Grenades? What do you recommend...

[alexbuechel]

Hey Guys.

Any one here carry them? Is there a particular one that you have found works best?

As I play more and more I am like almost everyone getting more involved with expanding the game play to keep it exciting and make it more fun.

Recently I have begun looking into grenades. I know a few people that swear by them as they say the feeling is exhilarating. But the problem is knowing whats good.

I have seen many different types from $5 to about $80. Most kits come with one, some come with replaceable shells. Other say to make your own. I have even seen some use different things like thunderbee's and fill them.

A close friend tells me that they are not really reliable. Depending on the grenade the detonation time, or the radius, or even the way it lays on impact can affect the actual grenade and make it obsolete.


There are many things to consider besides price. Recovery seams to be the biggest problem. Finding parts and buying them later in case of loss.

I have so far seen many review one a few. I have narrowed it down to these as I think they are the more popular.

a) Tornado Grenade - They look pretty cool, but it looks like they would have the problem of how it lands. If it was tossed onto the ground on a field it may not be able to spin properly.

b) TLSFx - Don't really know much about these, except they are a one time use. They appear to detonate pretty well and scatter well. But the trigger or ignition system isn't all that attractive. Also the Time delay may prove unpredictable. The appear to be the most effective if you can find a good pouch to carry them.

c) Maple Leaf VFC MKIII A2 - This looks pretty cool. Although the green gas power worries me. Can this work in colder weather. A few reviews mention it has about a 15 radius which seams really nice when wanting to clear a room or small area. Since the gas shoots out of so many holes I worry about the actual impact power. Is it possible players may not know they were hit? Also, the loading of this grenade looks painfully annoying and with a huge price sticker I'm not sold yet.

d) Thunderbee - I have heard some fill these with bb's as well. The problem here I think lies in the fact that the timing I have heard is impossible to estimate. Also since the plastic will crack at random there is a big possibility the bb's will hardly even move or cover any estimated area at all. I have filled these with baby powder before to create an awesome white cloud blinding people after the initial boom scare.


Honestly, I would love to carry some, but they all appear to have many pros and cons so it makes it hard to decide.

What do you guys think?

[M.S.-ARC]

There is yet to be a good grenade on the market. I see people use these all the time and they spend way too much time looking for the different components of their grenade after they use it.

It's interesting and hopefully something good will eventually come out but for right now, they are not practical.

[Crapshoot]

Well I've personally seen three grenade failures: two Thunder B and one Tornado. One time, my friend was listening for the hiss of the CO2 from his thunder b, and he didn't hear it. He tried to put the spoon back on and it went off in his hand. Another time, someone filled their Thunder B with bbs and the CO2 just leaked out. Another time, Ozone's Tornado just failed to detonate. Also, they make Tornado Impact grenades, which are ment to detonate on contact with a hard surface.

[eagledriver]

Feb 15, 2012 11:16:30 GMT -5 alexbuechel said:

b) TLSFx - Don't really know much about these, except they are a one time use. They appear to detonate pretty well and scatter well. But the trigger or ignition system isn't all that attractive. Also the Time delay may prove unpredictable. The appear to be the most effective if you can find a good pouch to carry them.

Not sure what you mean by the ignition system, but they are just a pull pin with about a 5 second fuse. You can let them cook off for two seconds and then throw. We go through cases of them at Pine Plains. They don't have a lot of peas in them (they are filled with dried peas) but you can cut along the seam (where they separate on detonation) and fill with the desired amount of BB's. Then tape back together.

[Timm]

^ truth. I love whipping around pea grenades. Rel and I picked some up for pine planes.

Just watch your thumb and index on the pull .

[Krutch]

The Tlsfx grenades work very well. But they are expensive.

[Thor]

I've been a bit disappointed with the Thunder B's. Detonation is inconsistent and it's a pain in the ass sometimes to get the shell off if it splits around the top. They are loud as fuck though when they go off properly.

[Crapshoot]

Feb 15, 2012 17:02:28 GMT -5 Thor said:

They are loud as fuck though when they go off properly.

^ This. One went off on the other side of a plywood wall I was using as cover, and I very nearly shit myself.

[Tank]

I own the tornado impact grenade and you are correct about it not being a field grenade, with one exception. If the field you are at has any structures that have a floor, instead of just the grass, it will work well. Indoor games are perfect for it. It really does spray in a fairly good pattern.

