ON TEST:
PYROTECHNICS
There are dozens of different types of single-use airsoft pyros – but which is best?
Ant Platt took to the field to find out which are the best performers
P
yrotechnics can play an
important role in airsoft, able
to turn the tide of individual
battles in seconds. Struggling
to wipe out a firesquad
embedded in the kill house? A well-placed
frag can sort that out. Or if the defending
team is holding its line firmly, a good stun
grenade in their direction could be enough
of a distraction to allow your squad to
advance and clear them out.
But it’s a real minefield out there in
terms of various products, generations and
companies – where to start?
FRAGMENTATION GRENADES
SMOKE GRENADES
When people think of the word ‘grenade’ it’s
usually the frag that comes to mind. These are
designed to explode and scatter fragments – in
airsoft the payload is usually either BBs or dried
peas – which wipe out everything in their strike
radius.
They come in various sizes and price
brackets – from strike-fuse pineapple grenades
to pull-ring tennis-ball grenades, and even the
German stick-type. The one thing they have in
common, though, is they are designed to take
out players, not distract them.
Frag grenades are best used in urban
environments, as confined spaces give the
best chance of scoring a hit – but they can be
used to good effect in woodland too.
Pretty self-explanatory these – once the
fuse burns down they emit plumes of
obscuring smoke. These are available in
a rainbow of colours and several burn
durations, from small 30 second smokes
to gigantic canisters that spew smoke for
minutes.
Smoke grenades can be a useful tool in
both urban and woodland settings; outside
you can use the wind to your advantage
to obscure either your position or drown
your opponent in smoke. Inside (where
permitted) they can reduce visibility
massively, and if you’re well-prepared you
can use this to do some serious damage to
the enemy.
064
Xmas 2011
STUN GRENADES
These probably offer the greatest scope
for variety. During testing we used a
multitude of thunderflashes, thermobarics
and multibangs, ranging from first-gen
thermosmokes to the incredible Mk9
Thunderflash (be warned: not all sites allow
the use of Mk9 or greater thunderflashes).
One of the greatest assets of the stun
grenade is that, by dint, it is a grenade.
It may not have the power to take your
enemy out – but they often don’t know
that, and will scatter anyway. This initial
confusion is followed up by the stun
element, either a huge bang, flash or both
(and sometimes lots of them!). So from
throwing to post-explosion you should
have plenty of time to achieve whatever
objective was troubling you.
Indoors even a low-power thunderflash
can reverberate strongly; outdoors the less
powerful stuns are not so effective, but
more top-end stuff is equally at home in
woodland.