What's regarded the best airsoft manufacturer now 2013.

Trebob

Hi all here's one that I know will cause debate. I also know its probably been covered before!! What is the best manufacturer out there now?? I know you have the like of g&p, g&g, king arms ect but what's the best?

I've owned from jg to g&p and had some good ones and some terrible ones even at mad prices paid. People say you get what you pay for. I paid €350 for my first (new) gun a g&p and well nothing was ever right with it from power to over spin it was a nightmare of a thing on the other hand I've had supposedly lower brand guns like cyma,classic army,dboys that never miss a beat ever.I've heard the same stuff lately on sites of people paying for a big name brand only to find out the box has more use. So right now which is best out of the box.

backthephilup

The one that works

jayod30

I would've always thought VFC until I bought the Scar. It's performance straight out of the box was just pants, although my PDW is a little killing machine!! Externally they are quality

Would have to be G&P for me. External build is best in the business IMO and straight out of the box all mine performed superbly, better than any other stock aeg I've had.

Inari

There isn't one.

Simply put, what is best? Best is a word used to describe something befitting your own personal criteria, or for an operation definition it must have clearly identified qualifications, otherwise you will get nothing but swings and roundabouts. Two different people can have completely different views on what 'best' is simply because they weight different aspects more important than others. To determine 'best' you must isolate the qualities that are critical to you, and other areas where you are prepared to make concessions.

The qualities of an airsoft gun that I tend to use are:

- Externals (build quality & materials used)
- Reliability (that it works when you need it to)
- Durability (that it lasts a reasonable length of time)
- Compatibility/Aftermarket Support (availability of spare parts for upgrades/repairs)
- Range/Accuracy (how far it shoots, and its effective range i.e. accuracy)
- Consistency (the less erratic it is the better)
- Budget (can you afford it?)
- Realism/Quality of Replica (does it have key features of the RS counterpart)
- Power (it's no secret that few guns are designed with 1 joule in mind - some do not play well being taken down to our level)
- Rate of Fire (how many BB's/Sec)
- Quality of Internals (what are the gears & piston etc, or bolt & trigger pack etc made out of)
- Product range (how can you select a best without factoring in their products)

The best externals on the market belong to the big three; Real Sword, VFC and G&P...typically in that order. Real Sword make an eclectic array of guns, that are not to everyone's tastes...so it is difficult to give them the title of 'best', even though their overall quality is undisputed. Some of their models do not play nice at one joule, but others are fine. VFC make good guns, but like G&P the money goes on their externals - the internals of both are serviceable, and are Marui-compatible so you can safely run it into the ground and then replace parts with superior aftermarket ones

Reliability wise I think you have to give it to Marui - across all of their models, from springs to LPEG's, to AEG's and GBB's...their stuff just works. There are of course hiccoughs (MP7A1 GBB's nozzle etc), but they are the most supported company for aftermarket parts - you can rest assured that replacement parts will be available. Next to Marui you have the likes of JG & CYMA, top of the ACM/China Clone pile. They do next to no R&D, and their guns are nothing jaw-dropping...but you know what? They work. Their gears are stronger than most high-end companies, and their polycarb pistons are more than sufficient (unlike G&P's notoriously weak piston) - they do what they do, and do it well. They might not be the prettiest of all beasts, but they don't have to be.

The notion of durability on the other hand is another kettle of fish - you have to take into account that durability is measured on two scales; internals and externals. Internally the mid-range gear will last longer (the likes of CYMA, JG etc), but externally it belongs to the higher end manufacturers (Inokatsu, Prime, VFC, RS etc) - in my mind it is better for the externals to live on due to their high cost, and the relatively low cost of internals...but not everyone shares that sentiment.

Many manufacturers make utterly retarded decisions and deviate from the status-quo, believing that they can do it better. You know what, a lot o the time they are right...but ultimately they are wrong. Everything inevitably breaks, and the more austere the system, the longer it stays out of action. As a result people are more willing to accept a flawed system that has more support, than a superior system with higher risk (they typically cost more, and wait-time for repairs is much longer). Aftermarket support is critical to the success or failure of a particular gun. There have been many systems that have come out all guns blazing, and just peter out never to be heard from again...and yet the Marui-spec still remains the gold-standard. Unfortunately it has reached a stage where proprietary parts just means headache.

