Poll, did you like your stock TM Cougar? Yes or No

[Sticky]

Cougar. Stock. You either love it or hate it. Atleast thats what I get from the posts and duscussions here. So im curious to know what the majority thought about their cougar purchase.

[Cali]

I'll say this, after many many years, some things should have been fixed weren't. That is not good business, but people (me included) still bought and buy them knowing they have some of the same old problems they had when they were first released. I like how the cougar look and feels, it's feels and looks 10x better then CH, but CH support is 100x better. When and if I get my 3rd cougar to work on windows 7, I'll come back and let you know if I like it.

 

I had one about 3-4 years ago (stock) only had it for 2 weeks and didn't like it. The spring was way to strong, but maybe that was because I had it up on the desktop. This time I can have it in a natural position, I think that will make it a little better. I'll see if this one will work.

Edited December 8, 2010 by Cali

[Steel Jaw]

No but I have no money to "fix" it nor buy the new hog stick.

[Sticky]

Mower get a second job for a month and buy the TM Warthog :)

[sofie_59]

Or start saving say 50$ a month then you have it next summer

[Succellus]

No the pot were crap, but once i modded it with cubby stuff (hall sensors) it is a charm.

Many weakling complain about spring tension. But what ,you got free gym and complain ?

[hassata]

The difference between stock and UberNxt/halls is like Yugo to Bentley. I would even say that nxt in terms of stick motion feel is miles ahead of the WH. Definite cost consideration though.

[Steel Jaw]

Mower get a second job for a month and buy the TM Warthog :)

 

Cant: got a drug habit.

[Succellus]

Cant: got a drug habit.

 

Sell the drugs.. quick money...

[Cali]

I like the save $50 a month tell summer post.

[Revvin]

Truly excited when it arrived, bought into the hype and the first one turned up dead on arrival. The second developed a fault in the electronics of the throttle unit while the joystick suffered from excessive paint peeling. The third developed the infamous speedbrake issue as well as paint peeling and increasing slop due to the poor quality material used for the gimbals. I was quite surprised how badly it looked inside, when a local shop tried to repair mine the innards were just a mess of hot glue and paper wrapped around the hat switch connections.

 

Apart from that it felt nice, a bit cold in the winter but ergonomically pretty good though the switched on the throttle could be uncomfortable to reach when the throttle was fully fore or aft. The rotaries are not very precise to use but usable and it was something I missed a little on my CH Pro Throttle. The throttle movement itself I found a little sticky. Slackening off the tension wheel to try and alleviate that problem meant the throttle could fall forward under its own weight.

 

The software was good though, familiar to me as a long time Thrustmaster user. Perhaps a little daunting to new users but it had some decent tutorials though a lot of menu's to find things and little buttons here and there. Today's more complete GUI's for CH, Saitek, Logitech and TM users have moved on a long way.

 

I wouldn't say I hated it, that’s too strong a word, its just a joystick like all the others at the end of the day. I was disappointed, more so when the obvious flaws were glossed over by over eager sim reviewers.

[LawnDart]

Loved it when I first got it - it was the coolest thing since sliced bread! After soldering in a few too many replacement pots though, decided to mod it with Hall sensors. Grew with it and upgraded it (them) over the years, adding additional mods/casings such as speedbrake, dogfight switch casings, NXT... later FSSB R1 and R2. Still love the modded ones to this day! It's not a bad investment.

[Joyride]

Still using my stock Cougar and really no complaints at all. The few minor issues (loose throttle, rotaries) are more than made up by the feel of metal. Unfortunately, everything is still working rather well after a couple years of use. Hoping something breaks soon so I can justify purchasing the WH :)

 

I could never go back to a plastic joystick/HOTAS...just couldn't do it.

[kaiserb_uk]

Back in what, '93?, I stumbled across an FLCS (the old phantom stick) and that was pretty much me hooked on TM.

 

I followed the Cougar's development, the release, the faults, the emerging mods...

 

In 2004 I finally had the funds to buy one, and bought it with the intention to get the U2nxt (I got #094!). I knew what I was getting, I loved it but couldn't fly for toffee with it, till the nxt arrived...

[Geskes]

haha, if you have only minor issues after a few year use, I guess your use for it is having it in a display cabinet as an ornament?

