LOADOUT | DNC X M81!

Hey friends! 

Welcome back to the blog! Today I have another set-up post for you, in this blog, we'll be looking at one of the newest loadouts in my collection: DNC X M81 which I think is going to be great for CQB in the winter! 

For the helmet, as always, I'm running my Team Wendy EXFIL LTP in Black. The EXFIL LTP is a lightweight polymer bump helmet that gives great impact protection and a stable, comfortable platform for mounting night-vision devices (and other accessories). It features a built-in NVG shroud, a Zorbium foam liner along with a CAM FIT Retention System that has easily adjustable Cam Lock sliders, and a micro-adjustable BOA Fit System. The Team Wendy EXFIL LTP is by far the most expensive helmet I've used during my time airsofting, but it is also the most comfortable to wear for extended periods and the protection it offers is second to none. 

I've accessorised it with the TW EXFIL Carbon & LTP 2.0 Rails and the TW EXFIL Peltor Headset Adapters which hold my Howard Leight Honeywell Impact Sport headset which I use for comms and hearing protection. As I haven't yet scored an affordable set of Peltors, I had to do a little bit of jimmying to get these off their band and to fit on the Peltor mounts, they are by no means perfect (they pop off from time to time) but they work whilst I'm still on the lookout for a set of Peltors. 

As I run mostly green kit I have the EXFIL LTP Rail 2.0 Ranger Green Cover to match it to my BDU and to give it some texture - I'm not a fan of smooth, shiny helmets (that innuendo). To help offset the weight of my Night-Vision, I have the EXFIL Counterweight Kit in Black, of which I'm currently using 3 of the weights included in the kit. 

To accessorise the cover, I have a Mantra Strobe which has a red light function and an IR light function - this is super helpful during night ops - using the red light to signify being a dead player and using the IR to help teammates with NV know where I am. We love a patch or two so I've added the Afraid Of The Dark Gucci patch and an Afraid Of The Dark 'Gang Shit' patch. 

To attach my NV to the helmet, I have a clone Wilcox G24 Mount and an FW-Solutions 3D Printed Articulating J-Arm. I also have a piece of bungee cord that is attached to my NV housing for safety, this is threaded through the vents in my helmet and attached to one of the rails to ensure that if the mount and arm break or fail for any reason, the unit won't come crashing to the ground. 

As for the NV itself, I have an NVM14 Housing (which is a little smaller and lighter than the well-known PVS14) that has a Photonis BASIC WP tube installed. I chose WP over the traditional green as it is a little easier on my eyes when I wear it for extended periods. 

To protect it during airsoft games I have a Butler Creek Scope Cap with a piece of perspex behind it. 

To keep my eyes and teeth safe, I’m running the Wiley X Saber ADV Shooting Glasses (these aren’t pictured) and wearing the Bravo Mask from Lone Star Tactical. The Bravo Mask is a snood with a piece of square mesh inside. 

For my plate carrier, I’m wearing something new that I recently acquired on one of my trips to the States: the Phantom Gear "Wraith" T3 in Desert Night Camo from Evike.com. This affordable plate carrier is made from 500D Cordura Nylon fabric making it durable, water-resistant and lightweight. It has an elastic cummerbund with built-in pouches for magazines, radios or other accessories and a removable front flap can be replaced with a placard or buckle chest rig. It has interior air mesh padding so it’s really comfortable to wear for extended periods. At the moment, I still have the foam plates that are included with it in, as they are comfy to wear but you do have the option of adding weighted plates. It has a front upper pocket too. 

I have accessorised my Wraith T3 with the fully modular Emerson Gear Micro MK3 Chest Rig. This rig comes with Skeleton Harness and fully adjustable straps which are designed to distribute the weight evenly on your upper back so it is a really comfy rig to wear as a standalone chest rig but I LOVE the way it looks as an add-on to the plate carrier. 

