Best Airsoft Brands
A comprehensive Guide
Introduction:
If you talk about the popularity of Airsoft, it almost remained constant during the last five or six years. Many old veterans left the game, and the new players joined and the cycle keeps ongoing.
One crucial component is Equipment, Today’s weapons are far more advanced than two or three years back. The reason is the competition in the market.
In the early days, there were only a Few Japanese manufacturers but now the global production made the products more accesible and with more options to choose from. It is very difficult to entitle “Best Airsoft Brand” to a single company.
In short, every manufacturer has its own Pros and Cons. We’ll discuss here 17 of the Best Airsoft Brands, that According to us, are the Leading ones in the Airsoft World.
17 Best Airsoft Brands
1. KWA
Talking about the Airsoft Equipment, either AEGs, GBBs, or spring powered guns, the single Best Brand that is equally competitive in making all types of a gun is none other than KWA. This company is based in USA. They are known for making some of the most popular and widely used Airsoft guns of the era.
KWA claims to be the best in the Automated Electric Guns and the Sniper Rifles categories. The create some very deadly weapons that are flawless in their accuracy and efficiency.
Another thing they are know for are the professional training rifles. Since these weapons have so much realism in them, they are used by professional forces for training.
KWA is constantly evolving you can either see their new ronin series or go for classic guns like AKR. They offer current guns and know exactly what products to produce. Although they are pricey, if you want some really good performance, we’ll definitely recommend going with KWA.
2. Tokyo Marui
If you are not aware, Airsoft was started in Japan. And this Japanese Brand is one of the veteran and favorite brands. Itt is older than the Airsoft itself.
Tokyo Marui, TM, is a high-end brand and is one of the best airsoft gun manufacturers of almost every type of weapon. Regarding appearance and performance Tokyo Marui is not a competitor, but a leader. Creating from classical AK-47 to new GBB pistols.
Tokyo Marui guns are of exceptional build quality. They use a high strength polymer that works great for the grip of their guns. This becomes an important factor when you are in CQB (close quarters combat). Some of their guns come in with a very unique design, establishing a trend in the market.
The Electric guns of Tokyo Marui have realism comparable to the gas Blow-back. Although is a High-end Brand, their prices are good. Definitely being a beginner, you should not look at this brand. But after getting some experience and having money in your pocket, this could be your choice.
3. A&K Airsoft
Many professionals call this the ultimate famous airsoft brand, while others disagree by calling it an intermediate level brand. Whatever the case is! Personally, I’m a big fan of A&k airsoft products.
As mentioned in the intro, some brands are famous in one aspect and A&K is good at making high-Quality AEGs. No matter if anybody is a fan of A&K or not, but he will surely appreciate the A&K Masada. With the new innovative Bodies and High-Quality internals, A&K is maintaining its name in the market.
With quick-handling, consistency, good muzzle velocity, and all such things, A&K guns don’t go out of the budget, and this is the reason we like A&K so much. So, now you would know that if you want good guns at some really good price which you should look for.
4. ICS
After mentioning the 3 brands, each unique in a specific way, the fourth brand in our list is the Taiwan based company, ICS Airsoft. ICS started in 1983, while made its first AEG in 2000. Since then it is making some of the very brilliant Automated Electric Guns in the market.
ICS is sometimes called the AEG experts in the market. Since they mainly focus on creating the AEGs. If you have an experience of playing Airsoft, you will better know that AEG is the most commonly used gun in the field, as ICS creates some exceptional AEGs, therefore it is called a Brand of high value.
Talking about their products, they mostly focus on creating metallic guns, giving a realistic touch to the gun. While the Body is of metal, the stock is usually a polymer and adjustable for good commands. Gearboxes are easy to maintain and upgrade.
The in-field performance of the products is extra-ordinary. ICS guns shoot at a pretty fast rate, maintaining accuracy. Also, the range of these guns is remarkable. They don’t weigh too heavy or too light. but ICS has maintained a good weight of their guns. When you look at the price, it is also not too expensive or too cheap. If you are Fan of AEG, you can look for some brilliant products from the ICS.
