planning to sew my top pockets shut before riding again.


+1 on this. Extremely warm, but those mesh sleeves are ridiculous. They should fire the person that designed it. I'm constantly fighting to get them out of the way, and they continue to get wrapped up in the brakes - often at the wrong time.

Some velcro might have helped, but I'll likely cut them out or sew them in place as you suggest.

Poor poor design. Do they even test these things in winter before putting them out?

I have narrow bars and also felt they were rather big. My hands feel forced in by the way they fasten to the bar ends and I end up cramping up a bit because I can't grab the grips like I normally do.


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## PMC (May 5, 2004)

gopherhockey said:


> +1 on this. Extremely warm, but those mesh sleeves are ridiculous. They should fire the person that designed it. I'm constantly fighting to get them out of the way, and they continue to get wrapped up in the brakes - often at the wrong time.
> 
> Some velcro might have helped, but I'll likely cut them out or sew them in place as you suggest.
> 
> ...


I too am totally done with the mesh pockets. Having ridden with them a lot over the last month plus they are nothing but a pain to deal with. I don't store anything in them and can't ever see a need to put a warming pack inside them as I run with vents open at 10 degrees to keep my hands from getting overly sweaty with the gloves I use.

So after a good bit of use I like them a lot even though they're not perfect. In fact I'm going to pull them off and cut that crap out tonight as it was causing issues again last weekend while riding.


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