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To start off, I thought I would let you know that this magazine was put through two stock Marui AEG's, the M16a2, and the M733. Also, I have used Marui hi-caps, and G&P magazines along with the Airsoft Elite magazines, so I can easily compare them.
First Impressions
They came in a nice plastic packaging, (as seen above) I recieved two from Airsoft GI (www.airsoftgi.com) in a quick manner, and they have some nice prices over there. I was kind of disappointed not see any manual or anything (not that I would have read it) but its kind of nice to have, and I got over it in about five seconds... The first thing I noticed with the magazines is their color. They are a gray color, and are way more gray than both the G&P magazines, and the Marui's. The Marui's are clearly the darkest of the the three, and with all three magazines together, the G&P's color looked a lot more like the Marui's then I thought (with the Airsoft Elite's up there in comparison).
After asking Airsoft Elite, the reasoning behind the gray color, apparently, it is to be more realistic. Implying that the real M16 magazines are more of a gray color.
Above is a Tokyo Marui magazine on the left, G&P magzine in the middle, and the Airsoft Elite on the right. (click to enlarge)
They had a very nice feel, nice and solid, with a fair amount of weight to them. Their weight and feel were similar to Marui's. The ridges in the magazine are defined, much like the Marui's. Something the G&P magazines did not have, they were more of sloping ridges in the magazine. It does give a better feel to the magazine, but you will ignore it over time. The magazines bottom is a black piece of metal with,
Airsoft Elite
www.AirsoftElite.com
La Puente, CA USA
inscribed into the bottom. Like the Marui's the magazine has the hatch on the top, and release switch for the magaine, and it is pretty much just like the Marui. The only difference is the Airsoft Elite's hatch is a lot easier to open then the Marui was. It also seems to be a little bit lighter plastic (which means nothing, I just thought I would mention it). The magazine looks pretty nice, I still stick by the Marui's looking the best, but after about a day, it never matters. Looks also mean nothing in battle, and after they are all scratched up.
Here you can see the inscription on the bottom. You may need to enlarge, I am not a photographer.
The next thing I noticed, was that the magazine had little circle dents, lining both sides of the magazine. From what it looks like to me, they were used to help keep the magazines togther, almost like the button concept. Thats the only reasoning I can think of behind it.
After contacting Airsoft Elite on this issue, they responded saying that this too was a feature to help make the magazine more realistic.
Here is the inside curl of the magazine, and you can see the little dents I was refering to.
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Here you can see the little circle dents on the outside curl of the magazine.
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Performance
Poured the BB's into the Airsoft Elite magazine (nothing different there) and I began to wind. Here and there the winding had little cricks in it that you had to push through, they were easy to get through, and weren't a problem. The second time I wound it, it happened a lot less, so it is probably a new magazine thing. I also never oiled it, so that may help as well. It really was not a big deal AT ALL, just thought I let you know it may get some cricks in it to slow you down while winding for the first time.
Here you can see the tops of a Marui magazine, and two Airsoft Elite magazines surrounding it. They are identical on the top.
So I loaded the M16a2 and began firing. Not a problem... Shot just like other magazines, no difference, no dry fires, just smooth firing. So I completely emptied the magazine around the house, and then came in. Next I remembered how they advertised that it shot %80 of the ammo. So I decided to count what was not shot. Since it holds 300 BB's %80 is 240 rounds. So 60 rounds should be left over. I counted and it turned out to be 57! Three to spare! I do plan on doing the same test with Marui's and reporting on that.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these magazines past initial testing with out a single flaw. Of course I mentioned some very minor things above, they should never be a reason to not purchase this product. It performs very well is cheaper, and as of now does just as well as my Marui's. Of course I have had them for two days, and this is my initial review. These magazines will have to go through the time test, to see if they are really up to par. I plan on using these things to death, and reporting everything back here to you guys.
As of now, if you want one... get one, they seem to be a quality product my Airsoft Elite. I will complete the review with photos, comparisons, and a review of the magazine over a longer period of time.
UPDATE August 15, 2007: I have had these magazines for four years now and they still work okay. I will say though that the Marui magazines are clearly better than the Airsoft Elite's in the long run, as after not to long a period the Airsoft Elite mags would not fire their entire capacity, and sometimes would jam up or unwind in a skirmish. So I came to only rely on my Marui's in the end, but the AE's are not all that bad, and are better that Classic Army's magazines in my opinion. - Meatball |