Since I've never played an indoor game and there hasn't been a SFOD game since I bought it, I've sadly never had the ability to use it in game. So I guess if you find yourself playing games where the environment would be conducive to using it, then the impact grenade is the way to go. You don't have to collect parts, there is no finicky timer, and they are easy to use. If your in a field, they definitely suck.

Overall are grenades worth it, probably not. If your like me however and love gadgets and equipment, that one time that you can use it to clear a room would be priceless.

[alexbuechel]

Feb 15, 2012 15:43:09 GMT -5 eagledriver said:

Feb 15, 2012 11:16:30 GMT -5 alexbuechel said:

b) TLSFx - Don't really know much about these, except they are a one time use. They appear to detonate pretty well and scatter well. But the trigger or ignition system isn't all that attractive. Also the Time delay may prove unpredictable. The appear to be the most effective if you can find a good pouch to carry them.

Not sure what you mean by the ignition system, but they are just a pull pin with about a 5 second fuse. You can let them cook off for two seconds and then throw. We go through cases of them at Pine Plains. They don't have a lot of peas in them (they are filled with dried peas) but you can cut along the seam (where they separate on detonation) and fill with the desired amount of BB's. Then tape back together.

The only ones I'm familiar with are the ones that require a strike ignition. Meaning that the cap needs to be flipped and swiped over the top to ignite. www.tlsfx.co.uk/p-25-ball-grenades-pea.aspx So I haven't seen the pull pin ones. I would love to see them if they do just have a pin and you mention that you can add bb's to them. I'm not all that "do it yourself" savvy but I'm pretty good at following once I see it done once. I'll have to check you tube. Obviously you could not carry these in a flash bang pouch, so what would you use?

I did look at the Tornado Impact grenades but they do seam to only work indoors. I do like playing in doors but I get way more excited about a field game. In an indoor game it almost feels like overkill haha.

[Connors]

Going the M203 route is a more doable option for grenades. You don't get the "throw it into a room" factor, but they can be fun non the less. Plus, you don't risk loosing parts every time they good boom!

Something I used to do in a pinch for kicks, is take a loaded 203 shell, and instead of having the launcher, just hold, eye it up and push the pin and ya get a big shotgun blast if yer in a tight situation or come around a corner and face a bb wall of death at close range.

[dubay44]

Tank is right. The Tornado Impact grenade is great for CQB games but not so well for outdoor. They are really fun and I haven't had any detonition problems with mine. These are more reliable than the tornado timer grenade and some others but, they are pretty expensive. Just make sure you take good care of it because they can be pretty fragile.

[captainbrenandsten]

TLSFx grenades are the best in my book, since they are the only ones I have used to great effect, especially the German stick grenades.

[Dr Black]

TLSFx I believe just recently released their third generation of grenades that come with pin and spoons on them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IUdcCh6wmE&feature=fvwrel
I have not been able to use the newest ones yet. But I do remember watching a player being burned pretty badly with the old cap striker style. They are fun to use but with the plastic spoon kits you have to pick up the nade remains. They say its all bio-degradable but I would still pick the rest of it up.

As for ThunderB grenades I can attest to them not ejecting bb's upon detonation. I have the flashbang style shell if that matters any. I personally have always had mine go off when they are supposed to. The shell ruptures on the bottom half and I can always remove the core pretty easily. There have been many tricks I have seen online to make them detonate with a more precise timing. But it requires drilling out part of the hole the Co2 escapes from in the core. Slowly making the hole wider should make it go off sooner. Although doing it that way with testing between widening would waste a bunch of shells and Co2. Its for the most part a non reverseable mod. I'm not sure If JB weld would work fixing it or not.

I plan on using ThunderB grenades at OP:Nothern Light. But the rules say you must carry each grenade/shell in its own dedicated pouch. Shells can also be placed in the Assault pack from what I understand. I have not yet herd of a pouch that retains the flashbang style shells properly. But I have herd a M-18 Smoke grenade pouch should fit the round cylinder shell.

[eagledriver]

The third gen TLSFx grenades have been out for several years now but we still have been unable to import them because the BATFE wants to classify them as other than a pyrotechnic device, which we import the pull ring grenades under.

As for carrying ThunderB's, if you have the original canister style they will fit in a normal M4 pouch. The thinner ones will fit in the M18 pouches better.

They also make a new Thunder Shock, which is used with a tripwire: