So I Finally Tried E&L's AKs...
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- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- So how do E&L's AKs hold up to a summer of use with Gun Gamers? Today Eric goes over his thoughts and notes on how these guns perform and how they're built. Thanks to MOS Manufacture for sending these over for us to try out, and for specifically requesting any notes for improvement be included in the review! You can check out their website to learn more about their lineup: www.mos-manufa...
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Before listing, we sent this video over to MOS Manufacture and they gave us some explanation and suggested fixes for a couple of the specific issues I brought up in this video:
“The E&L detent for muzzle device are purposely make for US market to not retract all the way to prevent the orange tips being removed without tool. For other markets not having this law, the detents are able to retract all the way back like the real AK. The proper way to restore the detent function is to punch out the roll pins that retains the detent and modify the pin to allow for full travel. On some model it just needs to shorten the pin to proper length and on other models the clarence slot needs to be extended.
In terms of the front sight canting to one side, it is an inherent issue with mass produced Aks. You are able to make some adjustment by loosening the outer barrel retaining set screws below the rear sight to a degree and retightening them.”
I wish they made that statement BEFORE half of all E&L owners messed up their AKs trying to fix this
Just some personal notes watching this video:
Use oil to deal with rust. Don't spray paint the nice steel an ugly black color.
Yeah, E&Ls tend to have issues with canted front sights. The front sight pin sucks because E&L never publicly offered a solution for this.
Honestly, the M3 was very disappointing. I wished they used something like the Beryl, at least in the way its rail goes over the dust cover.
Yes, the E&L essentials uses a ferrite "120 standard" motor.
To remove the spring, all you have to do is: take off the motor grip, take off the selector switch, take off the dust cover and mock bolt assembly, and then take apart the magazine spacer assembly. You do NOT need to take apart the outer barrel assembly NOR the hop up chamber screw in order to change the spring, unlike CYMAs and LCTs.
Arcturus magazines are really the best. E&L magazines aren't as bad as they used to be, but they A) won't function in older gen E&L AKs and B) they don't have extended followers. To make CYMA 74 mags fit, file a bit off of the front lip and maybe a TINY bit off the back. The same can be done to make the drum fit; once done, CYMA AK mags and drum can fit and feed into E&Ls.
The issue with the selector I have found with the Perun v3 that I installed on an E&L gen2. I think it might just be mosfets being mosfets. What sucks is that they chose Aster instead of Perun hybrids, especially since the clicker v3 came out.
Also, I'm not 100% sure, but E&L essentials AKs' mosfets don't seem to protect the trigger contacts when using an 11.1, meaning use it at your own risk. Again, I am not sure about this.
E&L AKs, IMO, work so incredibly well because of their beautiful steel (and platinum wood but you gotta pay extra), easy disassembly, and price point. A platinum krink only costs $18 more than LCTs, to put that into perspective, and the essentials one costs about $150 LESS. Again, disassembly with E&L AKs is SUPER easy, and changing the gearbox spring is even easier.
The notable flaws of E&L AKs that you didn't touch on in the video are: A) they tend to have subpar air seal, ESPECIALLY when compared to Arcturus; B) they have mediocre hop up chambers (better than LCT plastic but, come on, give us those lovely rotary ones from Arcturus); and C) the lack of diversity. E&L used to have AKMSUs, AIMRs, AIMSs, and other goodies. Now these are discontinued, and E&L says they're not bringing back their Romanian handguards. And I hope you're handy with a coping saw, caus that's the only way you can get an E&L AKM to take an East German style folding stock (LCT's can fit if you completely remove the rear stock tang). No more preinstalled ones. Heck, there aren't any E&L GBBR AKs DESPITE the fact that they showed them in a 2023 catalogue (Type 56 and AKM).
E&L AKs are beautiful and sturdy, don't get me wrong. And I use one as the base for an RPK I built. But their true beauty shines in their easy spring changes and disassembly. And, especially with how much you and others seem to dislike the M3, not in their ability to make other AK models. Hopefully this changes and we get the Type 56 and SKS they hinted at 🙏, though personally I'm hoping for a Beryl or LMG. I know some people on the discord were hoping for E&L to make something like a PKM or RPD...
The mosfet will burn and stick to full auto on an 11.1 lipo, at least my essential 74N did, had to replace with a perun basic mosfet which boosted my rate of fire slightly.
spray paint is epic cope
they absolutely feel better than cyma aks
Yes, and they have steel barrels unlike CYMAs
To be honest if you take all into consideration you cannot get better than E&L essential. For that price its best buy. I have an 74m essential and two LCT's. E&L is rock solid and reliable. My only advice would be to maybe increase the QC on the externals as you said. Good video
I have an E and L essential AKM. I have come to pretty much the same conclusions as you guys, great externals, small quirks but overall a great gun, would highly recommend.
