Post by triggs on May 31, 2011 15:53:47 GMT -5
Hailstorm Airsoft BB
- Overview
- Externals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts
Overview
Hailstorm Airsoft is a brand new company based in Laconia, New Hampshire, and is building a name for themselves in their local community and many other places around the nation as a competitively priced, quality, BB producer.
I approached Steve, the co-owner of Hailstorm Airsoft, about reviewing their products after hearing about them through my local Michigan forums. He was kind enough to send me a couple bags of their recently released .25 gram bio and non-bio BB’s for review.
Externals Review
As seen in the photo, the BB’s come in a very space age re-sealable bag with the Hailstorm name, weight, size, and all the hazards of plastic BB’s, and what not to do with them. The biodegradable BB’s are similarly packaged with the exception of a large green globe in the corner, and BIO written next to it.
To start off, with a fresh bag of each Hailstorm BB, I weighed each of the bags against a control bag, and against the mathematical ideal for 5000 .25g BBs. As you can see my scale only goes to the tenth decimal, so I could not measure to the exact mathematical weight. However, results were very close given the equipment used.
Mathematical weight: 2lb 12.09oz
Hailstorm non-bio BB: 2lb 12.1oz
Hailstorm bio BB: 2lb 12.1oz
Team SD (TSD) non-bio BB: 2lb 12.1oz
Overall, all of the brands were consistent in their packaged weight, and at most have a .01oz different.
Here is a close up comparison of some various brand BB’s to show the difference in color and polish.
From left to right: KSC .20g (orange), Hailstorm non-bio .25g (red), Hailstorm bio .25g (green), Airsoft Elite .28g (black)
Surely a white BB is a white BB? Wrong, the KSC BB’s were noticeable whiter than all of them, with the Hailstorm bio being whiter than their non-bio counterparts, while the AE BB’s were the darkest of the four types.
The Hailstorm BB’s are highly polished, and clean of debris, burrs, and pits. The non-bio BB’s had a noticeable molding line when examined under a bright light. However, this has no effect on the polish of the BB, nor its accuracy. The exterior was clean and smooth, and fed consistently through every rifle tested.
The bios are probably my favorite of the two, I was skeptical when Steve told me I would be more impressed with the bio than the non-bio. However, I have to admit, the bio BB’s are even nicer than their non-bio. Unlike the non-bio, they do not have any sort of seam line, the polish felt smoother, and the color was, as mentioned, noticeably whiter. They even seemed to feed smoother throughout the tests.
From left to right: Hailstorm non-bio .25g (red), Hailstorm .25g bio (green), Airsoft Elite .28g (black)
Most BB’s have some sort of air bubble at the center due to the design of injection molding. This can adversely affect the long term accuracy of the BB due to the spin, and wind, the BB will encounter during flight. In addition it can make it easier for certain rifle setups to “chop” the BB in half (i.e. Systema PTW’s are commonly known to chop BB’s due to the metal air nozzle). As you can see the AE .28 definitely has an air bubble in the middle. On the other hand, both Hailstorm BB types did not.
Performance
Having used many brands and weights of BB’s, I was eager to test the new Hailstorm .25g BB’s in comparison to some of the big names such as Airsoft Elite, TSD, and KSC. One thing I didn’t notice during the external review, the non-bio BB’s were covered in a residue that seemed to gunk up the mags and cause a couple jams. After a good washing and retest, results were consistent and jam-free. The bio BB’s were much cleaner and didn’t require any sort of washing, though this is ill-advised anyways since they are biodegradable.
Test rifles:
- Heavily modified VFC SCAR-H with 1 160rd VFC SCAR-H mag and 1 120rd modified 20LR PMAG
- Stock G&G Combat Machine M4A1 with 1 80rd STAR Green Label PMAG and 1 120rd MAG brand USGI mag
Test pistols:
- Stock KWA M9 PTP with 2 26rd mags
- Modified WE 1911 with Madbull 6.03mm tightbore and 2 14rd mags
The accuracy was very consistent with the test AEG rifle and GBB pistol, with no jams and a consistent accurate shot. I was able to throw them out to 180ft with the test AEG without an issue and hit a 4 inch target consistently. The GBB pistol was also very similar in its groupings, at an obviously shorter distance, and I was able to hit a 4 inch target at about 50ft, both times without any support.
Final Thoughts
Prior to the review, Steve was most helpful in a mix up in shipping as I was supposed to receive two half bags of each types of .25g BB’s. However, I ended up with a full bag of each. He was extremely timely in responding to the questions and comment I had, as well as willing to work with me to complete the review. If this is how Hailstorm will be handling their customer service and business, you certainly won’t be disappointed with any purchase.
Externals Score: 9.5/10
I have to take a half point away here since there is a noticeable mold line on virtually every BB, which I know many will bring up or blame as a cause for issues from players. However the mold line DOES NOT affect feeding, performance, or accuracy.
Performance Score: 10/10
Despite a few mag feeding issues during testing I’m giving the BB’s a full rating as they fed properly after a little mag maintenance. And as stated shot very accurately, with no air bubble unlike my standard use BB.
Overall score: 10/10
I’m giving Hailstorm Airsoft a full ten because of their customer service. They seem extremely customer oriented and focused on making sure the customer’s wants and needs comes first and are pleased with their products.
A big thanks goes to Steve Buy of Hailstorm Airsoft for his product and customer support.
