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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