Cobra Free Delayed
NTN takes priority for product development

November 14, 2007
by Craig Dostie

BCA, distributor’ of Rottefella’s telemark binding line has revealed that the Cobra Free binding and the associated upgrade kit will not be available for the coming 2007/08 ski season. Rottefella decided that the free-pivot option required more development before being released for production. With all the focus on making NTN ready for this season, the manpower simply wasn’t available to make the Cobra Free market ready for this season.

"It's disappointing that manufacturers continue to press for media coverage on product that then never materializes. We spent considerable time testing the Free for our 2008 Gear Guide only to discover—through the grape vine—that it won't be available to our readers," says Backcountry Editor Adam Howard. "We'd like our readers to know that we'll redouble our efforts to filter out the vaporous product and banter that creates ever more white noise in our industry and on line. But we're glad the NTN is seeing the light of day."

After creating several hundred pairs of NTN bindings for testing last season, Rottefella decided that was a good strategy for flushing out all the flaws in a binding. The idea of using real skiers and two hundred pairs of demo bindings was pioneered by Russell Rainey when he introduced the Hammerhead binding. The result was several critical changes before the first production model, but zero serious changes ever since. It remains the standard of performance that other telemark bindings are compared to.

Rottefella will be adopting the same strategy with the Cobra Free. They have several hundred pairs of Cobra Free demo units they plan to test in the field this season. After the performance is proven, or any necessary modifications are made, they plan to re-launch the product next season (2008/09).

Editors Note: At this point, one has to question if the Cobra Free will ever make it to market. Considering that Rottefella is committed to the success of NTN as the basis for the growth of telemark as a sport, the Cobra Free may become an historical footnote in the company archives—a great idea whose time was too late. The demand for a free pivoting 75mm telemark binding will remain strong for at least the next five years. However, a lot of that will depend on the first year success of NTN.