new to the community...now...

[blazzer73553]

Hey guys n gals, new to the community, recently posted up on FB got some very welcoming responses.

ill be getting verified soon, next time im in the city.

so ive been doing some mad research, really as much as i can befire i need to get hands on, but before i do that, i wanted some opinions of other that have used these.
what im looking for is quality! and reliability!. universality too if possible for upgrades etc. but is not the main priority
i will be purchasing an aeg and depending on how that goes, down the road a spring weapon.
the aeg brands ive been looking at currently and feel pretty set on so far are these( and would like some feedback if i may please) :

Tokyo marui
umarex
g&g
G&p
ics
VFC
krytac
CA
maple
KWA
lonex

aside from my research, i just cant know first hand so i need some feed back, is there something else you guys would recommend?

my platform is some kind of ar/m4 variant, mid to long range ( cqb i think eventually I'm gonna pick up some sort of mp5)

if it helps my total budget is 1800$ so main, sidearm, and cqb if need be, plus charger battery, safety equipment, etc.


shanks

[Freeze]

If it's an AR/M4 type of gun you're looking for...

VFC offers the best price-performance-let you do things to it- ratio. You're looking in the range of 450-550 + tax for this. Extremely reliable, excellent quality. I personally own 2 VFCs right now (one's a SCAR, the other's a SABER SD M4), love them (except the SCAR's stupid unique hop up that thing is a nightmare). I've also owned 3 in the past year (sold them because I wasn't a fan of their external looks of those specific models). They're also really easy to upgrade, I personally have minimal teching experience, other than what I used to work on for R/C cars, and managed to swap internal parts without a hitch. No messy "this doesn't fit time to grind shit down" sort of thing.

G&P is literally a tolerance nightmare.

Krytac is not-proprietary enough, so it accepts V2 gears, but is proprietary enough that some other parts start to not fit without modification (so I've heard).

Umarex doesn't make guns, they buy licenses to make guns and then get other companies to make them. Sometimes VFC, sometimes S&T, sometimes ARES.

Maple Airsoft gun is apparently a good upgrade base, or markets itself as such. The creator of it is on the forums somewhere, you can get more info from them about this.

ICS....I can't say much but I hear their split gearbox system is interesting. Not sure about this though.

CA's quality has been said to have turned to actual garbage according to what I've heard.

Not entirely sure about the other ones. But I'd definitely, 100% recommend a VFC. Can't go wrong with one, whether you just want a reliable out of the box rifle, or want a good upgrade base. Externals are also built very well.

[Freeze]

For pistols, the popular models are Glocks and Hi-Capas. These two have an extremely large amount of aftermarket parts support relative to other models, so if anything goes wrong or you decide to upgrade there will always be a part for them available somewhere.

The brand most people will tell you to buy, for a sidearm, is a Tokyo Marui. These are known to be the highest quality, with the most aftermarket support. However, these have plastic externals, so they will wear out and need to be replaced eventually. Some models require only metal slides, others require their frame and slide to be replaced with a metallic one. WE is a decent budget choice for their Glock models, but their Hi-Capas are....very questionable. Once you get age verified, you'll find a lot of second hand or LNIB (like new in box) TM Hi-Capas in the classifieds section.

[blazzer73553]

aside from tm for pistols, are you just meaning glocks any brand? etc? say for example kwa sidearms, generally decent?

thnx for the vfc info

[Mikeylikes]

I would second VFC for M4/AR type gun. Very happy with mine and no issues.

[Freeze]

KWA stuff is usually proprietary. Also their "ATP" (their version of the glock) is supposedly atrocious in terms of quality.

TM is the proven good quality brand. WE is the generally accepted "it works and is a good budget gun". Other brands are typically less popular for those models.

The Glock platform and the Hi-Capa platform just have the most aftermarket support in general, as long as they are Tokyo Marui compatible. TM is the standard, so that's what the parts support is usually targeted to.

[blazzer73553]

so another question i cant seem to find an answer too, why does it seem like almost all retailers in canada do no carry any tokyo marui AR's? i remember 007 used too, but that brand seems non existent now aside from sidearms?

Originally Posted by Freeze

Umarex doesn't make guns, they buy licenses to make guns and then get other companies to make them. Sometimes VFC, sometimes S&T, sometimes ARES.

so because of this, if anyone knows, is quality and reliability diminished? or for example is it just a licensed model ( so expect to pay more) but the same quality as a vfc ( assuming it was made by vfc?)

[Freeze]

Tokyo Marui ARs do have some downside.
-Usually ABS(?) plastic.
-Intended for sale in Japan, so a lot of their internals require upgrading to push higher FPS springs.
-Importation of TM ARs basically mean you have to import them to Hong Kong, then get someone in HK to change spring etc, to meet Canadian import requirements, and then import them to Canada. This makes TMs quite a bit pricier to get in Canada due to the extra shipping and extra stop they have to make.
-There are simply better bang for the buck guns now, like VFCs

Umarex doesn't mean anything. The quality and reliability of the gun is just dependent on the actual manufacturer. So e.g. if they get VFC to make a HK416, yes it will be the same quality, and yes it will be somewhat more expensive because it's a licensed model. Typically only go for the licensed model if it's pretty much exclusive, or the only good option (e.g. the Umarex 416)

[BloodSport]

Be sure to use the forum search function as well, there is literally hundreds of reviews on pretty much every brand you listed available.

