Spikes Tactical Havoc Launcher by MadBull

The other day I got this in the mail. This is the Spikes Tactical Havoc Launcher. I have a spikes tactical Lower receiver for my AR and it is amazing quality.

The packaging was normal, Inside the box the launcher was in a bag and set pretty snug inside. I picked it up and it is pretty heavy. I was thinking it was made out of something a little heavier than aluminum but thats all it is. The look of it is sleek and sexy. 

The orange tip on this one is bigger than other brands. I understand that some people dislike this fact but with the rising gun control issues it is a good idea to keep this on. Unlike other brands, this orange tip is all metal. It is smooth and has no flaws in it. The top rail is a normal picatinny rail and fits perfect. It has the full Spikes Spider trademark and the Havoc name printed on one side and the other is the safety selector and bolt. The bolt doesn't need to be charged. 

On the left side is the release for the chamber. Its a large circular button that needs to be depressed to open the chamber. To open the chamber the cylinder needs to be slid forward and to the left. 

Release

Cylinder opened

On the King Arms Grenade Launcher the firing pin isn't flush with the housing, and when loading primed grenades they can go off. Madbull has solved this and made the firing pin flush with the housing and will keep the grenade from going off when loading. 

Flush Firing Pin

So the only thing I don't like about this launcher is locking it into the rail. The King Arms has two screws that can be hand tightened to hold the launcher on. The MadBull has two set screws that must be tightened to lock it on. 

Set Screws from the top

The Set screws mush be tightened with a allen wrench (it wasn't provided in mine) in order to lock it on the rails. 

Set Screws from under cylinder

The cylinder must be opened and then tighten the set screws with a allen wrench until tight on the rail. Once tight the cylinder can be closed and it be used. 

Overall:

I think this is an awesome product worthy of Spikes Trademarks and the Madbull name. That being said, I don't like having to use set screws to lock it onto the rails. In the age with quick detach and RIS screws I don't know why something like that wasn't included for simplicity. That is my only issue with the product. 

It is solid, high quality, and has a great feel as well as great safety features. This deserves a 9.5/10. Had MadBull included the hand screws this would be well deserving of the 10. 

Check out the video review on youtube. 

http://www.Youtube.com/user/airsoftwarrior87/

Grenades and Launchers

I have had the King Arms grenade launcher for about 2 years now. I figured it was about time to do a review. This item is very sturdy. It is stiff when opening and closing the hatch. It is mostly metal making it quite heavy for the front of the gun. I got the RIS version so it can attach directly to the rail without any problems. Because it is heavy you need to be aware that it may cause your arms to get tired if you are playing for hours. The King Arms launcher is an awesome addition to anyones armory. It costs around $100 at any of the major online dealers.

MadBull Airsoft Grenade: BB Shower.

As for bb shower grenades go MadBull is at the front of the line. They have all the parts necessary to repair them when they wear out. Mine is a small one holds between 30 and 60 rounds. However I got mine used and it appears to be broken. I have not tried to fix it but I may make a video for that purpose. It is good solid construction in a nice compact piece.

Echo 1 BB Shower CAW

The Craft Apple Works BB grenade is a heavy item. Although it is large it only holds about 30 rounds. Because of such a small amount of BBs, they are more powerful but have a different pattern.

Evike BB shower

The Evike BB shower holds many more rounds, Around 200. It has a much wider spread and can blast them at quite hard because of the gas chamber. This one is very sensitive so be careful when loading and setting.

I highly recommend the King Arms launcher and the Evike Grenade. I suggest buying these new if possible, however buying them used is much cheaper. If you feel you want to save the money and repair them yourself go that way, it will be much cheaper.

Socom Gear 180 rd Mid-Cap Troy Arms magazine

Mad Bull / Socom Gear has been awesome and sent me a 180 rd mid cap magazine with troy arms trade marks on it.

It is made of plastic but is very sturdy and strong. I have had many mid cap mags including magpul pts, and star. The star is very low quality and half the time doesnt feed properly. The Magpul works fairly well but does have some miss feeds. The Socom Gear has been amazing. Not one miss feed. In AEG's there are often left over bb's fall out of the mags. The socom gear only has a single bb fall out. This saves money and wasted bbs. If a player is using heavier bbs they can be quite expensive. So this saves money. This magazine is very high quality and is the best one I have. A word of caution: out of the box it fits very tightly in my mag well. I was using this with a Classic Army M15. CA is known for poor compatibility with other brands. This fits well (very snug) and fires all but one bb with no misfeeds.

All of this said I will have to give this a 10 out of 10.

A big thanks to MadBull / Socom Gear for supplying the mag and supporting our blog and videos!

Check it out on youtube.

New Product Reviews underway

I got news from some manufacturers that we will be officially able to review some of their newest products. This is a huge step for us. Hopefully they will like what we do and continue to support us so that we can in turn educate the users on how well products work for us end users. I am very happy to announce the support of Mad Bull and their brother company SOCOM Gear. Our first review will be up in a couple of days. This is a great thing for us and for our supporters out there. Stay tuned for more airsoft!

Airsoft GI vs. EVIKE from 2011

So this review is on two retailers of Airsoft and probably two of the largest in the USA. I did some research on the two companies and how they operate as well as how their customer service was and even inventory.

Airsoft GI: Airsoft GI had amazing customer service. Although I did have some issues with an RMA there which is to be suspected. I had ordered a shorty CQB M203 airsoft grenade shower launcher. I got the launcher and realized it was much bigger than it was supposed to be. I contacted Customer service and they had me snap a few pictures of it then got back to me within 24 hours. I packed it back up and UPS showed up at my door the next day to pick it up. It took me about 3-5 weeks to get it back because it was out of stock. The customer service rep had called and emailed me several times to keep me updated.