5. CLASSIC ARMY
Classic Army, CA, is again among the top-notch brands of the modern Airsoft. Not as old as TM, or ICS, but within the last decade, this HongKong based manufacturer made an impressive name in Airsoft. Famous for creating AEG rifles & sniper rifles, CA also creates some GBB pistols.
Classic Army’s goal is to manufacture a product that fulfills the modern-day requirement. For this, they discontinue many of their products and come with new and innovative products. In many cases, they also upgrade their guns for better appearance and performance.
In the start, CA guns are full metallic that is as heavy as real guns. But in later upgrades, CA kept metal in those areas where there is a requirement, rest is the replacement by polymers. Classic Army guns are famous for their Durability. Either you choose a CA gun as your first gun or you can go for it after trying the number of others, you will definitely see the difference, how brilliantly they are built.
Being a High-End Brand, it is considered a Brand that can compete with KWA & Tokyo Marui or any other brand. In some aspects, like the rate of fire, they are best in the market. Other things like accuracy, range, all are what you can expect from a good brand. Prices of the products are not too high and comparable to other brands in the market. You should consider buying a CA product if you want a long term gun.
6. Umarex/Elite Force
Before explaining let’s tell you a story. Once our crew was going to arena for a CQB and one of our friends (Nathan) asked the other (Johanson), “What’re your views about Umarex?”. Johanson replied, “I would have destroyed your existence if I could use Umarex gun in a CQB”. We assume now you can imagine you powerful these weapons are.
These USA based guns although came late in the market but made their name by creating some deadly weapons. Unlike their counterparts, Umarex prefers metallic products to give realism to the game. They are not only good at making AEGs but also equally competitive in gas blowback pistols and rifles. Price may be a concern for you, as its elite products are a bit expensive. A good thing is their products exist in a broad price range.
Moreover, the high prices of these guns are paralleled by their astonishing performances. With Best fitting scopes, high range, good accuracy, and affordable upgrades Umarex is a Brand worth investing, unfortunately, due to the high FPS of their guns you can’t use them for fighting at close quarters but, best at shooting from a fair distance.
7. VFC
Vegas Force Company, VFC, are among those brands that made their name within less amount of time. The main reason for such success is brilliant products. VFC is considered is an emerging brand and some of their guns are considered the Best Airsoft guns available in the market.
VFC guns come in a unique design with some really amazing specs. They are keeping their products up to the date. Also, they keep on releasing new products, hence, players have a good number of choices. VFC especially work on built quality. Their guns when gripped give you a sense of realism.
If we talk about performance, these guns have all qualities that an ideal airsoft gun should have. A special thing about the performance is the range to accuracy ratio, which is far better than other guns in the market. Besides performance, two other things are famous for VFC guns, versatility and compatibility. With a combination of these two things, VFC guns are some serious stuff in the market.
VFC is an emerging brand and it is trying to compete with some giants in the market by making amazing quality products. Usually, VFC is underrated, but in our opinion, it is a high-end brand. Both in terms of prices and performance, it is no less than a high-end brand. We are pretty sure that your ultimate gun could be a VFC if you look at its products.
8. G&G
Up till now, all the Brands that we have mentioned are considered very elite and expensive brands. But G&G is not such high priced. Originally started in 1986, this brand has now gained importance as a manufacturer of some of the very reliable and inexpensive products. In fact, there is slang for G&G, people call it “Beginners Heart.”
G&G focuses mainly on AEGs, both pistols, and rifles of high built quality. They prefer using metallic bodies in a few products while using Nylon in others. The grip of their products is exceptional and makes them very swift to use especially fighting in close quarters.
If we talk about the performance they might not be able to satisfy you if you are veteran, especially the range vs accuracy ratio. But if you are a beginner, you will consider this a flawless brand. G&G has the honor to make the Best and widely appreciated beginner airsoft rifle. Some of the high-end products of G&G are finest in performance, but better if you prefer low-end products.