How the gun performs is obviously a big aspect of the gun itself...all you want from it is to cycle cleanly at a reasonable speed with no air leaks, with solid wiring. This means you want it to have no build up of resistance on solder joints, the gears shimmed correctly (preferably to the pinion gear), AoE (angle of engagement) at a non-stressful angle for pickup, and the cylinder window on the gearbox shell radiused or reinforced. Beyond that you want it to do it at a reasonable speed, using good quality magnets for the motor, and it to be capable to run off of medium to high voltage batteries, without frying the switch harness. That covers the gearbox...you've also got to contend with the gun's hop up unit, barrel, and hop up rubber & nub. You want the barrel to be a 6.04/6.03mm tight-bore preferably for longer range and tighter groupings, and you want a soft hop up rubber with a hard nub for superior performance at our power level. The chamber itself should be air-tight with the air nozzle, and provide clean adjustment i.e. no stray bits of plastic from casting on the cogs binding etc.

A manufactures' catalogue is key to debates such as this - if you only make one gun, then it is difficult to argue in the company's favour. G&G/TopTech are doing a lot of innovating at the moment, and do make some fantastic replicas that receive very little attention from others. G&P on the otherhand pretty much just make AR's...or AR'd up AK's (I'm aware they do an M249 and M14 as well). The Chinese Cloners rarely do any R&D themselves, so their catalogue is a reflection on others. Tokyo Marui do a lot of innovating, but promise more than they deliver - there is still no M&P from them, and they haven't bothered with the nickel plated Series 70 yet either. Sentinel 9 and GBB MP7 were delivered rather quickly, as was the M9A1 - but in the same vein there are many out there waiting on products long since showcased, but never delivered. KWA release lots of exciting products, but their quality really lets them down. They do some things really well, but they uphold themselves to be above what they really are, especially in pricing.

Annnd that brings us nicely around to budget - people will only pay a certain amount for a product. There are price points where if you exceed you will isolate a huge chunk of the market, so if you want more in one area there has to be a concession in another. Whether this is lower quality externals, cheaper internals...it depends on the company, the price and the product.

Which is why you should build it yourself. An off the shelf model will never be as good as one that you tune to your own play-style. You can make the choice to have it exactly as you wish, without having to concede in any areas. It is of course, unsurprisingly, the most expensive option. But hey, if you want 'the best', you've gotta loosen the purse strings and dig deep to find the resolve (and time) to build!

PS: My own list of 'bests' is:

GBB Pistol (Performance): Tokyo Marui
GBB Pistol (realism, build quality etc): Inokatsu
NBB Revolvers: Tanaka Works
AEG (all rounders): TopTech & CYMA, JG etc
AEG (externals & performance): Real Sword
Bolt Action: Tokyo Marui

Puding

i would agree with Inari it really comes down to personal preference

im all about the accurate replica so my list would lean in the direction of any externals moving TM down the list of 'best' for me but they have great reliability and performance so does not really make sense to most

Trebob

So basically airsoft guns and manufacturers that would of been classed the best are still the best!

I know most aeg's you may buy your going to chop and change untill your hearts content with it. What I meant was without any personal preference or modifications done whats the best out of the box in general in the sport. I've had experience with most brands from g&p to aps and personally I feel that all of them let you down on one thing or another. But what's the general concensious on the straight out of the box.

thermo

for me the best aeg for performance with reliability that wont break the bank is cyma (the newer lines).

shytan

Have to agree with Thermo I got the young lad an AK thats gotten abuse and never been opened 323fps out of the box still shoots at 297fps and never let him or me down

S.E.A.L.s

backthephilup wrote: »

The one that works

For sure

jayod30 wrote: »

I would've always thought VFC until I bought the Scar. It's performance straight out of the box was just pants, although my PDW is a little killing machine!! Externally they are quality

Would have to be G&P for me. External build is best in the business IMO and straight out of the box all mine performed superbly, better than any other stock aeg I've had.

VFC 416's and PDW's are great, as for G&P, from what I've seen and used to date, they are great AEG's

thermo wrote: »

for me the best aeg for performance with reliability that wont break the bank is cyma (the newer lines).

Had one(1) and sold it, not an AK fan, yet still miss it and never had any trouble at all, it was sound as a pound

shytan wrote: »

Have to agree with Thermo I got the young lad an AK thats gotten abuse and never been opened 323fps out of the box still shoots at 297fps and never let him or me down

Except when the pair of you forget to charge batteries LoL

Trebob

Must be me but I must of got the g&p lemon it just won't hold the power!!

Seems to be every third gun I own is effed. But never the cheaper ones like cyma dboys aps kwa ect. All be it eventually tgey were upgraded. But not before lots of use.