AirsoftPope

Manufacturer: Tactical Tailor
Package: 1x belt.
Type: Gear
Rating: 5/5
Cost: $38.75 USD

In case you haven’t read any of my previous articles, I’m a die-hard Tactical Tailor fan-boy. I don’t have any connection or affiliation to the company, I just really dig the quality products they put out. During my “Pilgrimage to Tactical Tailor“, I picked up a 40mm Belt 12rd in coyote brown to haul my plethora of Madbull and Mosquito Molds gas grenades. I had seen one in use a few years ago at Op: Irene 3 and was determined to get my hands on one eventually but, over time, it had fallen off my radar. When I was in Seattle visiting family, I made it a point to head down to the factory store and finally snag one.

The build quality is amazing. The belt is adjustable and will fit almost every body type out there, be it around the waist or slung bandoleer style over the body. I prefer the ladder for easy accessibility. The rounds are held in place by a loop of elastic and secured by a hook and loop velcro flap. At first I wasn’t sure how secure this would be or if I even trusted my $50+ rounds to make it through a day of play, but all doubts were set aside after a few hours. I ran, dove, crawled and jumped throughout the day with not a single round becoming dislodged.

Overall, I can’t say enough positive things about this belt. While I still will use my HSGI 40mm pouches when less firepower is needed, the 40mm Belt 12rd scratches a very specific itch when quantity is required.. say when you are running the RPG and need to have a grip of 40mm rounds available, or running a revolver launcher like the ICS GLM. If you have the means and are a 40mm hoarder like me, you can pick up a Tactical Tailor 40mm Belt 12rd on the TT website or at a store where quality gear is sold.

Manufacturer: Hakkotsu
Package: 1x Firing Core, 2x Cotter Pins, 1x Flashbang shell, 2x MK2 “Pineapple” shells.
Type: Grenade
Rating: 4/5

My lust for a functional airsoft grenade goes back to my very early days of airsoft. Way back then, we used tennis balls with a streamer attached. Ghetto-milsim, but it was better than nothing. Gradually, we moved up to cast-rubber grenades with streamers attached. Not too shabby, low tech and cheap, but calling hits was always and issue. Then came my beloved Escort M26 gas grenades which had a finicky and difficult timer system and only blew gas out of the bottom . At this point, I swore off grenades forever, convinced I would never find a truly functional milsim airsoft grenade. Then came the Hakkotsu Thunder B. I first experienced the Thunder B at a now-closed CQB field in SoCal when one rolled in the room I was bunker’d in. When it went off, my ears rang and I leaped out of my skin… I must have it.

I received the Thunder B Beginners Package from Airsoft Extreme in the mail a few months later and ripped into the package accordingly. The operation of the Thunder B is amazingly simple in it’s complexity. A 12g CO2 cartridge is fed into an aluminum tube where once the spoon is released, a sharp plunger is thrust into the narrow end of the CO2 cartridge. The gas expands and bursts the plastic shell, letting out a horrific 130db boom. Very satisfying to say the least and the loudest non-pyro grenade I have heard.

The Thunder B amp’s up MilSim events like I always dreamed they could be. Loud booms all over the field really sets the immersion level bar higher than your average airsoft game. I do find that when fields allow these sound grenades in as area weapons, we ran into the same problem of folks not calling hits simply because they can’t identify if they are in range. No fault to those players, 130db is disorientating and quite frankly hard to range in the open field. I see the Thunder B much more of an asset to the CQB arena but still has it’s place in the large overall field games.

While I do love the Thunder B, it’s not without it’s draw backs. For example, firing core head is made of plastic and gives it a very “toy” feel. I have heard reports of this plastic breaking for some users on the first throw and while this is not the case with my unit, it is something to be wary about when lobbing this towards your foe. Another negative is the arming procedure. I found it a little cumbersome and difficult to cock the firing hammer, set the spoon, set the pin, put in the CO2 cartridge, screw on the cap and screw on the shell. Seems a bit much in my opinion, but for a functional airsoft grenade, I can cope. Lastly, I don’t care for hauling out the spent grenade shells. I wouldn’t dream of littering, dropping them in the field, but hauling garbage out is not fun and with the Thunder B, it’s a must.

In conclusion, the Thunder B adds a rich dynamic to airsoft events that you need to experience to believe. I love the Thunder B so much that I have 20+ extra shells on hand and keep them permanently in my airsoft go-bag “just in case”. The immersion factor alone makes these grenades a must for any serious MilSim player and all negatives stated above are out-weighed by the bowel-shaking 130db assault your opponents feel when one lands at their feet. You can pick a beginner pack up from Airsoft Extreme for $22.99 USD.

