Returning player, now with a better budget!

[TacMaster]

HI guys, used to be really into airsoft in my teens however life and work got in the way. Luckily I held on to my guns and I just need new batteries. but I'd like to ask what's changed on the RIF market in the last 4/5 years? How have all the old guard brands like G&G, TM, CYMA etc. fared in terms of quality and are there any new players to look out for?

 

Cheers

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

Double Eagle have become a decent choice form what I've heard, gun wise.

 

Biggest change is the end of all the cheap stuff that we used to get from Taiwan Gun.   Importing stuff has become hit and miss tbh.    

 

 

[EDcase]

Welcome back

I think generally the price of hardware has gone down with cheaper brands like CYMA and JingGong (JG) producing decent quality budget RIFs.

Probably the biggest change has been moving to Li-Po batteries and intelligent chargers.  More power in a smaller package 😁  But with more power comes more responsibility 🙄

Supply is really shite right now though and Brexit has fucked us up 😣

 

 

Edited May 30, 2022 by EDcase

[Speedbird_666]

11 hours ago, TacMaster said:

HI guys, used to be really into airsoft in my teens however life and work got in the way. Luckily I held on to my guns and I just need new batteries. but I'd like to ask what's changed on the RIF market in the last 4/5 years? How have all the old guard brands like G&G, TM, CYMA etc. fared in terms of quality and are there any new players to look out for?

 

Cheers

 

Not a lot has *massively* changed in the last 4/5 years. At lot of the same companies that were around back then are still around now. 

 

The low-end market is by far the most active in terms of new models, added features and quality. Many are equipped with Mosfets or some kind of basic electronic trigger unit right out of the box. The Double Eagle (yes, that company that made those really cheap spring shotties) kinda blew the market wide open with the M90x series of guns.

 

G&G are slowly pricing themselves out of the market - CM16 Raiders are now over £200 which is mental when you can buy better spec'd guns for a lot less money.

 

CYMA have increased their line of models a fair bit, their quality has improved noticeably and the blue internals on the new guns are solid out of the box.

 

The market has been muddied in the low-to-mid range from new upstarts such as Specna, who - on paper - offer very good value for money. Shame the QC has been a shambles - but I hear they are getting better.

 

TM are still a go-to for the mid-to-high end market for many people with the various NGRS models. The likes of Krytac and KWA are still about too.  The MWS GBBRs are very popular, indeed there are some huge owners-group threads on here with stacks of information.

 

The Super-high-end market is no longer dominated by Systema PTWs - indeed they are becoming rarer beasts these days out in the wild, but then there are other manufactures such GBLS with their eye-watering DAS models.

 

LiPos (as mentioned above) are pretty much standard fare now. 

 

Brushless motors are becoming a practical option with performance and efficiency gains to be had from them - Warhead currently holds that market, but it's only a matter of time before other manufacturers will jump onto the brushless wagon and the prices drop.  

 

You will see a lot more players with air hoses to backpacks and Dye Paintball masks. Speedsoft is gaining traction in the UK, and HPA is currently their method of choice to dispense their BB's - at least that's what the cool kids tell me. Not everyone's cup of tea.

 

But the reality is, a decent gun 5 years ago is still a decent gun now.

 

Sure, the newer stuff can do some cool things, but if your gun can shoot 300-350 fps, at a reasonable ROF, with reasonable accuracy, you won't have a problem at most skirmishes.