Looking for a lightweight pod harness to take on your next vol-bivouac adventure? Marcus King tries the Bogdanfly Cocoon V2 on for size.
BogdanFly are originally from Ukraine but moved their workshop to Portugal at the start of the war. After what must have been a very traumatic year or so the team are now fully up and running, motivated and working on new products including a series of wings.
The Cocoon V2, though, is more of an evolution building on the success of their first lightweight pod harness. A harness born out of Bogdan’s frustration when looking for a lightweight pod harness to travel with, which led to him creating the company and working with the team he assembled to build his own.
Design and materials
The BogdanFly Cocoon V2 is available in six sizes, covering pilots from 160cm to 195cm tall. Give the company your measurements and weight and they will suggest the correct sizing for you. Being 193cm I was supplied with an XXL harness for the review.
Opening the small box I found a light harness packed into a zipped bag. Most of the harness, including the large rear fairing. is made from Porcher Skytex 40, as used for paragliders. Although this may seem quite flimsy it is easily repaired and the bottom is reinforced with abrasion-resistant Oxford 600D, good should you slide in. Still, this is a lightweight harness and needs to be treated with care.
Sections of the pod and around the attachment points are made from Lycra, to allow it to stretch as needed. You can specify extra lining material in the Lycra sections to increase wind resistance and increase warmth but of course that adds weight. It was pretty hot during the review period so I can’t really comment on flying it in colder environments. You can also specify the whole harness to be made from Oxford 320D for added durability.
The outer shell is not load-bearing. Instead the harness uses a system of Dyneema cords to carry the pilot’s weight. There are then extra cords to allow adjustment: these are spliced back through themselves using friction to hold the adjusted length. These can be tricky to adjust but weigh effectively nothing. A small plastic drawstring clip is used to help keep them in place – I didn’t notice my settings slipping during my time with the harness.
Adjustments are made with spliced Dyneema cords, also visible is the blue hook-in T-bar. Photo: Charlie King
Setting up
As with all pods it is worth getting it set up correctly before flying, especially as in-air adjustments are practically impossible. The main cords all attach round the karabiners (or softlinks). BogdanFly supply Edelrid aluminium karabiners as standard, which they recommend changing at least every five years (or 500 flight hours).
The footplate is supported by four lines adjusted with Prusik knots. Photo: Charlie King
The pod is supported by lines that are adjusted by moving a knot and Prusik loop. This can be fiddly but once set they don’t slip. Lines run to the top and bottom of the footplate so it is well supported, even if you are long-legged.
A new addition for the V2 Cocoon is an ABS system with adjustable lines coming up to the main chest strap on a diagonal. These are adjusted with the lines running through themselves. It is relatively easy to pull on more tension but harder to release, so again you will want to adjust this before flight.
Getting in
Unlike some lightweight pods that require you to step in, getting into the harness is much like any other pod. The main chest strap has anodised aluminium T-bars on each side that go through loops in the harness cord. These are a snug fit so there is no additional keeper.
The pod closes by passing two cord loops over plastic balls. There is no anti-forget system connecting these to the leg loops. An additional chest strap is secured with a ball and loop to keep shoulder straps in place.
Back protection
Inflatable protection (rated to 35G) is either blown up with your lungs or the supplied electric pump. A bag, shaped to fit the harness when it is filled with soft items such as sleeping bags and clothing, can replace the protector. This is also supplied as standard.
There is plenty of additional storage. Inside the large rear fairing is a zipped pocket with an internal drinks bladder pocket. There are zipped pockets on either side, plus an extra zipped pocket on the top of the pod. At the front of the underseat area is a ballast pocket than can also be used for storage. Rather than the front of the pod inflating, there is a zipped pocket – fill it with something soft.
The incorporated reserve pocket on the front of the pod with bridles that go to the shoulders. Photo: Charlie King
Reserve
The V1 Cocoon had a detachable front reserve with connections to the main karabiners. With the V2 Cocoon the reserve is still on the front but is now sewn into the pod and has bridles that run to the shoulders.
It’s designed for lightweight reserves, athough BogdanFly say you can use reserves up to 2kg in the larger harnesses. Fitting is standard with two plastic pins used to close the flaps. These then run through channels for a clean finish.
An instrument cockpit on top of the reserve sits at a good angle for viewing. Photo: Charlie King
Sitting on top of the reserve is the removable instrument cockpit, the angle of which can be adjusted. It is big enough for a vario and phone. It holds the instruments at a good viewing angle, although it is not the most aerodynamic and it does obscure your view of the reserve handle somewhat. That handle though is large and easy to grab.
Hammock style
The harness is hammock style but has a small seatboard to stiffen it. Geometry is quite laid back and although you can adjust it, it’s hard to get the same sat-up position as some other harnesses. In the air at first I found it moved a bit more abruptly than my Woody Valley GTO Light, but I smoothed this out adding some ABS. Overall, the amount of movement isn’t much different, the GTO just felt a little softer in the way it moves. The plus side is it has a little more authority. The fairing seems to work well at keeping the harness from moving side to side, although the Skytex rustles quite a bit.
Comfortwise, I found the harness to be very good. There is plenty of support on the lower back with lots of adjustment and this extends to your shoulders. The seat, though, is quite hard and some may prefer more padding. Although the speed-bar pulleys are relatively small, the system is still easy to use.
The verdict
If you are looking for a lightweight harness suitable for travel, vol-biv or just want a lighter, smaller pack for everyday use then this is a great option. Once set up it is easy to live with and packs compactly. Paired with a light wing you should be able to get your full XC kit into a small pack.
Manufacturer’s Specification
- BogdanFly say: “The best choice for long routes or vol-bivouac”
- Pilot level: Intermediate and above
- Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL
- Height (cm): 160-168, 168-173, 173-178, 178-183, 183-188, 188-195
- Weight: 980-1,550g, back protection 370g
- Certification: EN
Published in issue 244 (October 2023)