9. CYMA
Defining this brand in minimum words “The amalgam of big and small”. On one side of the ladder stand the veteran favorites like Tokyo Marui and on the other the beginner favorite like G&G. Between these two extremes lies this brand.
CYMA guns were seen in the market in the mid-2000s. They precisely fulfill the requirements of an average player. Most of the players consider CYMA an elite brand with affordable accessories. Generally, the body of their guns is made up of polymer to provide compaction while metallic stock for a better grip. Their AEGs are more prominent among airsoft players.
Talking about performance, we are a big fan of CYMA guns only if you prefer it in shooting from small distances. They don’t provide as much accuracy from long range as you expect. But when you require fleetness like in short distance combats, CYMA is unbelievably accurate. A fair suggestion will be to use the CYMA gun as your secondary or backup weapon.
10. Ares
ARES airsoft is a modern-day airsoft brand. Established in 2010, ARES’s basic aim is to create products according to the current market requirements. They continuously evolve their products which made them highly reputed within a short amount of time.
Although ARES airsoft creates all sorts of airsoft products, they are specialized in creating rifles, especially the sniper. Moreover, their M4 & M16 series is nonpareil. Also, AEGs and spring-powered rifles of ARES are among the Best Airsoft gun brands. The appearance of the ARES guns is very realistic. They are very compact and weigh a bit more.
If we talk about performance, ARES guns perform brilliantly in the field. The accuracy of these guns is matchless with a good shooting speed. The modern designed gearbox of ARES makes its guns high performing.
But what is the thing that people feel reluctant in choosing ARES? The first thing is maintenance. It is difficult to handle these guns when you are in combat, especially for beginners, and also after the battle. The equipment requires extensive care and this is the reason people complain about this brand. The second thing is they are loved by people who are a fan of gas blowbacks. Many people reported their blowbacks not giving such high performance. Their gas blowbacks are even less realistic to their AEGs. So, if you’re a gas blowback fan this brand is not made for you.
11. EMG
Evike Manufacturing Group, EMG, is the second most widely used brand in training weapons, the first is none other than KWA. EMG was founded in 2001 and since that time its focus was to make unique products in the market. Two or three years after the creation of some heavy weapons, EMG gained eyes.
A very good thing about EMG is they update their products faster than any other brand. Back in 2010, they created some of the remarkably performing machines that other brands lack and hence set a trend. Again in 2019, when every other brand was making traditional style rail guns, EMG with its modern style firearm and rattled the market. So, you can call EMG “The innovation master.”
EMG not only update their design frequently but also keep an eye on performance as well. Range, accuracy, FPS all things are very reliable. So, on a whole EMG is a very authentic brand. The prices of the products are moderate.
But the thing we should mention is that EMG is definitely not a beginner’s brand. Even some average players can’t adjust themselves especially when they upgrade. If you want to use EMG first go with some mid-range EMG product and then go towards the ultimate warriors.
12. E&C
Most people underrate this brand, but this is a Brand with some really good products. One of the reasons that E&C is not known by many new players is that originally it started more than twenty years ago in HongKong, but for the last two years, although releasing new products, and not advertising that many incoming players don’t know much about it.
E&C focus on specific product only like creating AEGs and sniper rifles. But these guns can compete with any other gun in the market. Their guns feel awesome in hand, mostly metallic. E&C focuses on four things, service, speed, quality, and innovation. They are up to the mark on the first three but lacking on the last one.
E&C guns are both beginner and advanced oriented. You will find no issue in the performance of their products. Both the external and internal machinery is well-coordinated with each other. But in one thing you may find an issue is the upgrades. If you are a fan of mounting accessory things on your gun, this brand is not made for you, because E&C loves minimalism.
