Lacrosse Gear Review: Warrior Cobra X head
Warrior Cobra X lacrosse head
The groundbreaking Warrior Cobra X lacrosse head has been constructed with ball control and stiffness in mind with its molded throat design. Its extreme lightweight side wall structure emphasizes the firmness in the bottom segment of the head providing toughness. For improved ball retention and handling, the lacrosse head has been made with a raised ball stop.
For an appealing look, Warrior have built this head with 2-tone colors. It is highly recommended for forwards. It's also developed to comply with all requirements of the NCAA and the NFHS.
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The positive points
Accurate
The tip of the scoop is pointy enough so I could string up a really nice channel. Something that I've come across, that could be as a result of the lightening, is the fact that the scoop is quite bendable. There is a little bit of flex in the head which you might sense when letting one rip. I found I had to really wind up to feel it, but it is there.
This lacrosse head is hard
This head is definitely stiff and that is a good thing. The lacrosse head was steady when attached to any handle. I trialed handles from Warrior, STX and Brine. When the brand of the handles and heads are different, they can become loose and I like that the Cobra X doesn't. Well done for hitting the mark on this Warrior. The increased firmness of the whole lax head looks to be a major objective of Warrior's. The toughened neck passes through to the sidewalls for added stability along with as well strengthening the throat.
Reverse flared sidewalls
The Warrior Cobra X head isn't pinched a lot, however it doesn't matter. The lax head has an alternative solution for ball protection with the inclusion of reverse flared sidewalls. The flare sits high on the sidewalls to fit a high pocket, however I strung a mid pocket to be consistent with other reviews. This, in addition to the top of the scoop and the offset, results in an accurate and fast shot. Forwards, you might want to take note of this.
Made to shoot
The Warrior Cobra X is made for goal scorers. Each of the key benefits work to help you score more goals. The sidewall flare, flex, scoop and light-weight structure all combine nicely. This lax head will no doubt give you the best chance to score more goals. Or at the very least remove your head as a reason why you're not scoring!
The not so good points
All play, so some potential for warping
The universal lax heads, those that comply to the two specifications, are unique in that the side-walls extend up from the throat and distinctly bend out to the 6.5in. wide scoop. Once you become aware of this contrast, you can notice one of these lax heads miles away. However, catering to both group of dimension requirements results in some compromises. The distinct curve from the sidewalls up to the scoop presents more likelihood of the lacrosse head warping or "hourglassing". This is not a dig at the Cobra X lacrosse head from Warrior particularly, but more this type of lacrosse head.
Raised ball-stop, what's up with that?
Can someone please inform me what the raised ball stop is for? Maybe Warrior is trying to contest with the STX heads. Warrior claims "it's to help prevent the ball from being knocked from the head". Huh? That makes no sense! For the ballstop to help with retention, the ball would need to go behind it and for that to happen you would have to string an ultra-low pocket. Also, to fit the ball at the rear of the ball-stop, you would need to totally loosen up the bottom strings. However, the instant you try this the ball will not freely roll out if angled forward, resulting in your head being illegal. When running with the ball, the ball tends to sit above the ballstop anyway. That is the situation with all types of stringing. However the ballstop has at least something in its favor, it looks nice.
Ground-balls are tough
The angle at the rear of the scoop shows that you need to take the ground-ball at a greater angle. I like to get down and over the ball, but as you get lower the lip behind slightly lifts the tip of the lax head off the turf. When you get really low and off center, you cannot scoop the ball up. Ground-balls, especially on turf, were unfortunately tough to pick-up with this particular lax head.
Ground-balls in line drills were ok, but where it got found out was with the ball rolling across my line. I noticed a few times it took me a couple of tries to pick it up. Turf really created the most problems. Due to the variation in the turf I found I had to get lower so the head would not dig in, nevertheless the reduced angle lifted the tip up off the ground. Man-made surfaces were not a real issue. My old Evo had exactly the same sort of top and outcomes.
Summary
The Cobra X lacrosse head from Warrior really impressed me. This lacrosse head has been constructed for a specific position and I love that Warrior were uncompromising about that. That position being goal scoring forwards. Besides the concerns I've got with ground-balls and the ball stop, it will do the job flawlessly as an attacking head.
