I picked up 3 of these from BlackBlitz to update my small rental fleet, so just to be clear, nobody gave me anything for free (sigh, they never do), and there are no under the table agreements here. These came out of my pocket and nobody gave me anything to do this review.

I’m replacing some Specna Flex’s I had a for the past year that ran as light rentals and loaners, but wanted to find something a little more robust, at least with a metal body for the upcoming season. I saw BlackBlitz had these on sale, so called up Theo and got 3 on the way.

The box is nicely labeled, and comes with a few different FPS numbers and a sheet indicating it’s the Canadian version.

Getting into the box reveals the AEG, nicely packed and all the parts and pieces that come with it. My first impression is “Wow”, for the price, this thing feels super solid. It’s got some weight to it, but nothing abnormal for a full metal AEG, it just feels solid, zero wobbles and everything just looks and feels like it’s really decent quality and manufacturing. That first impression means a lot and this AEG did not disappoint.

In the box is single MAS magazine, bag of .25g bbs, an MLok vertical grip (nice add on!!!), a kill rag and a barrel bag. I think that magazine is going to make it’s way into my personal kit and the renters can run the newbie hicap right of passage.

Some things that caught my eye right off the bat were first the threaded muzzle brake. It’s advertised as a 22×2 thread pitch, so hopefully there is a tracer unit out there or mock suppressor with internal tracer unit that can easily thread on for night games.

The second is receiver body has some extra features such as a really nice grip, a sling plate, and an ambi mag release, not to mention a flat trigger. Another nice little touch!

The charging handle reveals the rotary hop unit which is easy to adjust.

I put an 11.1v Lipo battery in it and charged the mag with .28g (seeing as that’s what I supply my rental customers with) and did some shots thru the chrono. Trigger response is really decent and full auto is a decent rate of fire. No complaints here at all. The chrono said 325fps (1.37joules) with the .28g and full auto was around 19rps. Again no complaints at all, for a beginner, novice or rental gun this thing has already checked a lot of boxes for me and exceeded expectations.

I got it on the bench to take it apart, and right of the bat found another nice little add on. MAS calls it their “Magic Pin” and it’s a nice pleasant change to the typical front take down pin. I’m sure a hamfister could strip it out and get themselves into trouble, but if you tighten it right, it’s going to do an excellent job of holding the upper and lower together and not falling out. Brilliant.

The upper came off nicely and the barrel and hop up came out easily to reveal more pleasant surprises. A stainless steel inner barrel and full length stainless cylinder in the gearbox. I’m a big fan of more air volume, but that’s a different article, so this was great to see.

The hop up came apart very easily, which is good for when it comes time to service and revealed a really decent looking bucking and nub. The bucking is super soft and has a patch similar to a Maple Leaf MR Hop. The nub reminds me of the Prometheus Flat hop nubs. The hop unit isn’t spectacular, but it’s not junk either, the adjuster has a solid positive feel to it and in conjunction with that bucking and nub it lifts .28g without issue.

After removing the buttstock and buffer tube from the lower receiver, I got another pleasant surprise. You don’t need to pull the gearbox to change the spring!! Once the buffer tube is off (long phillips screwdriver), you can easily pull the Spring Guide and Spring out if you want increase or lower your FPS. A true quick change. Thank you!! The spring guide is full metal and is really nice quality.

Cracking the gearbox was easy, and revealed all sorts of things that made me happy. First the compression system looks like something out of a fully aftermarket upgraded AEG not a sub $400 gun. Full metal rack piston, full length stainless steel cylinder, aluminum piston head, and I’m not positive, but the cylinder head and air nozzle look extremely similar to the BCA product from BlackBlitz. I should know because those are some go to parts for me when I do my builds and repairs. The tappet plate was a little flimsy for my taste, but I do tend to be tappet snob and know what I like. I haven’t tested the infamous PTS EPM-1 exposer of midcap syndrome, but will follow up when I get the chance.

Gear box was well lubed, gears were decently shimmed enough that I didn’t feel I needed to make any tweaks, and the trigger unit houses a small contact based mosfet unit making it 11.1v Lipo friendly. The gears are 13.1 high speed and when paired with the 22tpa motor it explains why the trigger response is as snappy as it is.

The motor reminds me of a stock VFC 22tpa motor. If that’s what it is, that’s another plus.

The gun went back together as easy as it came apart. It was less than 15 minutes for full tear down and re-assembly, so for rentals that might need some extra servicing due to abuse, this ease of servicing was just icing on the cake.

At this point I don’t have ANY negatives to say about this offering from Maple Armouries. I don’t want to refer to it as a beginner gun, because it’s got some really nice thoughtful add-ons and extras, and is full metal which in my eyes sets it well above the beginner category. Then throw in the performance and parts and it’s well above “beginner” class. The only thing entry level is the price. It’s got a ton of commendable and thoughtful little additions that show Jacob at MAS has his finger on the pulse of the average airsofter.

For rentals I’m pleased as punch. I typically roll them over every year, but I think I’m going to keep these a bit longer, maybe even put a brushless in one to see how it works.

So if your looking for the next level up from your Raider or Flex, check these out, I think you’ll be as pleased as I am with them. I’m looking forward to getting it out on the field and putting them in the hands of my customers.