I appreciate this video; I haven’t been able to find much on the new E&Ls.
Perun V3 does the same thing regarding the full-auto shooting the first time in semi, and also double shooting on semi from time to time.
Price: CYMA > MOS > LCT
Assembly for factory: CYMA > MOS > LCT
Battery space (in matching models among brands): CYMA > MOS > LCT
Internals: Arcturus (MOS) > E&L (MOS) > LCT > CYMA
Externals (aesthetics): E&L > LCT > ARCTURUS > CYMA
Compatibility for upgrades (int): CYMA > E&L > Arctururs > LCT
Compatibility for upgrades (ext): CYMA > E&L > Arctururs > LCT
Overall, CYMA is has the best money/value rate, and LCT is the most overrated from them all. In the end it is your choice.
The CYMA love is so overhyped. They are not NEARLY as good as people keep on saying.
what if i dont even play airsoft and just want the most realistic feeling gun to hang on my wall? Like i don't even care if it shoots
I have an E&L AK-105 Gen. 2 it seems, pre-upgraded by ML Diamond bucking and tensioner plus semi-only ASCU version (Germany). That gun is super nice to handle and shot. I mostly use CYMA Mags. Older ones fit without modifications, the newer ones had the front lips filed a little bit to fit, so no big deal. About the original E&L Mags: I dislike the weak springs and followers, replaced noth by CYMA ones. I also build a Frankenstein Mag from an E&L outer Mag and CYMA inner Mag - it works fine, good feeding, no wobble. The main thing about E&L is, you have to modify most accessories to fit it. Otherwise it is a very good gun.
I have tried MTB chain oil to preserve the steel as it's suposed to spread really thin and be resillient to friction and stuff, it could be a cheap and effective way to keep it looking nice
CYMA all the way
Sameee, I have a Cyma AK74 that looks like the one from MW2 and a Cyma Galil and I love them so much
AK IS GOOD AK IS NICE WE LOVE AK reliable when needed
AR IS OP AR IS PRO WE LOVE AR quality and fast fire rate
The gate aster I think has a “dark mode” settings I know the gate warfet dose that turns off the light for you night vision crazys
I rattlecanned mine when i first got it and it still got super rusty. I never put in the effort to oil it or get the rust out, just keep repainting it every so often.
I have a gen2 e&l akm from 2018 or so and a newer ak105 from lct I bought in 2023. I’ll talk about what I think.
E&l has a 1.5mm receiver in spec to Chinese aks. Lct uses a 1mm receiver spec from Russian aks. The steel on lct is slightly harder. Apparently lct rear sight block is milled where e&l is cast I can’t notice a difference. E&l gen2 have better wood than lct.
E&l list of gripes
Gas tube rattled a lot fixed with foam and electrical tape.
Front sight is canted slightly to the right.
Once a e&l is worn in it feels a little looser/smooth. Mag release spring get week. Selecter being from weaker steel than lct gets more floppy. No wobble on main components
Pistol grip is flimsy and super slick. No texture slippy when wet. Probably accurate to real aks. Trigger guard is soft
E&l does rust
E&l pros
Better gearbox/motor than lct
Metal hop/mag spacer.
Lower joule
Better qc
Finish even though rusts is cool.
I think externally is decently better than lct
Lct gripes
All metal parts have sharp edges.
Front sight is canted
Rear sight block/reunion is also slightly canted. Barrel isn’t
Front hand guard locker is super wobbly. Handguard isn’t
Gearbox is visible silver (e&l is black and blends to receivers)
My lct has a buffer tube and ar style stock. Wobble a lot. Fixed with electrical tape.
Trigger gaurd had sharp edges. Sanded down.
Lct pros
More options externally.
Doesn’t rust.
Tighter when worn in. More mag compatibility.
If I were to rebuy either gun I’d get e&l for any classic Ak. And lct for modern aks. E&l I think is better built internally and externally (atleast for my gen2) but lct is a larger company and has more options. But I would say I was disappointed when my lct came in after hearing how much better they are than e&l.
For mags I’ve had some issues finding mags that work well for both. I use cyma 200rd Alfa mags. They work in both.
For mounting optics. Side rail is a alright doesn’t hold zero for me. Dust covers rails suck. Rear sight blocks work but have issues also removes sight so no backup. I think the best is the gas tube rail that clamps onto barrel.