[BloodSport]

Originally Posted by Freeze

Tokyo Marui ARs do have some downside.
-Usually ABS(?) plastic. yes their bodies are plastic due to Japan laws, but they are a higher quality plastic then many of the clones of them, and last quite a long time
-Intended for sale in Japan, so a lot of their internals require upgrading to push higher FPS springs. false, a lot of TM's do not need upgrading, they run perfectly fine at their FPS and quite often out perform many upgraded guns without ever needing to crack the gearbox. Heck my TM P90 which is pretty much almost 20 years old, has never had the gearbox opened, swapped out the barrel for a TK twist and added some body kits to it for rails and it out shoots many upgraded guns with no issues. Best to upgrade the player before the gun in most cases.
-Importation of TM ARs basically mean you have to import them to Hong Kong, then get someone in HK to change spring etc, to meet Canadian import requirements, and then import them to Canada. This makes TMs quite a bit pricier to get in Canada due to the extra shipping and extra stop they have to make.False, in many cases TM's are the same price or cheaper then they were 10+ years ago
-There are simply better bang for the buck guns now, like VFCs I'd still take a TM over a VFC lol

,

[blazzer73553]

^^^ thnx for the info, honestly, id love a TM and as per forum rules i guess i cant ask where i can order a ar tm from till im verified, so ill shut up about that, ( until then)

but most retailers from my research seem to have nil for tm aside from sidearms ive been leaning towards king arms, g&g or vfc to boot for my first AR

Originally Posted by BloodSport

Be sure to use the forum search function as well, there is literally hundreds of reviews on pretty much every brand you listed available.

will do, i dont wanna be that "spoon feed me!!!!!!!" kinda guy

[Okawesome]

Welcome to the community! All information about weapons so far has been covered by people much more experienced than me. I'm a relative newbie as well, only started this spring but like you, I've done a ton of reading.

If your total budget is $1800, one of the biggest things I recommend you invest in is good eye protection. Of course, safety is first, eyes don't grow back, etc. but it is worth buying a very good set of goggles among your first purchases. Like $100+ range.

It sounds super boring to spend money on and there are lots of good budget options for eye pro but spending more will get better performance and you'll be more effective. If you can't see clearly because your goggles fog or block your peripheral vision, you can't shoot your $500 weapon, after all.

The $30 Pyramex goggles (V2G Plus) for example are excellent, and have great ballistic protection and I was happy with mine until I tried on a pair of Revision Desert Locusts. There was a big difference in field of view, comfort, helmet compatibility and anti-fogging on the military goggles vs. the general safety goggles. There are many options, such as fan vs. no fan. If your goggles come with foam, like mine, rip out the foam. It'll help with fogging and will not compromise safety. It's just there to keep blowing dust and sand out.

Good, trusted brands in military eye pro are Revision, ESS and Oakley. I recommend either trying them on in-store or buying them online from a place with good return policy (e.g. Amazon) so you can see what fits with your face, helmet and face mask.

Once you have your weapon, when it comes time for accessories, seek out budget real steel accessories instead of airsoft repro stuff. Cheap repro stuff will break and expensive repro stuff approaches the same price as budget real steel accessories which are plenty tough for the conditions we play in.

Prowl the classifieds here and you'll also find great bargains on high end gear. It's how I outfitted most of my stuff and I'm really happy with it.

[blazzer73553]

Originally Posted by Okawesome

Welcome to the community! All information about weapons so far has been covered by people much more experienced than me. I'm a relative newbie as well, only started this spring but like you, I've done a ton of reading.

If your total budget is $1800, one of the biggest things I recommend you invest in is good eye protection. Of course, safety is first, eyes don't grow back, etc. but it is worth buying a very good set of goggles among your first purchases. Like $100+ range.

It sounds super boring to spend money on and there are lots of good budget options for eye pro but spending more will get better performance and you'll be more effective. If you can't see clearly because your goggles fog or block your peripheral vision, you can't shoot your $500 weapon, after all.

The $30 Pyramex goggles (V2G Plus) for example are excellent, and have great ballistic protection and I was happy with mine until I tried on a pair of Revision Desert Locusts. There was a big difference in field of view, comfort, helmet compatibility and anti-fogging on the military goggles vs. the general safety goggles. There are many options, such as fan vs. no fan. If your goggles come with foam, like mine, rip out the foam. It'll help with fogging and will not compromise safety. It's just there to keep blowing dust and sand out.

Good, trusted brands in military eye pro are Revision, ESS and Oakley. I recommend either trying them on in-store or buying them online from a place with good return policy (e.g. Amazon) so you can see what fits with your face, helmet and face mask.

Once you have your weapon, when it comes time for accessories, seek out budget real steel accessories instead of airsoft repro stuff. Cheap repro stuff will break and expensive repro stuff approaches the same price as budget real steel accessories which are plenty tough for the conditions we play in.

Prowl the classifieds here and you'll also find great bargains on high end gear. It's how I outfitted most of my stuff and I'm really happy with it.

thnx for the tips man, currently im still investigating/researching eye wear, ( aside from having a dye paintball mask.. :/ but ill be looking in to what you posted. thnx for the welcome as well.

[tonydizzle]

just get a G&G m4 like the rest of the world.

I use goggles that fit over my hipster glasses..... very hard to find and I cant stand contacts. Any shooting glasses will do.

[BloodSport]

as for goggles, I like the Revisions.

Got their built in fan system ones, and they do fit over my glasses although they pinch a little when you go this route, but for like $20 more you can get their RX insert and take it to your eye glass supplier and have them put your prescription in them.