Gear Reviews

REVIEW OF THE BOOGIE REGULATOR GOGGLES FROM SMITH OPTICS ELITE






REVIEW OF THE AR-15 MAG GRIPS KIT FROM MAG GRIPS
Ok so I've had the chance to see a lot of gear over the years, and whether people want to tell you the truth or not, function AND style matters to people. I'm not outside that world either.  OF COURSE I want something to work well, but if it can look cool while working well, all the better.  And thus, we have the Mag Grips for your AR mags.  You can get them HERE on the MagGrips site.  They only cost $12.95 and one 'kit' will cover 3 of your mags.

So what do you get with the kit?  Glad you asked - take a look below.

You get the first set on brown paper and the other 2 that haven't had the 'left over' or 'extra' grip torn off yet.  Note that they do send a little note (see above) with their recommendation on how to use these other grips and don't worry - they are already cut out.  When I first got this, I thought, "Sweet...wait - do I have to cut the rest out myself?"
You don't so don't sweat it.

Here's a close up of the kit.

It's a very simple process.  I used the MagGrips site to see how they did it, and then I just copied their mags.  Of course, you should clean your own hands with soap and water and THEN clean the mag you are about to 'grip' with the included alcohol wipe.  Once you do, stick away, my friends.  Here's what it looks like all done (it looks the same on the other side too).

NOW, the main warning I would give is to check where you mag will send up fitting into your mag well before you stick these grips on.  As you can see, the grips pop up a little into the mag well for my gun. It's not enough to impact them mag seating well, but be aware of this possible issue.

Another shot of it.
 

Overall, a great product.  It's amazing to see how much these do help with your grip of a mag.  A few closing thoughts.  First, I'll let you know how well they stick on after use (stay tuned).  Secondly, check how your mags fit into a chest rig/taco/whatever after you put these on.  It may make it harder to put 2 mags in a double M4 pouch if they are gripping together as you try to take them out.  But as of now - love them.  And like I said, they are functional and look cool too.

REVIEW OF THE AFG KIT FROM MAG GRIPS

Hey guys,

Carp from CQB Radio here writing up a review on the MagGrips AFG kit.  Eric from The Gear Locker (click HERE to visit The Gear Locker's site) sent this guy over to me because he knew I ran an AFG on one of my carbines.  So here’s the skinny.

To be honest, I was a little ‘meh’ about the kit when I first got it.  I really like my AFG, so the thought of adding anything to it made me a little skeptical.  But when Eric and the Yankee Division came up to an OP that the Immortals were at, I noticed he had MagGrips on all his Pmags, so I thought I’d at least give 

the AFG kit a shot.  

Here’s what it looks like in the package.

The application process is simple enough (and all the info you need is on their website – www.maggrips.com).  First, you take the alcohol wipes and clean off you AFG.

I would actually recommend you FIRST clean your own hands so that your pizza-covered fingertips don’t get the AFG greasy after you’ve cleaned it off.  Anyhow, once you and your AFG are cleaned up, you peel off each of the 3 sections and apply them as shown below:

Ta-dah!  That’s really it. Now, the question is about how does it work.  My take – this kit is excellent.  Without gloves it certainly improves your grip.  With gloves, it really gives you a great hold of your AFG.  The texture of the actually grips I would compare to a slightly smoothed-out sandpaper.   For $5.95 it’s hard to go wrong.  This one get’s Carps thumbs up!

Keep on firin’,

Carp

REVIEW OF THE COLD STEEL AXE GANG HATCHET TRAINER

Now for some of you, you'll probably read this and say, "Wait - an axe?  In airsoft?  What?"  But let's think about it.  Knife kills?  Collectors?  Zombie games with a need for props?  The Cold Steel axe could definitely have a use in airsoft - let's look into it a bit more.  But first, let's talk about the axe.


First off, the markings - cool.  What does it say?  I don't know, but it's still cool looking. 
The cost?  Around $15.  So it's low cost for a very well-made item. 

Is it sharp?  Well, it's not a real axe.  It's made of polypropylene.  So no - it's not a real blade that you're going to cut wood with.  That said, if you swung this at someone full-force and hit them anywhere, it would really do some damage.  We'll talk about use later on, but BE CAREFUL if you are using this item.  It's an axe created for training in martial arts and self-defense so it's been made to train without seriously harming people but at the same time keeping the realism as much as possible.


Weight - this guy weighs in at about 1.25 lbs.
Length - just over 20 inches.  


Here's a look at the head of it.

And on the other side - a double-axe logo etched into the head.

On the back of the head, you can tell it's made by Cold Steel.  How?  Because it says..."Cold Steel".