13. Krytac
Krytac is a USA based modern-day brand started in 2013. Being started so late, Krytac doesn’t evolve with time, rather they take start with some unconventional products. If you know airsoft for more than five or six years, you will surely able to distinguish between guns of traditional brands like KWA and radical brands like Krytac.
Krytac guns are short and compact. The grip of the gun is very fine. Built quality is exceptional. The stock of Krytac guns is the steadiest in the market. The products of Krytac are very long-lasting. Short and Compact features of Krytac guns made them high performing in quick fights. Accuracy and shooting speed are also brilliant. These Features make Krytac guns very prominent in the market.
Every brand has one area of specialty and lack in the other. Since Krytac guns are for swift performance. They are not as good as long-range guns but they are improving this thing. Their price range is not very high. On the whole, it is a worthy brand.
14.G&P
G&P is an old legend, making guns since the 1990s. This brand has diversity in its products, starting from AEGs to HPA and shotguns. G&P guns are famous for two things. First is the look, and the second is the speed.
All G&P guns are almost exact replicas of the original variants. Sometimes, they make adjustments so to made guns more appealing. The metallic versions of the guns are very famous among the airsoft players, just because of their firm body and design.
Secondly, their blowbacks are also very good. With guns firing at a pretty consistent speed keeping the accuracy constant, G&P stands unique in the market. Moreover, they are not too pricy. G&P gives you all the features that a good airsoft gun should have in an affordable range. But their accessories are expensive equivalent to that of KWA and Tokyo Marui. Altogether, it is a very good brand, until you want to upgrade the gun.
15.KJW
Like other Chinese brands, KJW is creating good quality products, hence a good airsoft brand. KJW is an old brand and its products have all features that a typical Chinese brand has, like polymer body, not good M4 versions and traditional designs.
KJW has not a good history of upgrading the products. Even then, their products are very reputed in the market. The reason is that they upgrade the accessories often, which gives old guns new features. Unlike many of the above-listed brands, KJW is not good at making rifles, not good AEGs but some good blowback rifles, but their airsoft pistols are the best in the market.
Since KJW mostly create pistols, they are very solidly built. Most of them are gas blowbacks, so they have unmatchable realism. The on-field performance of their pistols is exceptional. If we summarize the whole discussion regarding KJW, they create very brilliant products, but you don’t have a variety of products.
16.Tippmann
Tippmann is originally a Paintball legend, but also create some of the very remarkable airsoft products especially M4 variants. Originally, Tippmann started in 1986, but it started creating airsoft products near 2014, so you can consider it a so-called new airsoft brand.
Tippman is well aware of the market trends, and within a few years after their product launch, it became a reputed airsoft brand. Those people, who play both airsoft and paintball prefer Tippmann’s product because of being at comfort.
Tippmann prefers quality over quantity, so they create realistic-looking guns with a bit high prices. Performance-wise you will have no issue with the guns. But like KJW you have to restrict yourself to limited products.
17.HFC
HFC was established in 2004, since that time it is creating cheap airsoft products and accessories. This brand revolved slowly. They started by creating rifles, but those didn’t get as much success as expected. They shifted creating pistols and revolvers and gained much appreciation, hence it became their specialization.
HFC guns come in a good price range and also good in performance. But their revolvers or Pistol are simply next levels. If you are fond of altering rifle and pistol during the battle, you should definitely look for HFC pistols with the gun of any other brand.
Performance, appearance, and endurance are the key things of HFC is famous for. But like the last two brands, you don’t have much diversity. But still, you get a range of products to make play better.
Final Verdict:
Every Brand has some specialties and a few drawbacks, we try to cover & explain why the brand is famous for and also what are its downsides. It totally depends upon the players which gun or brand he’s comfortable with.
Personally, Our team prefers six top airsoft brands, KWA, Tokyo Marui, A&K Airsoft, ICS, Classic Army, and Umarex. You can also read about the best airsoft guns so you could easily choose your favorite gun. Share if you like.
You can also read about the best airsoft guns so you could easily choose your favorite gun. Share if you like.
