Valken Battle Machine vs G&G Combat Machine (or any other ideal budget AEGs)

[RollingPanda]

So a quick backstory:

Me, completely new to airsoft (aside from reading the stickies on ASC, too bad that a portion of them are outdated) went to Toronto Airsoft to check out which AEGs would be suitable for me and my budget (<$200 pre-tax, gun itself).

I was served by a very helpful gentleman named Steve (on two separate occasions).

Day 1: He recommended a familiar name, CM16 Carbine/Raider, the new MOD-O from G&G and talked about a higher end gun just to educate me a bit. I asked about some of the Lancer's as I saw the price tag and given that he did not mention it, but he let me feel out the Lancers vs CM16s and there is clearly a different in quality. Quick research at home told me to stay away from the Lancers.

Day 2: I come in and have some questions to ask in regards to the CM16 and I see the Valken Battle Machine series for ~$25 bucks more and ended up upselling myself and asked if it was worth the upgrade. Long story short, it seemed like it was worth it, based on the specs, but there is a lack of user reviews to speak to the real-life usage of this AEG as it recently came out.

So here comes my dilemma:

Is the Valken worth the upgrade if anyone knows or has first hand experience with them?

Below are the specs from the TA site:
Full Metal Standard 18:1 Ratio Gears
Stainless Steel 6mm Oiless Bushings
Anodized Aluminum Type 1 Cylinder
Full Metal Double O-ring Cylinder Head
Full Seal Nozzle w/ Inner O-ring
Ported Piston Head
7-Metal Tooth Piston
Full Metal Spring Guide
Full Metal 1-Piece Hop-Up
Anodized Aluminum 6.05 Inner Barrel 300mm
HDP (High Density Polymer) Receiver
HDP Free Float Rail System
HDP Grip & Crane Stock
HDP Flip Up Front & Rear Sights
Metal 2 Piece Outer Barrel 14mm CCW "Left Hand" Thread
Metal Mil-Spec Buffer Tube
Metal Mag Catch
Metal Upper Receiver Threads
1-year warranty (first 90 days, you can send the gun to them at your cost, they will fix it and send it to you free. After that, they will send you the parts free for you to fix)

The bolded items were things that were highlighted during our discussion as being unique to an AEG at this price point. A concern I do have, aside from actual reliability, is that it uses 6mm bushings. A quick search showed that most modern AEGs do not use any bearings or bushings this small. Will this be an issue?

Aside from this, I was attempting to compare specs of the CM16 Raider (L or Regular) and I'm not sure what exactly is accurate on the TA site.

TA site claims that it is an 8mm bearing (no specification as to material) and some other sites specify 8mm bushings (non-specific material) or even 8mm brass bushings. So it is hard to make a clear comparison given this information that I found.

On a side note, I aim to play at Siege to start off to get more of a feel for this sport. Steve says that most of the Valkens do not surpass the FPS limit while the CM16 Raiders usually do and require a spring change, costing ~$50 including their labour. This is also a consideration I factor in, for the total gun cost which makes me lean towards the Valken if it is indeed a safe choice. Sure, it isn't a large amount and you can probably do it yourself for cheaper, but adding another part here and an upgrade there starts to add up when I consider other essentials (goggles, mask, battery, charger) and I want to draw a line at some point.

If anyone has any comments on the above, I greatly appreciate it (even if it is a recommendation for some other AEG). Thanks!

Edit: I believe the M4 style Echo 1 and JG M4A1 basic were mentioned in the convo but not recommended.
Edit 2: If this makes a difference, I have found a post online stating that SMC's metal gearboxes are inside the battle machines

[Gato]

Save your $, wait until you have more amd buy something worth buying, like a VFC or Echo 1 platinum (rebranded VFC)

[Seags]

If you haven't played a game yet, I'd consider renting a gun to see if you actually like it. If you do, and you want a budget gun, the CM16 is/was the go to gun for beginners. It is inexpensive, so if it breaks or if you find airsoft isn't for you, you minimize your loss. If you know you really like it and will be playing a lot, then maybe you could save some money and buy a higher end gun like Gato said.

Now I'm not a tech, but $50 for a spring change seems a bit high to me... You can buy a spring new for $15 or so... It's a very simple mid that I don't think is worth $35. Just do it yourself.

Remember to not limit yourself to one retailer. There are 3 good retailers in the GTA you can look at with different stock. Right now, Mach1 Airsoft in Toronto is having a %40 sale in a lot of their ICS guns. I would highly suggest you check it out. ICS makes some great guns, and you'll be able to snag some $350+ guns for about $225.

