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Product Information:
The UAR is an interesting concept as an Airsoft firearm. It combines the ergonomics of future-esque bullpup designs with a compact and feature-packed construction. It has a few characteristics that I would like to see more often in the average Airsoft gun. Frankly, this is one of the cooler SMG's I've seen on the market (IMO). That said, APS's promise that "Compromise is not an Option" in big bold letters on the box is a gargantuan pile of steaming poo. There are loads of ups and downs on this gun that I will cover, however I'll give a brief explanation first.
The APS UAR is an AEG with a version 3 'hybrid' gearbox, courtesy of APS. It sports a genuine metal hop up and a short-type motor, and a spring that will deliver ~350fps out of the box, with another included that promises ~400fps. The gearbox is also outfitted with a quick-change spring system. With a barrel length of 385mm, this SMG makes apt use of the bullpup's famous long-barrel short-gun perk. There are numerous other features, including the quad-rail system, hollow pistol grip, ambidextrous fire selector, triple magazine release, bolt catch, and QD sling mounts. The flash hider is a standard 14mm CCW hider, and the inner barrel extends far into it, so make sure any barrel extensions or flash hiders you buy to replace the stock one are at least two inches or so. The gun also features a quick-disassembly system that relies upon the removal of three body pins to separate the upper and lower regions of the gun and gain access to the gearbox, barrel, and hop-up.
All the technicals aside, I'll now share my personal experience, which, unfortunately, has been rather terrible and is the main reason for the deduction of two stars on this review on an otherwise ingenious step in the SMG field. Firstly, the flash hider is glued on so tight that nothing short of a heat gun, pliers, and boiling water will allow one to finally battle off the flash hider late at night with salty cheeks and bulging neck veins. Hardly any magazines are compatible and even ones that lock will not feed. APS did themselves an anti-favor by trying to sucker in American players to buy their proprietary magazines from China. Continuing, my APS UAR came with plastic stubs covering the insides of the upper vents, meaning less battery space and less cool-factor. It's lame that they allowed guns to come out of the factory like that. Compromise isn't an option? Pffffft get a slogan. The rear stock pad that houses the bolt catch is flimsy and is prone to falling off. Only with electrical tape for padding is it decently rigid in place. The trigger pull for this gun is uncomfortably long, and puts the player at that much more of a disadvantage when playing, esp. in CQB where other players are likely to have instant-response spring action rifles. My UAR fails to feed properly even with its own magazines, opting instead to jam every other round, even on a lubed barrel, charged 7.4v lipo, and fully wound magazine. It chokes and eventually the shooting becomes a dull 'thud-thud-thud' as BB's begin to collect in the hop up. I suspect this may have to do with a torn or crinkled hop up rubber or something. Speaking of the hop-up, adjusting it too dramatically in either direction will jam the gun automatically. The selector switch, although duplicated on the other side of the gun, is hard to reach without changing hands from the typical shooter's grip. I don't have small hands. Lastly but not least, the gun's rate of fire is mediocre at best, and noticeably lower than even sportline AEG's by G&G and Echo 1.
In Conclusion, the APS UAR is a cool idea with some new things to bring to the table, however APS obviously did not invest the care or effort to work even a few of the great variety of quirks, incompatibilities, and shortcomings of this model. I seriously hope that a few upgrades to the gearbox and a full re-lube of the gun will ensure that it starts to even shoot properly. All in all, buy this gun but do so with low expectations and a wallet with cash ready to spend on replacement parts and a lot of kleanex for your late-night crying about what this AEG could have been.
Pros:
Interesting design...
Comfortable to shoulder, easy to get bearings and line shot...
Durable plastic construction, light enough for younger players...
Magazine releases are convenient
Accommodating rail space...
Quick Change Spring System
Decent FPS
Cons:
Low Rate of Fire
Counter-Productive Hop-Up
Flimsiness in several areas
Flash Hider is glued far too tightly...
*My Model came with covered perforations*
Bad magazine compatibility
Constant Jamming and Feeding issues out of the bog with a good battery and fair care...
Ridiculous trigger pull...
Rating:  [3 of 5 Stars!] |
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