The prices of Airsoft GI are a little higher but they offer tons of free shipping discounts which many times can be combined with other discounts. This makes the price slightly lower than EVIKE. Airsoft GI have shipped everything to me via UPS. It has rarely arrived in pristine condition. I dont know if this is UPS fault or because it was not packed well. One gas blowback pistol I bought from GI had busted the oil container and the gun and packaging was soaked. I didnt complain but instead cleaned it and it worked alright.

The stock of Airsoft GI runs out quickly but they do a fantastic job of updating their website to show in stock and out of stock items. The selection is growing but does not compare with EVIKE.

EVIKE: Evike is a massive company that offers the widest range of parts, components, and airsoft stuff out there. With that being said I ordered a lot of this stuff at christmas time. Unfortunately their call center was booked and short staff and I had to sit on the phone for about an hour then was disconnected. I dont know if it was my phone or if it was theirs. I called back and waited another 20 minutes. I had ordered a launcher for my brother, and a set of ball bearings for some grenades. I was supposed to have 4mm and instead was sent 3mm. The M203 launcher was a dboys when I had purchased online an "Echo1." The difference was minimal but the customer service guy told me that they could call it whatever they wanted.

Shipping was slower from Evike. Many times I would pay something like $10 for shipping on a small item and receive it in a small pouch via USPS. I have no problem with that, just wish shipping would be a bit cheaper as it should have cost maybe $5 for such a small item.

The inventory is what sets Evike apart. Anything you need can be found here. During Christmas they are slower to update the site but that is because of extremely high volumes.



Overall: both companies have their ups and downs.

Airsoft GI from my experience have had better shipping prices and better customer service while EVIKE has a much better inventory of stuff available. When I need parts or a gun that is not available in most other places I go with EVIKE because they have it. When I want something fast and a couple dollars cheaper, I go with GI.

Both are good companies overall and both have things they can improve upon.


Airsoft GI would have an overall of 8 (simply because of the customer service)
EVIKE would get and overall of 7 (the Inventory made up for the lack of customer service)








Note: The information for this study was compiled from personal experience. Neither companies have endorsed or contributed to my reviews at the time of writing and reviewing. Any information contained was based on personal product purchases during the Christmas season in 2011. Both companies may have fixed the issues I experienced and I do recommend both companies to anyone who wants to get into airsoft.

Post Gameplay: WE Hi-Capa 1911 with MadBull Upgraded inner Barrel

So I have now played in a game with both my Kriss Vector and the WE Hi-Capa. The Hi Capa did pretty good with stock barrel. With the MadBull Barrel it was amazing. I used .36g bbs in it which were a little too heavy for it but .3 worked perfectly. The .36 caused too much of a drop too soon. But at short distances under 40 feet, it was dead on. This was the first real internal barrel upgrade I have done and it was well worth it. I did not have any mishaps with it and everything was like butter. I used it off and on for about 10 hours and one magazine of gas lasted about two full magazines of BB's. Some people don't feel like upgrading the barrel for a pistol, but it isnt the length that makes the difference in airsoft it is how tight the bore is. The MadBull barrel has made this my new favorite airsoft sidearm. And I definitely need it with the KWA inefficiency on gas. The 25 rd magazine will allow you to defend your base for what seems like an eternity when the Kriss has ran out of ammo. Highly recommended, and easy install.

KWA Kriss Vector Review

So I got my hands on the KWA Kriss Vector and all I have to say is WOW! This is build identical to the real thing. Almost the entire thing is heavy duty composite except for the barrel bolt and charging handle. The ROF is awesome. I have played several games with it and it is definitely a beast. The ergonomics on the vector are like nothing I have held before. It feels great and solid when holding it. The collapsible stock makes it about as long as a MP7 when folded. It comes with a foregrip and folding sights that were dead on out of the box. The magazine is metal and the bottom is wrapped with composite. The recoil is the same as the real thing. This make the recoil on this GBB much less than the other GBB by KWA. Take down is identical to the realsteel. 4 pins to push out and then the upper and lower can be separated. Drop the bolt out (all metal) and start cleaning or upgrading if you want. Be careful not to pinch yourself when pushing it back together as I did. Left a nasty blood blister. The 2 rd burst is crisp and fast and my favorite mode of all the airsoft replicas I own. Beware that you will go through some ammo and will likely need at least a second magazine. The magazines are not very gas efficient. I get maybe 1.5 mags on a charge if that. It would be wise to carry a can of Green Gas or Airsoft Innovations gas can on you into the field for that desperate reload. The cooldown effect on the mags is terrible in weather under 60 degrees. The LM4's mag outshined the Kriss by about 10 -15 magazines in cooler than 60 degree weather. The only issue I have ran across is the bolt gets stuck open within the chamber. When this happens the bolt catch is not catching it. You will have to manually cycle the bolt again to get it to close. It has happened one time in a game.

Overall Looks: 10 (I love the look and feel of this)
Performance:     8  (the cooldown on the mags is bad, and it is not very gas efficient)
Accuracy:         9  (very accurate but is off from time to time but it is airsoft)
Quality:            9  (If the bolt didnt get stuck it would be a ten)

Overall Rating:  9.5

Below is the video review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJa4c11GmDI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUsld8RPmLKk3N77fAR3VC3Q