Ok so could you use it in airsoft?  Fair question.  Eric of The GearLocker.net (click HERE to see his site) will also be reviewing one of these guys as well, and he and I were talking.  He had some concerns about someone using this for a knife-kill since it is to solid.  Agreed - as I noted earlier you really can't hit someone with this.  However, if you think about a knife kill, are you really 'stabbing' the person you get?  Hopefully not.  Hopefully you are just touching the person with the knife and saying "Knife kill" when you do. So if that's the case, one could argue for using this axe as a knife kill-type weapon at an airsoft event.  I mean, if you are throwing a plastic knife or this guy - either way it's dangerous, so if you use this guy correctly, in my humble opinion it's a legit and great option for airsoft events.  


What kind of events?  If you are in a milsim op and you are playing the role of Army Rangers I'd say you probably aren't carrying an axe.  But if you are in a zombie game - great option.  If you are a rogue warrior in a game - great option.  If you are skirmishing at a local field some Saturday - great option.  If you don't think you'd likely use it but it would add to the look of your loadout/kit - great option.

Overall,  this guy is beast.  I look forward to carrying it in one of my loadouts and I look forward to getting a knife (axe) kill with it when I'm at an airsoft event.


BIG thanks to Cold Steel for sending this along for review.  Here's their website: COLD STEEL

Carp signin' off - keep on firin'.

Thanks to Evike for their support of CQB Radio Reviews.

KOEI TACTICAL AIRSOFT FACE MASK
Now, let's get into the review. First up is the Koei Tactical Airsoft Face mask.  HERE is where you can find it at Evike. 
Ok, so what can I tell you about this mask. First off, it's pretty inexpensive at only $15.00. Secondly, it's light-weight. Thirdly, I like it. This mask has that totally expressionless look - it's like someone sees you in the woods as you approach and that person just starts to whimper.

To put it on, you slide the elastic band around the back of your head. When I put it on, I found it stayed in place very nicely and do note that the elastic is adjustable. This picture below show me with ESS goggles on, and these ones have that extra Cortex clip for extra nose coverage. If you can't tell by now, you NEED EYE PROTECTION - this mask has open holes for your eyes so you need goggles to go on top of the mask.


The mask is made of a super light-weight polycarbonate and it fit my face very comfortably. The nose holes do allow you to breathe out easily, and there is a little space in the mouth to exhale as well. Needless to say, since it's plastic and covering your entire face, you will get a little warm, but that's the price you pay for keeping safe.

You can also see in the pictures that this guy will not protect a small part of your jawline and also your neck and ears. That's true for some other face masks, but keep that in mind.


"Hello noob. I am here to eliminate you from this op."

Now this mask can take a hit of over 500 FPS up pretty close (up to 650 FPS at a normal range ~100 feet +/-). Bottom-line is that it will keep your face safe when properly combined with goggles and something to cover your neck/ears.



Ok so overall for looks - 10. I think this guy looks so intimidating - just a blank stare.
For build, I'll give this guy an 8 - the elastic seems solid enough but could be a little stronger, and I'd love to see an eye-safety insert as well, but that would jack up the price. For function - 9. If you put it on properly and combine it with other safety equipment, you'll: LINK TO IT HERE 

          

MATRIX SKULL IRON FACE LOWER-HALF MASK
Next up is the Matrix Skull Iron Face lower-half mask. Click HERE to link to it.

Here's the packaging:

Ok, so again - you NEED goggles with this bad-boy - I hope that's pretty obvious to everyone because if it's not, you're going to need more than just a mask to protect you in life.

When I tried this on and showed my wife, she was like, "That's creepy - take it off." That's when I knew that it was a good airsoft mask. I mean let's be honest - part of what we love about airsoft is looking the part and looking like we mean business. This mask helps communicate that.

Here you can see me with the skull lower-face mask and my ESS goggles with Cortex clip as well.
Overall, from the front = total protection. The mask is lightweight and has an adjustable elastic strap to put it on.

Here you will see, like the koei mask above, that your neck and the back side of your face are not protected, so you'll need something additional to keep that part of your head safe.

One thing they could have made a little bigger are the nose holes. They kept them small for safety (so BBs don't slip through), but they do make it more likely to fog up goggles. If you have a fan in your goggles you'll be good to go.

This mask can take full-on hit at high FPS. It's a little soft so it will also absorb the BBs velocity without breaking the mask.

If you look here, you can see that without the Cortex clip on my goggles, there is a space that a BB could slip through in the front. You can force the goggles to be snug to the mask but I found that they would move. That may just be the shape of my mug, because I've seen other pics that show them pretty snug. To make them stay that way, you can also wear the mask up a little higher on your face.

Overall, a nice option for lower-face protection. 

For looks, I'll give this guy a 9 - scary, intimidating. For function, a 7. The space between the goggles and mask concern me a bit but as I mentioned that might just be me. They will keep you safe though. And for build - 9 - very solid and the elastic if strong and adjustable. This is the Matrix Skull Iron Face lower-half mask and CLICK HERE to link to it.
- Carp