DE G36 Review

     The spring G36K by Double Eagle is an extremely cost-effective choice when looking for a starter Airsoft gun or simple replica.  But is it worth it?




     The G36 is quite comfortable.  It is as expected, but it does have some things that aren't quite right.  The seam  lines are rather noticeable, but for $20 it can be overlooked.  I also could not find a perfectly comfortable spot for my non-dominant hand - magwell grip is awkward and level grip is a little odd.  These are very minor, but the one big thing about the feel is weight. It weighs about the same as the Nerf Longshot.  That is unusually light for an Airsoft gun, and I'm pretty sure they didn't add any weights for a more realistic feel at all.  Oh well.  It's still pretty good, and most of all, it's still $20.

     Power is okay, probably in the 200-280 fps range.  It can't puncture a can at any distance with any BBs.

     Accuracy is pretty good for something of this grade.  Particularly since the inner barrel is really only about 6" long.  The barrel seems really long but you can take it off and make it more of a CQC type of gun.  Not that you'd want to use a springer in CQC anyway.  I could hit cans easily up to 40 feet, and it was fairly accurate with the NCStar Scope too.

Hop up is okay, better than expected anyway.  Most cheap guns with hop up have way too much hop, if they have it at all.  In too many cases I'd rather have no hop up than the included bad hop.

     The mag is nice, holds around 18 rounds and automatically locks.  The only complaint is that it doesn't work the greatest with speedloaders, but it's manageable.  It has fake bullets built in which could be either a pro or con.

     Something interesting is that you can take off the front barrel and bipod, as well as the stock with a push of a button or two.  For better or worse, most of the barrel is just for looks.  If it were as long as it appears to be when fully assembled, fps would definitely be improved and accuracy would be far superior.  It's still okay, and the tradeoff is that you can sort of turn it into an SMG, which is neat.  The stock is also removable, but it's kind of weird without it.  The barrel extension has a bipod built in.  It doesn't really help and I don't personally care about it much one way or another.  You can take it off simply by unscrewing a bolt, so if you prefer you can take it off.

     The attachments are mismatched.  The flashlight is pretty junky.  It broke within a week with minimal use.  The red dot sight is surprisingly good, though I wouldn't use it on any G36 regardless.  The RDS is sold separately for about $5, so a $5 RDS included with a $20 gun is pretty nice.  You can find a picture in my review of the Well P90.

The Bottom Line

Pros:

     Decently accurate
     Removable stock and barrel
     Super cheap
     Accessories
     Good mag

Cons:

     Bad sights
     Fragile cocking bar
     Really light

Summary:  Overall it is far from the worst $20 you could spend.  Performance is okay and build quality isn't too bad.  The barrel and stock are removable if you like options and it comes with some accessories too.  I wouldn't get it to use in a battle, but if you are really on a budget or just want to try out a G36, it's a fine choice.

Overall Score:  ****

AR&M Performance/Value Score:

1.153