[RollingPanda]

Originally Posted by Seags

If you haven't played a game yet, I'd consider renting a gun to see if you actually like it. If you do, and you want a budget gun, the CM16 is/was the go to gun for beginners. It is inexpensive, so if it breaks or if you find airsoft isn't for you, you minimize your loss. If you know you really like it and will be playing a lot, then maybe you could save some money and buy a higher end gun like Gato said.

Now I'm not a tech, but $50 for a spring change seems a bit high to me... You can buy a spring new for $15 or so... It's a very simple mid that I don't think is worth $35. Just do it yourself.

Remember to not limit yourself to one retailer. There are 3 good retailers in the GTA you can look at with different stock. Right now, Mach1 Airsoft in Toronto is having a %40 sale in a lot of their ICS guns. I would highly suggest you check it out. ICS makes some great guns, and you'll be able to snag some $350+ guns for about $225.

Thanks for the advice!

The plan is to go to UACBQ sometime in the coming week to give everything a test run before I commit a large sum of money.

I will look into the spring change myself more and watch copious amounts of videos if it should come to that.

[pestobanana]

Originally Posted by RollingPanda

Thanks for the advice!

The plan is to go to UACBQ sometime in the coming week to give everything a test run before I commit a large sum of money.

I will look into the spring change myself more and watch copious amounts of videos if it should come to that.

You can try the spring change yourself, it really isn't that hard. I do however HIGHLY recommend actually watching someone do it in person first. You don't know how many times I've had people attempt a spring change, completely screw everything up, and then have to spend even more money by bringing it to someone like me.

[Juke16]

Why not just add on $30 and buy a full metal King Arms, or as Gato and many others stated, save up for something better. The G&G Combat Machines are cheap, but have plastic bodies and dubious internal quality.

Also, all of the plastic bodied M4s sold by Echo 1 are just rebranded JGs. JG rifles will work and shouldn't break if you don't abuse them, but at the price you're paying for one in Canada, it's better to just save up a bit more money and go full metal.

[pestobanana]

Originally Posted by Juke16

Why not just add on $30 and buy a full metal King Arms, or as Gato and many others stated, save up for something better. The G&G Combat Machines are cheap, but have plastic bodies and dubious internal quality.

Also, all of the plastic bodied M4s sold by Echo 1 are just rebranded JGs. JG rifles will work and shouldn't break if you don't abuse them, but at the price you're paying for one in Canada, it's better to just save up a bit more money and go full metal.

Combat Machine internals are a million times better than King Arms internals.

[waylander]

Based on my experience with valken bb's and batteries I'm going to say no to valken... I realize that guns are different from bb's and batteries but it's more the company mindset than anything. On the other hand, I keep 2 combat machines for loaners to beginner friends and they have both worked flawlessly. Keeping in mind they only get used 3-4 times a year but they still have presented no problems.

[RollingPanda]

Thanks again everyone.

I've kept myself on a budget and I am proud to say that I have stuck to it (mostly because it's very easy to say: +10 here I can get something better, and then another +5 there...etc, it adds up overall) and I have myself an ICS CXP 08 Sportsline (along with goggles, battery, charger, mask..etc).

Will test it out at home tonight once the battery is all charged up.

Edit: Overall, even though Valken seems too have some good specs, I've seen an analysis on another forum that grilled other components of the gun. And there is also a lack of user reviews on them as well.

[Red Dot]

Congrats, hope it treats you well.

[RollingPanda]

Just shot through half of a high cap.
Still doing some minor adjustments on the sight since it seems to be shooting a bit low and to the right from 10m out, but this will have to wait until the morning since it is a loud gun. Went through a hiccup or two though where it seemingly fired on full auto for around a 3-round burst even though it was set to semi....think I just dry fired at that point since the cap refused to push up any more BBs since it was low.

But overall, I love this rifle. Even though it's a sportsline model, still a lot of metal to it and feels very durable and sturdy (Ken from Mach1 even said that some people feel that it's too heavy, hah).

And on an odd note, somehow, there is a short hair inside of my unopened bottle of EF .25 BBs, bonus!

[SuperHog]

G&G is made by G&G.

Valken's guns are rebranded. Question is, who makes it for them?

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by RollingPanda

And on an odd note, somehow, there is a short hair inside of my unopened bottle of EF .25 BBs, bonus!

You may have the DNA of the missing link! Keep it and place it in a ziploc bag for luck!

Welcome to AIRSOFT and fun things that comes with it!

[Castle02]

Originally Posted by SuperHog

G&G is made by G&G.

Valken's guns are rebranded. Question is, who makes it for them?

I was told it was SRC.

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