The rig comes with two side pouches for radios etc, however, I don’t really use them as I have a dedicated pouch on my belt so they aren’t featured on this loadout. The main compartment of the rig has two sections and both come with stiff/elasticated inserts for three magazines; for a total of 6 regular size magazines, or 3 large ones if you remove one of the sections. The lower Utility Pouch has two large magazine inserts which would be suitable for .308 / 7.62 mags and also features a front zipped compartment for loose items.

Next up is my belt set-up for this loadout. The base of my belt set-up is the Rigger's Belt from Deadly Customs! It is made from MILSPEC webbing and features a dual-layer construction for strength and durability. At the front of the belt, there is a genuine 45mm AustriaAlpin Cobra Buckle that has a built-in D-Ring which you can use to attach a load of items. The inside of the belt is lined with an extra-strong hook Velcro to attach it to the inner belt. The inner goes through your trouser loops just like a normal belt and has an extra ridged construction so that when the two are paired together it creates a solid platform that airsofters and kit enthusiasts can rely on. The inner belt has been designed intentionally with loop Velcro so it can be worn alone and won’t damage clothes or car seats. On the buckle, the DC logo has been laser etched which is a great touch. 

Now as we've discussed the base of the build, let's chat about what I've fleshed out the build with: I have 2 Deadly Customs Glock Shooters Style Magazine Holsters, a Deadly Customs M4 5.56 Shooters Style Magazine Holster, a Baofeng UV5R Radio Kydex Holster, a Deadly Customs 40mm Grenade / Moscart Holster Green and the Signature Glock Kydex DC1 Series Holster wrapped in M81 Cordura fabric! You can check out my in-depth blog post for my M81 rigger’s belt here.

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PYRO | 2022 NEUTRON BY TECTONIC INNOVATIONS!

Hi friends!

Welcome back to the blog! In February 2021, I reviewed the Tectonic Innovations single-shot impact grenade - the Neutron. Today we’ll be looking at the new and improved Neutron that was released at the end of August!

The Neutron from Tectonic Innovations is a single-shot impact grenade designed for airsoft. It is crafted from Stainless steel and aircraft-grade Aluminium for longevity and durability. Like its big brother, it also uses a 209 primer as its munition. It has a ‘twist to safe’ mechanism and locking pins for the fire and safe positions. The new Neutron can be holstered in any 40mm pouch or a Deadly Customs holster. The new version of the Neutron is available in the same colours as the original - black, red, orange, blue and purple but instead of having a grey base, it has a colour-matched base.

As we noted in 2021, one of the most notable features on the Neutron is the 2 windows that are on the base of the grenade - that take 40mm glow sticks to make it easy to find in dark places. These have been kept on in the new design. Once you have cracked the glow sticks, they can be inserted into the window spaces and they’ll glow for a good few hours. There is one window on each side, which means wherever it falls you should be able to see the glow and locate your device. The glow sticks are easy to remove as well - you simply tip the bottom of the grenade upside down and they both fall out with ease. When reloading the Neutron’s 209 primers, these will also come out when you tip it upside down so be prepared to catch them if you want to use them again!

As those of us who are familiar with impact grenades well know, with a lot of use, the firing pins in these devices can become blunt which impacts their performance, to combat this, the 2022 variation of the neutron also has a new and improved firing pin, meaning it lasts longer and you get more bangs from the original firing pin.

Like the Quake 8 and the previous Neutron, all of the internal parts of the 2022 Neutron are replaceable, so if anything should ever go wrong, instead of replacing the entire unit (for £69.99) you can simply replace the part - this works out much cheaper for the end-user. Most parts are available from dealers but if they’re out of stock they are available direct from Tectonic Innovations. The customer service at Tectonic is fantastic. The Neutron is manufactured in the UK as well so no long waiting times for parts.

As we discussed earlier, aesthetically it looks pretty similar to the original Neutron but rather than the grey anodised bottom piece, it is now colour cod instead. I don’t mind either (as I still have my original Neutron from the last review) but if you have both the Quake and the Neutron you could mistake them. I think purple is the one that stands out the most. The writing on the Neutron is easy to see and read in low light too. After the test throws, my Neutron does have a few scuffs and chips but the anodising has held up well.

