Is the Couagr setup worth the money?

[LePaul]

I've really gotten my money's worth out of my X-45 and am looking to replace it.  I havent had my hands on an X-52 yet and people either love em or hate em.

I've seen the CH sticks and didnt think they were anything all that spectacular.

I recall the Cougar was eagerly awaited and havent heard much feedback from folks who have em.

Feedback?

[GunnerCAF]

Yes.

The Cougar isn't for everyone, so it depends what you are looking for.  

CH makes a great stick. If you want something that works great from the box without any tinkering, CH is it.  Great programability, dependable, expensive.

The Cougar will take some modification.  To make it a great stick that will last you a long time.  The Cougar has great programability, dependable when moded, and is expensive.

I have 2 Cougars, one is modified with Cub Pilots hall sensors.

If you do a search for Cougar, I am sure you will find many discussions on this.  For more info on the Cougar and community, go to Cougar World.

[scspook]

I have the Cougar with IJ's gimbal mod and Cubby's Hall sensors.
I use the HOTAS with USB CH Pro pedals.  Did it cost me an arm and a leg?...Yes.  Is it worth it?.......For me,...every penny

I am going to cry a lot if this thing ever breaks.  Mind you, its built like a tank

Like Gunner said.  Best to visit Cougar world and make an informed judgement based on the posts there that include both the highs and the lows of Cougar ownership.

GL

[Seeker]

Decidely no; at least in stock form.

What you get when you buy the market's most expensive stick is a very heavy stick of metal construction with very heavy springing; together with the market's most flexible; and if you want it to be; most complicated programming software.

So far so good.

But; what you also get are very cheap and crappy internals and absolutely apalling product support.

As far as programming goes; Foxy has a complex and a simple mode. The complex mode really is impressive (if you understand it) and you can do some really wierd stuff. The simple mode is analagous to Saitek's own software; they do the same things in about the same way.

To be fair; the Cougar can be made reliable; if you're prepared to pay double the purchase price to upgrade the internals; but then for the total price of Cougar + custom internals you can actualy buy a surplus Saab Viggen stick and have it married to a Sidewinder base (I checked!).

I threw my cougar away and bought an X-45; which served me well for a year. I've just bought an X-52 and is lovely. Same software as the X-45 (although profiles aren't interchangeable); lovely smooth action and loads of buttons. It's a twisty stick; but that can be locked and of course you can either program one of the thumb wheels to be the rudder or just buy pedals.

I really can't see the point of paying for a Cougar; and after my experience with TM they'll never get a red cent of my money again.

[StarOfAfrica2]

Yep.  CH is my friend.  Considering the same rig that served me in AW is still alive and kicking in AH, I cant complain about the value.

[CMC Airboss]

I recently retired my Cougar setup due to the progressive degredation of the internal switches and pots.  After more than two years of a like-hate relationship with the Cougar I would not recommend the system to anyone not willing to upgrade and modify with new gimbals/springs/hall sensors.  You are looking at a LOT of $ to make the Cougar truely usable and useful.  Summed up:  great concept with poor execution.

As a side note, my gunnery improved by nearly 5% (on average) once I was using a stick without the center notch effect.  The cougar stick forced a rather large dead area to be programmed into stick setup profiles.  Fine control with the high spring force, large dead spot, and noisy pots was challenging, to say the least.  With FS2004 it was literally impossible to fly a smooth ILS approach.  It is a tribute to the AH flight model that I was able to use this stick at all.

I am back to using the TM FLCS/TQS combo and now find myself enjoying sim flying a lot more than with the Cougar.

MiG

[Pongo]

No its not.
Had Cougar + Uber II plus Hall sensors.
With that you have the best joystick made for sure. Without those mods the CH is better.
And with the mods I had to screw with it all the time after a while.

[GunnerCAF]

Originally posted by CMC Airboss
The cougar stick forced a rather large dead area to be programmed into stick setup profiles.MiG

The deadband can easily be taken out and profiles saved.  I set my deadband to zero even with the stock pots.  If you never turned off the deadband, I can see this would be a problem.

Gunner

[ALF]

My only problem with CH is that the sticks are a little too big and many cant reach all the buttons comfortably, and they havnt changed the design in 10 years.  They are based on actual military sticks, but those sticks are made to be used with big thick flight gloves...ahh well, some like em.

Cougar is a very pretty looking hunk of metal that will give your forearm a workout, but it isnt worth getting.

The X-52 is still the best bang for the buck.  Its got a spring force similar to the CH, but has an adjustable handrest, and is 1" bigger than the x45 for larger hands if needed.  considering you can get the x-52 on sale for $99.....its a no brainer for me  8)

[JimBear]

Originally posted by Pongo
No its not.
Had Cougar + Uber II plus Hall sensors.
With that you have the best joystick made for sure. Without those mods the CH is better.
And with the mods I had to screw with it all the time after a while.

Pongo,

I have that same cougar setup now and with various internal failures of hats and pcb happening I am thinking on a change. What did you go to?

[llama]

I find it is well worth keeping my old thrustmaster stuff in top condition. Would you believe that most of the parts from my FLCS are circa 1995?

Ebay is a great source for replacement internal parts.

-Llama

[LePaul]

Well it looks like I'm headed into an X-52 then...thanks for the input