Manufacturer: Airsoft Innovations
Package: 1x Burst Ring, 50x Burst Discs, Manual.
Type: Grenade Add-on
Retail Price: $14.95 USD
Rating: 5/5

By now you probably already know all about the Airsoft Innovations Tornado grenade and it’s bb-throwing sphere of doom, but did you know that it can be converted to a Flash-bang devices too? I sure didn’t. While gearing up for a local game, I contacted Orca from ORCA Industries to see if he could set me up with a 12-pack of Thunder-B grenades. Orca earlier had sold me on a few AI Impact and Timer grenades just a few weeks earlier, and suggested I give the AI Distraction Kit (AI:DK for short) a shot, siting the close performance and economical side of the AI:DK over the Thunder-B’s. My wallet rejoiced and $14.95 + shipping later, I had the AI:DK in-hand.

I have been using Thunder-B’s for a while now, being very satisfied with both the cost and overall performance. My only real gripe was been carrying around extra 12g CO2 cartridges and the bulky shells, but I was glad to hump it as an effective sound-grenade was, at the time, hard to come by. Even with the Tornado’s in-hand, I still carried a few Thunder-B’s. With the distraction kit, my Tornado is now a multi-role monster! Now I carry 1 Tornado armed with BBs and a second Tornado armed with the Distraction Kit, supplying me with enough boom to get any job done.

To install the distraction Kit, first remove the valve cover from the bottom of the Tornado. Remove the over-pressure plug from the valve cover by applying pressure with your thumb. Be sure to keep the plug as you will need it to restore your Tornado to BB-throwing operation. I ended up getting a spare valve cover just for AI:DK use.

Next, insert the Burst Ring into the bottom of the grenade. The o-ring should be facing towards the valve cover. You should be able to clearly see o-ring now. Press on the Burst Ring to ensure it is securely in the valve cover body.

Back to the valve cover… clean the inside of the valve cover, removing any dirt, oil or debris. This is critical for making a tight seal with the Burst Disc. Apply the Burst Disc, sticky side down (duh) to the inside of the valve cover. Be sure to press all the bubbles out of the Burst Disc, ensuring a solid seal.

Replace the valve cover and you’re done. Gas up and give it a whirl. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but trust me it’s easier than it sounds.

Note: DO NOT LOAD BBs

According to AI, the AI:DK registers in at 119db @ 3ft. I have no way of measuring but needless to say, my ears were ringing after the first test-fire in my closed garage. While I don’t feel the AI:DK is as loud as the Thunder-B, the difference is negligible and you will probably won’t notice.

Now here’s the best part, the cost. The AI:DK cost $14.95 USD and comes with 50 Burst Discs. That’s 50 uses before you need to think about buying more. Even better, 50 Burst Discs from AI costs.. $4.95 USD. Can’t beat that. Overall, best $15 bucks I’ve spent in a very long time. I would highly recommend the AI:DK to any and all Tornado owners out there.

Manufacturer: Airsoft Innovations
Package: Tornado Impact Grenade, manual, 1 x bottle of grenade oil.
Type: Grenade
Retail Price: $99 USD
Rating: 5/5

Airsoft Innovations, the company that (in my opinion) finally got the non-pyrotechnic airsoft grenade right, recently pushed out a new version of their venerable Tornado Grenade coined the “impact” grenade. The impact version is “detonated” at the point of impact, doing away with the timer system of the original version. The advantages of the impact version make it a must-have for a grenade/kaboom junkie like me, namely the booby-trap and not having to deal with finicky timer issues.

Like the timer version, the impact version is larger than a dummy frag grenade but a tad smaller than an smoke grenade. Most standard smoke/flashbang pouches will accommodate the impact grenade, even with the vertical pin position. I use Bulle smoke grenade pouches on my molle rigs which keeps the grenade snug and safe from snags. The valve cover safety and durable polymer coating are where the similarities between the two grenades stop.

The firing mechanism on the timer is a set of steel stems and discs that are aligned vertically via the pin and when under pressure, are held firmly in place between the shuttle body and cap. It sounds complicated, but in reality, it’s quite simple. Initially I thought it would be a fragile, easily detonated device, but despite my best effort to shake the crap out of it… the grenade stayed in the armed position. The cool part is dropping it only one foot will set it off. This translates into my having to have better aim and NOT knock the edge of a wall/door when tossing it into a room. Yea, that’s experience talking. Unlike the timer, the impact grenade is unforgiving and will detonate on hard surface despite my best intentions! With the timer, I can let it ricochet and not be as mindful of the impact location. This is probably the only real downside to the impact grenade, and it’s 100% user error.

To arm the impact grenade, follow the below steps:

1) Unscrew the valve cover.
2) Unscrew the top cap.
3) Insert the pin.
4) Stack the stems & cams in this order:
– Big stem
– Offset disc
– Slide disc
– Small stem
5) Align top cap so that the pin fits into the hole in the shuttle & screw on the top cap.
6) Fill with propane.
7) Fill with BBs.
8 ) Screw on the valve cover.

In conclusion, the AI Impact Tornado is by far my favorite bb-throwing airsoft grenade to date. It’s simple, robust and extremely effective. Even if you already have a timer grenade, I would still suggest picking up the impact model as it’s above mentioned characteristics come in quite handy. The impact model retails for around $99 USD at most major airsoft dealers, I picked up mine from Airsoft Extreme.