So how does it function? The new firing pin definitely adds some sensitivity to the 2022 Neutron. For all of my grenade tests, I do 25 throws on hard ground and then a few throws on the softer ground at different heights etc to test the sensitivity. During my tests, it went off on all of the hard ground throws and it off on 65% of the softer ground throws. Now it is worth noting that BFG (Blank Firing Grenades) such as the Neutron is designed to be used on hard ground. So it going off on softer ground is a bonus. If the ground is really soft and muddy it does struggle but if the ground is dry it goes off every time. I wouldn’t recommend using this in a woodland game though as they are expensive bits of kit and you don’t want to lose them in a bush. The glow stick windows are a nice touch and do really help when the site is dark. I did find if it lands funny in a corner that the glow sticks aren’t very visible but there’s generally a faint glow so it worked as it should.

The 2022 Neutron retails for £69.99 and is available from all Tectonic Innovations dealers, including Extreme Airsoft! You can also use my 'femmefatale' code for 5% off at www.extremeairsoft.co.uk!

Post sponsored by Tectonic Innovations

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STORE | EVIKE OUTPOST HOUSTON!

Hey friends! 

Welcome back to the blog! In this post, we’re going to be taking a look at the new location of Evike Outpost Houston in the USA! 

Evike Outpost Houston is now located in Cypress, Texas, after outgrowing its Spring location. The store now exists in what was once a Walmart and as such, it has a large car park. As you walk up to the doors of the outpost you’ll notice right now it doesn’t have a lot of signage but this will be added shortly. As you go through the sliding doors, the aircon hits you like a train making it a welcome retreat from the Texan heat. Inside the foyer, there are two doors - one that leads to the new Evike Outpost storefront and the other leads to High Ground Airsoft (you can read my review of the site here!). 

The new location is a whopping 42,000 sq feet with 8,000 sq feet of retail space - and this space is used well! The storefront is clean, well presented and organised, so it is easy to navigate if you know exactly what you want. I've used the images from the Evike website for this post as mine were taken during the Grand Opening event in July so it was hella busy and a little messy from customers bustling about but it is usually spotless so I didn't feel it was an accurate representation of the store on a regular day. It has literally everything you could need and even things you didn’t think you’d need. The walls are lined from top to bottom with airsoft replicas, and they’re two/three rifles deep - bar evike.com's headquarters in Alhambra, California, I’ve never seen so many airsoft guns in one store. As well as airsoft replicas, you can find racks of gear, BDUs and outdoor clothing, eye pro, face pro, helmets, ear protection, patches, upgrade parts and even grenade-shaped USB sticks. It’s crazy the number of products that Evike has in their store and it’s impossible to name all of the brands they carry. It would probably be easier to name the brands that they don’t! There is also a shooting range in the store that has some insane targets!

The staff are all experts in their fields, knowledgeable and always happy to help with anything from kit advice to how to improve the performance of your gun. They are friendly, approachable and there is always a relaxed atmosphere in the store which makes for a positive shopping experience. There is an in-store teching service which is super affordable so there’s always help on hand for any technical issues you may have (or for a cheeky upgrade). 

I have been to a fair few Airsoft shops in the time I’ve been airsofting, some very good and some not so good. Evike Outpost Houston’s location makes the store a reachable location for a large proportion of Airsofters in the Southern States, and any potential customers that are out of reach can get most of the items they stock in store through the evike.com website. The range of products that they stock is fantastic and they only stock brands that you can trust so you know you can be confident in your purchase. Their after-sales care and support are second to none so never be afraid to pop in with any queries or dilemmas you have – you will always be greeted by a smiling face behind the counter. The staff are my favourite element of the store, as they are a great bunch of people who always make you feel welcome. They are always happy to help and are knowledgeable, offering sound advice to their customers on a range of subjects. It is clear from watching them interact with their customers in-store that they are passionate about Airsoft. All these elements make the store a great place to shop, I would recommend this store to both new and seasoned Airsofter.

Post sponsored by Evike.com

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