PSA: Replica Atlas Bipods are garbage.

[Conscript]

Garbage chicom stuff is exactly that, garbage.

Chicom stuff actually isn't garbage, it's based on a technical bureau influenced by the Soviets which didn't produce junk metallurgy or products. They're built to last with correct manufacturing techniques for export by the government.

Chinese junk is made by some farmland dudes in a shack, fiddling with metal bits from an unknown supplier of unknown quality, with zero knowledge of heat treating or metallurgy, THINKING they can make the same military grade part with completely inferior materials and techniques. That's the difference. Airsoft crap is the latter.

 

[rugbydave]

Chicom stuff actually isn't garbage, it's based on a technical bureau influenced by the Soviets which didn't produce junk metallurgy or products. They're built to last with correct manufacturing techniques for export by the government.

Chinese junk is made by some farmland dudes in a shack, fiddling with metal bits from an unknown supplier of unknown quality, with zero knowledge of heat treating or metallurgy, THINKING they can make the same military grade part with completely inferior materials and techniques. That's the difference. Airsoft crap is the latter.

Well I tend to refer to pretty much anything that comes outta the PRC as "chicom" and avoid it when possible. Your definition is however a bit more precise and you are correct with regards to govt design bureau stuff vs airsoft crap.

 

[DoubleApexCa]

Two quotes immediately spring to mind.....

“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.” - John Ruskin.

"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten." - Benjamin Franklin


Nuff said.

 

[Ryan.M.Anderson]

If you want to run cheap stuff that is fine, if you want to sell cheap stuff as a quality product that newcomers will get taken by that is not fine.

Also, run the cheap junk in a hard use or competition setting and it will probably fail on you at the worst time. I have seen it happen.

If you just want to plunk it down on a bench while you shoot groups (and there is nothing wrong with that at all) it will probably be just fine. If it does break while doing that you are not really losing anything.

 

[kthomas]

You don't need the most expensive bipods to do what we do. But damn, it's ridiculous to put a fake/knock-off/airsoft bipod on a precision rifle. That's a big chance to take on the piece that literally provides the support to your precision rifle. Hard to be precise when you are chasing zeros, weird flex points/lack of rigidity which causes you to slingshot shots, broken legs, etc. Seen and heard too many issues with cheap bipods to ever recomment it to anyone. Turns into a long frustrating road which causes you to spend more money in the long run.

Everyone on here can afford a Harris. At a minimum, you should be running a Harris bipod.

 

[surfclod]

I recently bought a bunch of airsoft grade items off of ebay.

A replica/clone/copy of an Atlas bipod was among the items.

To be honest I don't expect anything greater than what I paid for but I am experimenting with lots of different layouts on my current project rifle.

If my cheap cantilever mount and atlas style bipod end up being the configuration that I like then I might go ahead and spring for the real deal; then I have some tacticool items to try on my 10/22.

 

[wasrupzuk]

I seem to have a somewhat different take than most others on this thread...
I bought a knock off (not from TNA) and I was impressed with it overall.
For the price especially.
However it hasn’t been range tested yet so perhaps I’ll be disappointed but I doubt it.
As for TNA I’m no fanboy but I’ve used them a multitude of times with a favourable opinion overall.
Some items definitely were sub par but I was able easily make them serviceable, what I liked was I gave them a very poor review on their site and those reviews were posted (and still are last I checked) which is more than I can say for another reputable dealer...
Like in everything, buyer beware and YMMV.

 

[TurboTapin]

I recently bought a bunch of airsoft grade items off of ebay.

A replica/clone/copy of an Atlas bipod was among the items.

To be honest I don't expect anything greater than what I paid for but I am experimenting with lots of different layouts on my current project rifle.

If my cheap cantilever mount and atlas style bipod end up being the configuration that I like then I might go ahead and spring for the real deal; then I have some tacticool items to try on my 10/22.

Roughly a week after posting this thread, I ended up buying an authentic Atlas BT10. Absolutely love it.