# Sawyer Cobra Oarlocks, worth the extra money?



## NolsGuy (Jul 20, 2009)

Hi all. 

What say you about Sawyer Cobra Oarlocks...I need to get a set of oarlocks for my repair box and am wondering if I should spend the extra cash and get some Sawyers and use my standard NRS oarlocks as back up. 

Besides them being more heavy duty, is there any other reason to get them?

Thanks in advance, 

Bill


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## ecarlson972 (Apr 24, 2007)

Spend the extra money. They are worth it!


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## funkins (Jun 24, 2005)

With the Sawyer oarlocks you get a lot more vertical range of motion, i.e. you can push your oar handles down to your feet and get your blades much higher than with other oarlocks. Good for avoiding those last minute rocks...


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## yarmonymatoid (Nov 5, 2008)

Well worth it! I love mine.


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## Moon (Jul 25, 2007)

Yes they are worth it! Make sure to get the deluxe ones with the locking nut instead of the split ring.


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## Outback (May 22, 2009)

The Sawyer's are well worth the extra $$$ to me... I know you will like them too.


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## bshock (Jun 15, 2007)

*vertical motion*

I have a pair of NRS oarlocks on my driftboat and Cobras on my whitewater boats. I love the cobras in whitewater because of the vertical motion. I like being able to dig the blades deeper when busting big holes. Spend the extra money!!! 

Use the NRS if you're fishing because of the same reason (your blades won't go as deep as the cobras) The NRS oarlocks won't catch downstream rocks as bad if you're fishing and rowing. 

brian


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## ENDOMADNESS (Jun 21, 2005)

Cobra Locks- with the wider horn to horn dimension (than the NRS superston loacks) do you find you pop more oars in big water or rock hits?

My larger than most, Sawyer MX-G oars even get popped occasioanlly in the NRS oarlocks....i was worried about buying the Cobras for fear of losing an oar ever rapid. Guess you just smash the horns together for a tight fit???


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## kevdog (Jun 7, 2007)

I like mine, perhaps a bit overkill for my boat. I have the split ring, my friend has the locking nut and he has issues with it sort of cranking down on itself.


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## ENDOMADNESS (Jun 21, 2005)

Cobra Locks- with the wider horn to horn dimension (than the NRS superston loacks) do you find you pop more oars in big water or rock hits?

My larger than most, Sawyer MX-G oars even get popped occasioanlly in the NRS oarlocks....i was worried about buying the Cobras for fear of losing an oar ever rapid. Guess you just smash the horns together for a tight fit???


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## Dave Frank (Oct 14, 2003)

The "horn to horn" dimension on any oarlock is adjustable in the fiel with two rocks as hammers or at home in the vice. I keep mine tight to where you can only enter and exit the lock way down by the blade. Not sure if the shaft would crush or if the lock would flex if it were forced out up at at the rope wrap or just below. They certainly do not just pop out like they used to before the vice session.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

Love my Cobras. They are adjustable too. 

I did bend the shaft on one a couple of years ago, but that was due to stupidity. 

I do remember a season of high water trips a couple of years ago on the MF and Selway.
Got spun sideways a couple of times in big holes, highsiding to the nose or side and coming back to my oars expecting to go fishing for a spare and finding the oar completely vertical and nicely pinched in the lock. It might have even helped push us out of the hole. A nice bonus.

Since then I have tightened the horns even more which helps since I row off of the stops or sleeves a lot and it helps hold it however far I slide the oar up the sleeve. Outfitter shafts and regular sleeves here.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

I love my cobras, the vertical motion is nice. Ge the deluxe one, and tighten the nut all the way up. After having bent one in a bit flip (with springs), I talked to Sawyer and they do NOT recommend using springs with the Cobras. I now use washers to shim underneath, where springs go.

The only people that I know that don't like the Cobras are Class V creeking cat boaters who DON'T want the vertical motion since they don't want their oars diving in creeks. Maybe that's why someone mentioned fishermen may not want them.


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## kevdog (Jun 7, 2007)

lhowemt said:


> I love my cobras, the vertical motion is nice. Ge the deluxe one, and tighten the nut all the way up. After having bent one in a bit flip (with springs), I talked to Sawyer and they do NOT recommend using springs with the Cobras. I now use washers to shim underneath, where springs go.
> 
> The only people that I know that don't like the Cobras are Class V creeking cat boaters who DON'T want the vertical motion since they don't want their oars diving in creeks. Maybe that's why someone mentioned fishermen may not want them.


Why would Sawyer not recommend using springs? That's what I'm doing (AAA recommended the setup when I bought them) and I'm curious.


Funny, I snapped a carlisle oar on the upper Rio Grande earlier in the season, didn't even mess up the cobra oarlock.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

kevdog said:


> Why would Sawyer not recommend using springs? That's what I'm doing (AAA recommended the setup when I bought them) and I'm curious.
> 
> 
> Funny, I snapped a carlisle oar on the upper Rio Grande earlier in the season, didn't even mess up the cobra oarlock.


They told me that after I had a hard/fast flip, and the oar (with counter-weight) jammed down into the rocks along a very steep shore. The spring compressed, allowed the shaft to pull up a bit (remember it's upside down now), and the force bent the shaft enough that it wouldn't spin. I was able to bend it back (per their recommendation), but I'm done with springs.


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

I run regular 5/8" shaft Sawyers on my big boat and Sawyer Mini-Cobras (1/2" shank) on my playcat. Love 'em.

You'll really notice two differences vs. standard-type locks: the curve allows a smooth vertical travel, and if you run rope wraps and rubber donuts, the donuts will stay in place rather than bumping up the oarshaft (a particular problem on 1-3/4" shafts). On a flat-faced lock there's a bump when you raise or lower the oars. On a Grand Canyon trip with donuts and NRS locks, I had to bonk the donuts back in place several times each day. 

We posted a bunch of stuff on fitting oarlocks— basically you need to bend the tops of the horns in so that the oar won't pop under normal stress, but under extreme stress the horns will flex enough to let it go. The Sawyer locks include crude directions on how to do this. I use a vise, a hammer, and shims rather than rocks. 

Here's a site with both Sawyer flavours, and some talking points: 

Duckworks Boatbuilders Supply

For most circumstances the springs allow a bit of play for hitting a blade on the bottom, etc. For extreme whitewater, you can thread or drill and pin the oarlock shafts so there's _no_ travel, which makes your oars more likely to shoot up through the locks or pop.


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