For more reviews
© Copyright triggs 2011
- Overview
- Externals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts
Overview
Hailstorm Airsoft is a brand new company based in Laconia, New Hampshire, and is building a name for themselves in their local community and many other places around the nation as a competitively priced, quality, BB producer.
I approached Steve, the co-owner of Hailstorm Airsoft, about reviewing their products after hearing about them through my local Michigan forums. He was kind enough to send me a couple bags of their recently released .25 gram bio and non-bio BB’s for review.
Externals Review
As seen in the photo, the BB’s come in a very space age re-sealable bag with the Hailstorm name, weight, size, and all the hazards of plastic BB’s, and what not to do with them. The biodegradable BB’s are similarly packaged with the exception of a large green globe in the corner, and BIO written next to it.
To start off, with a fresh bag of each Hailstorm BB, I weighed each of the bags against a control bag, and against the mathematical ideal for 5000 .25g BBs. As you can see my scale only goes to the tenth decimal, so I could not measure to the exact mathematical weight. However, results were very close given the equipment used.
Mathematical weight: 2lb 12.09oz
Hailstorm non-bio BB: 2lb 12.1oz
Hailstorm bio BB: 2lb 12.1oz
Team SD (TSD) non-bio BB: 2lb 12.1oz
Overall, all of the brands were consistent in their packaged weight, and at most have a .01oz different.
Here is a close up comparison of some various brand BB’s to show the difference in color and polish.
From left to right: KSC .20g (orange), Hailstorm non-bio .25g (red), Hailstorm bio .25g (green), Airsoft Elite .28g (black)
Surely a white BB is a white BB? Wrong, the KSC BB’s were noticeable whiter than all of them, with the Hailstorm bio being whiter than their non-bio counterparts, while the AE BB’s were the darkest of the four types.
The Hailstorm BB’s are highly polished, and clean of debris, burrs, and pits. The non-bio BB’s had a noticeable molding line when examined under a bright light. However, this has no effect on the polish of the BB, nor its accuracy. The exterior was clean and smooth, and fed consistently through every rifle tested.
The bios are probably my favorite of the two, I was skeptical when Steve told me I would be more impressed with the bio than the non-bio. However, I have to admit, the bio BB’s are even nicer than their non-bio. Unlike the non-bio, they do not have any sort of seam line, the polish felt smoother, and the color was, as mentioned, noticeably whiter. They even seemed to feed smoother throughout the tests.
From left to right: Hailstorm non-bio .25g (red), Hailstorm .25g bio (green), Airsoft Elite .28g (black)
Most BB’s have some sort of air bubble at the center due to the design of injection molding. This can adversely affect the long term accuracy of the BB due to the spin, and wind, the BB will encounter during flight. In addition it can make it easier for certain rifle setups to “chop” the BB in half (i.e. Systema PTW’s are commonly known to chop BB’s due to the metal air nozzle). As you can see the AE .28 definitely has an air bubble in the middle. On the other hand, both Hailstorm BB types did not.
Performance
Having used many brands and weights of BB’s, I was eager to test the new Hailstorm .25g BB’s in comparison to some of the big names such as Airsoft Elite, TSD, and KSC. One thing I didn’t notice during the external review, the non-bio BB’s were covered in a residue that seemed to gunk up the mags and cause a couple jams. After a good washing and retest, results were consistent and jam-free. The bio BB’s were much cleaner and didn’t require any sort of washing, though this is ill-advised anyways since they are biodegradable.
Test rifles:
- Heavily modified VFC SCAR-H with 1 160rd VFC SCAR-H mag and 1 120rd modified 20LR PMAG
- Stock G&G Combat Machine M4A1 with 1 80rd STAR Green Label PMAG and 1 120rd MAG brand USGI mag
Test pistols:
- Stock KWA M9 PTP with 2 26rd mags
- Modified WE 1911 with Madbull 6.03mm tightbore and 2 14rd mags
The accuracy was very consistent with the test AEG rifle and GBB pistol, with no jams and a consistent accurate shot. I was able to throw them out to 180ft with the test AEG without an issue and hit a 4 inch target consistently. The GBB pistol was also very similar in its groupings, at an obviously shorter distance, and I was able to hit a 4 inch target at about 50ft, both times without any support.
Final Thoughts
Prior to the review, Steve was most helpful in a mix up in shipping as I was supposed to receive two half bags of each types of .25g BB’s. However, I ended up with a full bag of each. He was extremely timely in responding to the questions and comment I had, as well as willing to work with me to complete the review. If this is how Hailstorm will be handling their customer service and business, you certainly won’t be disappointed with any purchase.
Externals Score: 9.5/10
I have to take a half point away here since there is a noticeable mold line on virtually every BB, which I know many will bring up or blame as a cause for issues from players. However the mold line DOES NOT affect feeding, performance, or accuracy.
Performance Score: 10/10
Despite a few mag feeding issues during testing I’m giving the BB’s a full rating as they fed properly after a little mag maintenance. And as stated shot very accurately, with no air bubble unlike my standard use BB.
Overall score: 10/10
I’m giving Hailstorm Airsoft a full ten because of their customer service. They seem extremely customer oriented and focused on making sure the customer’s wants and needs comes first and are pleased with their products.
A big thanks goes to Steve Buy of Hailstorm Airsoft for his product and customer support.
For more reviews
© Copyright triggs 2011
