ECHO 1 is a new airsoft gun manufacturer that has been making some daring moves in the airsoft industry. Kicking off their partnership with real firearm manufacturer Vector Arms, they bring to the table a full-metal, Vector Arms-trademarked MP5A4 RIS. Without wasting much more time, let's get to the review!

The ECHO 1 MP5A4 RIS is reasonably priced at $165 on most sites, such as Airsoft GI and Airsoft Atlanta. In the package, you receive the gun itself, a metal high capacity magazine, a vertical foregrip, a 30mm RDS ring mount, an 8.4v 1500mah battery, charger, a manual (complete with broken English), a set of two allen wrenches, and an unjamming rod. Though the packaging is nothing special, it ships securely, and insures that nothing is broken en route.

Now, the physical attributes and cosmetic quality. The gun is is very clean-cut and pretty out of the box, though a little skirmish use would probably fix that. The upper receiver, RIS, barrel, and RDS mount are all cast from metal. Though I have nothing here to compare it to, I assume it's just pot metal, which, while satisfying enough for me, will probably dissuade a few from purchasing this gun. The cocking tube, though plastic, seems reasonably reinforced, and utilizes a metal cocking handle. I've toyed with it (and HK-slapped it) enough to know it won't fly off if you're one of those who loves to lock the cocking handle back then give it a good, resounding smack. The stock is composite plastic, and is very sturdy, offering no flexing or creaking whatsoever. The butt plate, which comes off with a little downward push and stays fastened in place unless you choose otherwise, is rubberized, making sure it won't slip against your shoulder. The trademarks have been painted on to the gun (as well as the fire selector directions, though these are in the traditional red and white paint) in a semi-shiny silver-white. The trademarks on the mag well on the right side read “TM VECTOR ARMS NSL,UT Kal. 9MM S/N ECHO128808”. The serial number, of course, will change with each individual gun. The trademarks on the left side read “Kal. 9mmx19 ECHO1USA.COM”. As a personal preference, I'd rather not have a weblink on the side of my gun, but it's not a big bother. So far, only two problems have arisen while using this gun, and both are simple fixes. As with most MP5 variants, magazines (including stock hi-cap mags) wobble when in the mag well, but this is easily fixed with the tried-and-true remedy of a layer of electrical tape around the top of the magazine. The other problem, which is a bit more uncommon, is the three-lug flashhider. Given a proper (but not too strenuous) tug, the entire thing will slide out of the front sight/RIS assembly, revealing the inner barrel. However, it can be fixed with a bit of epoxy. Just apply the substance, and slide it back in, give it a bit of time, then it'll be solid enough to where you could hold the entire gun by the flashhider alone. Now, the RIS itself is very solid, and is attached to the gun at three different hard points. There is a gap on the bottom rail of the RIS, where the battery connector cord can be routed into the RIS from inside the battery foregrip on the MP5A5 RIS models. Though it's not a major concern, I wish this had been removed for the 'A4 variant, seeing as how if you position the vertical foregrip in the gap, it slides around, making it rather wobbly. The 3-lug flashhider is built rather well (other than the mishap of having it slide out of the gun). It uses a 14mm CCW thread, allowing the use of any 14mm CCW flashhiders.

Now, accessories. The 200-round high capacity magazine is the worst part of the entire gun. Though metal, and having a wide winding wheel (unlike most other hi-cap mags), it feeds terribly, giving inconsistent performance no matter what you do to it to make it work better. Personally, I picked up a box of STAR low capacity magazines to use, and just threw the hi-cap in a box of other useless accessories. The foregrip, however, is the shining star of the accessories included. It's rubberized, just like the butt pad, and screws on to the RIS and sits very solid once set in place. The quality of this foregrip seems surprisingly better than its G&P counterpart, among others. The scope mount works perfectly for Aimpoint-style red-dot sights, and is very easy to remove, should one wish to do so. Simply use the large allen wrench included with the gun to unscrew the two hex-screws that fasten it to the back of the RIS, and slide it backward off the gun. Very easy to do even when a scope is in the ring.

Now, performance. The specs on various websites seem to be true. It shoots hot out of the box at 380-400 FPS. Now, once you get to using it, it'll break in and the FPS will lower, but not by much. It shoots so hot, in fact, that no matter what hop-up setting you use (which is adjusted on the left side, just behind the cocking tube and above the RIS), .20g BB's will soar upward after a good ninety feet. However, using .25g (or, in some cases, .23g's) settle this problem, and allow you to loft rounds out to a maximum distance of 160 feet, accurately. By far, this is one of the more accurate stock MP5 variants I've ever used.

This one's for the grease-monkeys: internal quality. The gearbox shell, though it claims to be “reinforced,” remains unconfirmed with me, only because of my inexperience with V2 gearboxes. I honestly don't know the difference between a reinforced gearbox and a stock one. For this one, I apologize. The spring is indeed an M120, and is the reason behind the surging power the gun puts out. I plan on down-grading the spring to lengthen the life of my otherwise stock gearbox. It is entirely possible to go the other way and upgrade the gearbox around the spring, but that seems foolish to do for a weapon that will more than likely see CQB play, for the most part. The spring guide, while cast from steel, does not contain any ball bearings. I can only look upon this as an improvement ECHO 1 should have made. Now, as for the gears, they are reinforced steel gears, similar to the same gears I found in my Classic Army M15A4 Carbine '06 version when I cracked it open a year or so ago. Something else that some will see as a major plus is the fact that ECHO 1 decided to go with steel bushings, and I can, indeed, confirm this. The polycarbonate piston looks like you'd expect: a part manufactured in China. I can only estimate the longevity of the thing, and it will be one of the first parts I upgrade. Now, the supposed “high torque” motor isn't worth using if you plan on using anything but the stock parts. It looks a lot like the Marui EG1000, but I can't confirm that it's an exact copy or not. It won't compare to some of the more expensive motors out there, but it seems as though as it'll last as long as you stick with the M120 or lower. Hell, using the M120, it puts out a cool 21 RPS with a 9.6v battery.

Overall, I'm impressed with the gun. For $165, you couldn't ask for much more. Sure, the internals are good at best, but they'll last (as a matter of fact, I don't plan on upgrading this thing until something fails on me; a little experiment I'm trying). The externals, of course, look to be top-notch, competing with even higher-end companies. On a one-to-ten scale, I'd give the ECHO 1 MP5A4 RIS an eight-point-nine.

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