Cobra Air-X Irons Review - Are They Forgiving? Are They Blades? What Handicap?

Cobra Air-X Irons Review – Are They Forgiving? Are They Blades? What Handicap?

The new Cobra Air-X irons are here and may be just what you need to get your swing speed up.

The Cobra Air-X are billed as lightweight irons that will help higher handicap players hit the ball straighter and pick up more ball speed. Of course, we never take a manufacturer at their word so we went out and tested these irons for ourselves.

In the following review, you will read about our experience with the Cobra Air-X irons and you will have your burning questions about these irons answered. How good is the latest iron offering from Cobra? Let’s find out!

Key Features:

Perimeter Weighting: More weight has been moved away from the center of the face in order to promote forgiveness on shots hit out towards the toe and inward towards the heel.
Cavity Back Design: The Cobra Air-X irons feature cavity backs which also helps forgiveness. The face is allowed to flex more than traditional blade irons so you get some help in the ball speed and distance departments.
Offset Hosel: Again, another feature that will help with forgiveness. Offset hosels allow you to square up the face to the ball at the moment of contact, ensuring that the ball flies straighter.

Are the Cobra Air-X Irons Forgiving?

The Cobra Air-X irons are nothing if not forgiving.

Most of the features of the Cobra Air-X irons are geared toward making iron shots easier for higher handicap players. Next to a lightweight design, it was clear after testing these irons that the next top priority was to make these irons fly straight.

Our testers (many of whom have a draw bias) were seeing their balls fly straighter off the deck with these irons. They have a chunky topline which looks really nice at point of address if you struggle with accuracy.

One of the most amazing things about these irons is that they all have a swing weight of D0! Cobra wasn’t kidding around when they named these things “Air-X.” Most of our testers were seeing immediate increases in swing speed with these irons.

Are Cobra Air-X Irons Blades?

Traditionally, if your irons are cavity backs, they aren’t blades

The Cobra Air-X irons are no different. Sure, some irons straddle the line between cavity back and blades but that is not the case with the Cobra Air-X’s. The deep cavity backs and undercut sole look nothing like blades at point of address – which is a good thing if you’re a beginner or high handicapper.

What Handicap are the Cobra Air-X Irons for?

Answer: 15-25

There’s no doubt that the Cobra Air-X irons were built for high handicappers. The features are pretty basic at the end of the day but they are all ones that high handicappers need.

For example, the very design of the Cobra Air-X irons is for high handicappers. They sport a chunky topline and large head profile so players who struggle with striking accuracy will have more room for error.

The perimeter weighting helps generate more ball speed when you mis-hit near the toe or the heel as well. While we would have liked a chunkier sole for these irons, they are still wide enough to help with launch and turf interaction as well.

Of course, the Cobra Air-X irons will also be an excellent choice for anyone who wants to increase their swing speed.

Cobra Air-X Irons

Category: Game-Improvement

Cobra Air-X Irons – First Impressions

At first glance, the Cobra Air-X irons look like very normal, run of the mill game-improvement irons.

And at the end of the day, that assessment is still pretty close. Like we mentioned, there are not a lot of fancy features or flashy design elements with these irons. You don’t really know what’s special about them until you take a swing with them.

By far, the most amazing thing about these irons is how light they are. Every single one of our testers experienced increases in swing speed (3.4mph on average) with these irons from the deck and off the tee.

Our only issue with these irons is a potential distance gap. The 8-iron in this set is 35.5 degrees while the 9-iron is 40 degrees. That’s a loft gap of 4.5 degrees. This could create some problems for high handicappers.

However, it should also be mentioned that most of our testers had to club down with these irons because of the distance they produce.

Cobra Air-X Selling Points

D0 swing weight
Good launch
Strong loft
Increases swing speed
5 graphite shaft swing weight

Who Are the Cobra Air-X Irons for?

It was clear that the Cobra Air-X irons were for high handicappers before we tested them – after testing, it became apparent that they would also be good for senior players.

Whether you have just started out with the game, have come back to it after a years-long hiatus or Father Time is catching up to your swing speed, you will be able to benefit from the extraordinarily lightweight design of these irons.

The Cobra Family of Irons

Cobra also makes the LTDx irons which feature a steel bar placed behind the sweet spot to help increase ball speed and stability. You would think that would make these irons feel like slugs but the steel bar is encased in soft polymer so you still get a nice feel from them.

The LTDx irons also feature CNC milled faces and cavity backs. Overall, we like the LTDx irons more for mid handicappers as more of a design emphasis has been placed on feel and accuracy with these irons.

They play a bit longer and have weaker lofts than the Cobra Air-X irons so you still get pretty good distance from them. The biggest difference between these two sets is the increased greenside spin and workability of the LTDx irons.