 

j/k, guess you are just one of the lucky ones. I for one was not. :)

[Teej]

Didn't fly one stock enough to form an opinion.

 

Bought a used one...5+ years ago (sn 4491) and had an FCC mod in hand before I got the actual stick.

 

It had a spiking throttle pot in it when I bought it and also had that replacement in hand before I got the stick.

 

Flew it on a regular basis with no other changes until I started flying Warthogs back in May. Lots of Falcon time in it, along with VTB time.

[Lange_666]

I voted NO

The moment i unpacked it and felt the movement of the stick i could almost cry. Coming from a M$ Sidewinder Force Feedback (which i realy liked a lot), it just felt horrible, plain horrible. And i cashed out 400 euro for such a thing.

During the first week i tried to get used to the Cougars stick forces but it went knowwhere. People say that they like it should try one of IJ's mods.

The second week i spend searching and surfing the net in order to find a solution. Out of a few i idea's i saw online i made my own mod which was not bad but it still used the original pots.

Then came IJ, we talked a lot online and i bought one of his second U2 mods, before the U2Nxt and added Cubby's Hall Sensor mod (together it set me back another 400 euro) but i never looked back once installed. This was the stick Thrustmaster should have brought on the market in the first place.

Because i cashed out twice, i'll stick with the Cougar instead of the Hog. Thrustmaster ain't worth another 500 euro (or 499 to be exact) just yet.

[Joyride]

haha, if you have only minor issues after a few year use, I guess your use for it is having it in a display cabinet as an ornament?

 

j/k, guess you are just one of the lucky ones. I for one was not. :)

 

So what you are telling me is I just need to log some serious flight hours here very quickly so it'll fall to pieces and then I can justify the TM WH purchase? :D

 

I'm as surprised as anyone this thing has held together this long, though it's probably only a couple hundred flying hours. I am prepared for the inevitable...

[Feuerfalke]

Too stiff for me, just as the TMW.

 

If I'm fighting with aerodynamical limits I don't want arm-wrestling with my joystick. I want precise control.

 

What is fine for jet-sims just sux for WW1/2 or helos.

[Steel Jaw]

Thrustmaster ain't worth another 500 euro (or 499 to be exact) just yet.

 

More to the point: TM owes me a new stick after the shoddy piece of crap they stuck me with. I may steal one, but BUY one never again !!!

[Slammin]

I actually liked my Cougar for about two weeks when I first got it. The longer I had it, the more them manly springs started getting on my nerves. It was awesome for jet sims, but really a PITA for Mech Warrior and WWII flight sims.

 

I made it more manageable by reshaping the springs to lower the tension, but ultimately, U2NXT'd it. I have never used a better stick than Cougar U2/NXT but the WH does come in a very close 2nd.

[DocSigma]

I still like it but the center play issues become annoying and i was never able to afford the custom gimbals to eliminate it. I still use it but the center play is always a bother.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

I've always felt that linear spings were a rubbish way to emulate the squared relationship between displacement and force you get in a real aircraft. They just don't have that notch in the middle you get with desktop sticks - something that's especially bad with the cougar.

 

Makes me wonder, perhaps really the only way to get realistic forces is to have decent force feedback stick? Difficult to do well I guess, because you'd need a well made stick and any sim would need the forces well moddled too.

[DocSigma]

The center play out of the box took me out of WWII siming. I was an ardent Il2 simmer until I got the Cougar. I would have been more accurate if I was flying and shooting with a blindfold on. If only If only there was such a thing as the Force!

[JellybeanTiger]

Took her out of the box-lovely.

Felt the detents and sticky throttele-GEE NOT THAT GOOD.

Plug it in-doesn't work,can't flash the firmware-YOU POS!

After 4 years and a bit of repair work -not bad but by crikey the stick has no feel and the throttle feels like a 2 dollar job.

My opinion-overrated but I keep perservering with it.

I'm not getting mods that cost more than the bloody hotas does either-what a laugh! THEY SAW YOU COMIN' HAHAHAHAHA

 

Was stuck between CH and Cougar and I lost the bet.

 

P.S. anyone know how to do the foil throtle mod without losing a whole roll because the crap scrunches up and doesn't fit under the blastid plastic rings?

Hmm swear words were invented for Cougar users.

 

Need brick wall to bang head against and to knock some sense into me for buying my furry friend.