There is a sticker on the cooler’s sole to protect it from scratches:

The cooler’s bottom is finished just perfectly:

There is no trace of soldering or thermal glue where the heat pipes have contact with the cooler’s copper sole:

But the bracket above the pipes is indeed soldered down to the base:

The copper base of the Noctua coolers is 7.5mm thick; its area is about 17.5sq.mm. Four threaded holes are located around the perimeter of the base. They are used to install a fastener and mount the cooler on the appropriate platform. The heatsinks are rather light by today’s standards, weighing 570g (Noctua NH-U9) and 700g (Noctua NH-U12).