Something interesting to note about the essentials line is how they’ve improved the internals since release. I have one of the first batches of the AKM(purchased September 2021) and it has only 1 metal tooth on the piston and no mosfet. I don’t know exact dates but shortly after release they started using full metal tooth pistons. I believe in 2023 is when they started including basic mosfets in them. That same gun only costs $5 more today than when I bought mine. My only complaint is that the AKM STILL uses that Chinese Type 56 stock with a more downwards angle instead of the correct AKM stock. If I were to buy one again I would be very satisfied with getting a stronger motor and running the gun otherwise stock.
Upgrades are cool sure but those mosfets are such trash. Still better than nothing but anything higher than 7,4v lipo will burn it
funny enough the canted sights was a pretty common thing on real steel AK's as well when kits were brought into the US
i store mine in a rifle sock with desiccant and it has clp on it. as a side note cyma is comming out with full steel ak's they are on Taiwan gun. they are part of the cyma platinum lineup so best internals ootb. also nwer cyma's have the neo magnet motor. older ones have a ferrite motor. as well but the wood is still probably balsa so expect some ugly Funiture on some..
Honestly best 160 dollars I spend was on a CYMA Sport AKS74U
I have 2 E&Ls and saw dozens of others , never saw any issue with the muzzle brake retaining pin, including players coming from other European countries
Edit
ok now i saw the comment, yep seems this is purely a US import thing,
I have a WE ak74 gbbr its so much better then any electric ak , i wouldn’t trade for anything
might sound like a stupid question but how's the disassembly? is it somewhat realistic to the real steel (like LCTs) or is it more like cheap CYMAs which kinda have their own things using a lot of screws and everything (asking for compatibility with other manufacturers and/or real steel parts)
this is kinda off topic but what are your thoughts on the G&G RK-95? Because while its an alright gun afaik i think 400€ - 600€ for gun with aluminum body is way too much.
I feel like because I have 2 cyma AKs already, if i get another one it'll be a cyma just because I know I can interchange my parts i already have
My E+L broke after a few games. The entire gearbox exploded. Every. Single. Gear.
Yeah I've seen that happen a few times with little use on e&l so fat I haven't been impressed at all by e&l
Canted front sight block just means they're even closer in spec to real AKs
You’re making me want an AK…
About time there were more reviews of the E&L e-platinum guns. there are like no indepth reviews at all
BTW how are E&L aks on aftermarket compatiblity with real firearm furnature? I want to install the midwest industries mlok handguards on a E&L 105
E&l is the closest to real steel spec as far as I’ve seen or experienced, most if not all accessories I’ve tried will fit with little to no modifications, even some magpul stuff works well. Zenitco for sure.
@@velowelder6333 I know that the E&L is made to chinese ak spec, not russian spec. will that interfere with things?
@@wote2760 I’ve tried both and if anything just some minor filing is all I had to do.
nice airsofts just like mine :D
ak74m3 based
E&L has good externals especially for the price but the internals are horribly outdated like most AK's including LCT except arcturus
if you want an AK that will give you the gameplay efficiency and good user experience arcturus is pretty much your best bet in the AK AEG market but arcturus and E&L are owned by the same guys and they refuse to make E&L's with the actual good arcturus internals, so you dont get classic AK's with the good internals, only modern AK's with arcturus internals. im guessing they dont want to take over each others market space which fucking sucks for us customers. i want an AK that isnt an ak12 that works out of the box and has good externals but that doesnt exist in the current market, the closest thing is the arcturus modernised AK74's. LCT is overhyped trash that should not be bought until they fix their shit and add basic features like rotary hop. CYMA is fine for performance but externals leave a lot to be desired, and my 74U taiwangun highspeed version had its hop up unit stop functioning within a year of use even after installing an aftermarket rotary hop up its still fucked.
at this point in just waiting for the VFC GBBR AK's to release, the AEG market is so bad
not really out of date. they dont come with etu's or mosfets (at least the essential series) though they still have a very good semi auto (especially for an ak. work lovely on 7.4), the full auto is at a good rate of fire as well. the gearbox is well made, includes a quick change spring system (which is all you really need for a "up to date" rif) and is pretty standard when it comes to changing out parts.
there is this scourge in airsoft where some people think all guns need to come with etus and mosfets when in reality for how most people are playing airsoft the simple system in these is more than adequate and of course there is less shit going on to go wrong.
me personally i dont want something where the trigger doesnt have any kind of reset feeling which is unfortunately a thing alot of these new optical mosfets have, yes you can get parts for tactile feedback but thats not costing you more money.
Arcturus and E&L are not owned by the same company but rather distributed in the USA by the same company. The factories are quite far apart from each other.
oh yes