Echo 1 - Whats your take

[Northman]

so Im looking at new guns.  I know KWA is top of the line.  ICS produces a good product,  ECHO 1 has a couple of guns that look promising in some configurations that I like. 

 

So what is your take.  Looking for things like FPS out of the box, Rate of fire, mag compatability and availibilty. 

[Phoenix]

My P90 is...well was Echo 1. There's some good stuff about them, but best of all, they are upgradable with normal parts. You could go out the box with one and then swap parts out. Another good thing is the price point. Decent quality for a steal of a price.

[Michael Balaguy]

Well... because almost all of Echo's guns are various chinese rebrands, it depends on the gun. Their AK line is made up of high (er) -end CYMAs and have good performance and build- usually around 380 fps and good ROF.

[StierCo Industries]

This is going to be very interesting to hear all of every ones opinions... Either way my two cents would be if you have the cash go KWA or some other high end if you want to spend less buy a Echo 1 or maybe a G&G. I think if you want to really help yourself out narrow it down to what model you want because every company has a gun that they make well. So actually the first question you need to ask yourself what style of gun do you want and the more complicated version of that question of that question would be what is my playing style, These are all going to determining factors in you quest for what you would consider the perfect gun for you, Another but of advice do go for flash go for what suits you.

[StierCo Industries]

Also the MP5 I have (I'm sure your are familiar with it) is an Echo and  a great gun but also most of my gun are many different brands but have been built to my tastes.

[Edric]

Honestly, I've always been a fan of Classic Army. Consistent quality. With clones, you never really know if what you get is going to be good.

[Phoenix]

From what I've seen Echo 1 is less of a clone than a emerging brand but it seems they're neither, yet. I know when I took the gearbox out of the P90, it has an Echo 1 motor in it, from there its anyone's guess whats inside. But there's a lot of solid reviews on their line and that's not usually typical of clones. Clones typically have these crazy performance variances. Even the A&K Masada I have had an out of the box FPS variance of 350-410FPS. That's a huge variance when a Classic Army has a tight variance. Echo 1 seems to actually try to get their parts consistent.

like Justin said, you have to make sure your buying what you want, not what you can afford and not what you will settle for. I settled for my first few airsoft guns and I flushed $150 down the tubes. Sure its not that much but it was at least the value of a used gun of better quality. But if its about money, Echo 1 will get you on the field while you rebuild the internals to what you want.

[Northman]

Well I have a gun that I'm gonna be rebuilding and up grading already so its looking like ECHO 1 may not be the way to go. One of the main reasons I was looming.g it because they have such a wide variety of platforms. M4, AK, SCAR, lots of different options where as some of the other brands seems to stick with 1 platform or another with very little variance.

Thanks for the input films and keep it coming.... always looking for good advice.

[Spidedd]

I'll help clarify a bit, since it is a bit confusing. Echo1 is a rebrand...of sorts. Basically it either takes the gun, or designs of the guns of other companies and makes it for themselves, or upgrades it etc. It is not only low end brands such as Cyma, things like their Red Star AK line are actually VFC rebrands, $100 or more cheaper then VFC, only difference is slightly cheaper internals to make it more affordable.

Another thing to remember is Echo1 has a one month warranty on everything, something few guns have at all. I personally love Echo1 for budget guns, or even slightly higher end guns (like their platinum M4).

It also depends on what gun you get, some guns just are statistically better then others in Echo1's line. But they are all interchageable with aftermarket parts, which is a plus. I'd say, if your going Echo1 I'd get it from JF (advertising.ha), because not only would you have the one month warranty, but also the year of working on it for free by Jon there. They have a contract or w/e with Echo1 so they can get most any gun (far as I know) that you want in

[Phoenix]

Joe, just think of it this way: My P90 has a carbine length barrel (the stock barrel from my M16 so figure it cost me the $40 for the TBB I swapped it for), it has a set of high torque gears ($50) and the stubby silencer ($30) and it performs very well. The motor is still Echo 1 stock as is the body and hop-up. So for $120 in parts and $170 for the initial buy in, I have a gun that performs as well as dumping an equal amount into a bigger brand name but with a over time investment. I guess I look at it like buying on credit with no interest, paying at your own pace and choosing your own parts.

[John Jensen]

Give me a call at the shop and let me know what price range you want to stay in and I can look at what they have in stock. If we can get you a KWA in your price range I would definately recommend that. So far the only complaint I have had is about some mags not fitting in mine, but that is more the Mag manufacturer than KWA. Echo1's have always been good guns for us and we have sold alot of them. Minor problems here and there but the internals have held up great and the little problems are usually a pretty quick easy fix. We need to break you of that bad day you were having on Saturday. I am sure you have shot KWA guns but if you want to try one out before you fully decide on going with something cheaper let me know and you are more than welcome to use one for the day or just come in the shop and try mine. I usually always have them at the shop.

[Phoenix]

While this doesn't change the fact they sell guns at a decent price for their quality, it might explain why their quality is so cheap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeEENb7U-y4

[Tank]

out of the box they are not the greatest thing but they are great for upgrading. i would definitly go with KWA ICS Classic Army if you want good externals and great internals. the mag compatiblity (depending on the model) is very versitile it will take a lot of different mags but FPS and range and ROF is not great. some of their models such as the platnum lineup has a decent rate of fire but some of their others are not up to par. they are pretty good bang for the buck due to their pricing but you get what you pay for if you pay 150 for one of their guns you are getting one that is 150 quality. i would have more for my KWA the quality on that is amazing and I know chris is happy with his ICS. KWA is a little bit more choosy when it comes to mag compatibility. all and all i like echo one for being a cheaper solution for a starter gun but for a more experienced player i would say that i would go for something more top of the line.  that is just my 2 cents.