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ARCTURUS KARAMBIT LITE

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SEPTEMBER 202122


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NEVER LET IT BE SAID THAT AT AIRSOFT ACTION WE ONLY EVER LOOK AT THE EXPENSIVE END OF THE AEG MARKET, AS THERE ARE SOME LITTLE “GUCCI” GEMS OUT THERE FOR THOSE THAT DON’T WANT TO SPEND THE EARTH ON THEIR “SKIRMISH GUN”. BILL HAS BEEN ON THE RANGE A LOT WITH THE LATEST PDW FROM ARCTURUS, THAT’S BUILT FOR PERFORMANCE WITHOUT A MASSIVE PRICE-TAG, THE KARAMBIT LITE!

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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If you’re starting out in your personal “airsoft journey” then believe me, I totally understand that the pennies may not stack up for what

you would really like to buy… I know, I’ve been where you are… always broke and broker still when I discovered the joy of 6mm! The differences now though, from when I started in airsoft, are massive in all respects and even at the “cheaper” end of the market there are some totally righteous AEGS available that offer both looks and performance which I could only dream of 27 years ago!

I’ve highlighted the word “cheaper” as it often appears we’ve all come to the conclusion that the more money we spend on an AEG, or the more money that we throw at it, will somehow mean we become better players. However, as I always say to those I play alongside: “It’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it” and I would much rather be playing alongside someone who plays hard and with honour and has a rental, than someone with a mega-shooty-upgraded-AR-ikov who sits in the Safe Zone all day or walks obliviously through a hail of BBs without once calling their hits!

The fact is that airsoft, to me at least, was summed up by my friend Stelios and his team when I played on Crete at WarZone 6. They had the approach that you should play the game “to give your opponent the best possible experience” and I truly love that! They’re not saying for one moment that you shouldn’t play hard, take ground and smash the objective, but they are saying that you should do so in a way that makes the game enjoyable for everyone, by simply playing fairly.

In that scenario, with that mindset, it REALLY doesn’t matter what AEG you have in your hands; if YOU are enjoying your game of airsoft and you’re playing in such a way that those around you are enjoying it too, then the “platform” you use becomes almost secondary. I’ve turned up to do a Site Report with no intention of being an active participant, been offered a game and handed a rental AEG, and actually had some of the best skirmishes of my airsoft “life”!

But the fact is that if I were to buy another AEG of my own today, I would have SO MUCH CHOICE! I could pick a dedicated “woodland” model with a great long barrel, I could pick an historic model just because I love it, or I could choose from a vast array of short and super-short CQB/CQC variants that would also see me well in most games. If I already owned a

“woodland” rifle these days I could actually afford to buy a “shorty” too as prices have become (for now at

least) quite ridiculously low!And this leads me neatly on to the latest Arcturus model, the KARAMBIT LITE as, at the time of writing, you can pick up

one of these super little “PDW-Style” AEGs for well-under

UK£120!

WHAT’S IN A NAME?As someone that has a healthy respect for blades I was immediately struck by the choice of name for Arcturus’ new line of AEGs, as the “karambit” is a diminutive curved-blade knife believed to originate in Indonesia. The karambit was originally a tool for those toiling in the rice paddies, smaller and more

nimble than

their larger

scythes, a tool rather than a fighting implement. However, the “karambit style” has become increasingly popular in knife-fighting circles and as a “hideaway” for “operators”. If you are inclined to look you will find models of this style amongst the offerings of many of the finest blade-makers around the world today.

It’s the handling characteristics of the blade that appears to have influenced the choice of name for

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the Arcturus AEGs, as they too are (in terms of price) available to even the poorest amongst us but as small, lightweight, perfectly formed and effective as their bladed forebear! There are three models in the Arcturus “Karambit” line (all with MOS Manufacture in the shadows…); one full-metal and two nylon-fibre-bodied “LITE” models with different barrel lengths. I chose the smallest and cheapest of the lot, the AT-NY05, to check out - and I’ve been delighted by what I received!

This is indeed one sharp little AEG! The upper and lower receivers are made of durable nylon-fibre, which is actually very sturdy with no bend or flex in evidence. Thanks to the nylon body, the weight and

the price of the replica have both been kept low and the former, especially for

a super-short “PDW”, is spot on! At

just 2,300g this is an

AEG that you

can

carry all day long, almost without noticing it until you need it. Arcturus have been clever when it comes to overall strength of the AEG though, as there’s a socket for the buffer tube tube and a barrel socket with a thread for the handguard-ring, both of which

are reinforced with a metal threaded sleeve; no

breaking or cracking above the pistol grip (an age old problem with “plastic” ARs) here!

However, the majority of the external parts in the LITE, such as the handguard, outer barrel, muzzle device (very cool!), fire selectors, magazine catch,

ejection cover, bolt catch, and receiver extension tube are alloy and all these parts have been suitably treated to protect against corrosion.

Inside the story is also good, as the LITE features a V2 gearbox finished off with a sealed nozzle, a quick spring change system, a bearing spring guide and bearing piston head. The polymer piston is equipped with steel teeth that work with high-quality gears and the gears themselves are mounted on 8mm steel bushings to cope with high load. The bevel gear is bearing-mounted to ensure that it is free to spin at high speeds and there’s even a microswitch trigger with low-resistance wiring, so everything comes “Li-Po ready”. As always, an electric trigger eliminates the problem of burned out contacts and improves the trigger response. In terms of precise BB-in-flight-adjustment and overall performance, there’s a metal rotary hop-up chamber and a hardened 6.03mm precision steel barrel as standard too.

ROCKIN’ THE ‘BIT!There are also some elements of the Karambit’s construction that I have to comment on as I REALLY

like them, especially considering the price of this AEG. The magazine catch, bolt catch and fire

selector are ALL ambidextrous. The handguard is a very, very nicely

achieved alloy M-LOK 140mm but it

still has a top-rail that marries

up perfectly

with the railed upper and the sliding

“PDW-style” stock is sold as a rock (and has QD sling-stud-points both left and right) - although it does suffer from a tiny battery compartment, which means you have to pick your battery carefully, especially as it’s T-Plug wired. I found that small 11.1V 800mAh 15C works very well indeed.

I also like the pop-up polymer “irons” that come pre-fitted and that the carbine comes with a pair of pistol-grip backstraps! This is quite a rare thing with a “standard” AEG at this pricepoint and it means that even those with small hands (or a slighter stature overall as this AEG is perfect for smaller players!)



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can get a really positive hold when shooting. I also totally LOVE that Arcturus provide a very “old skool” towelling wristband in the box to deal with “shooting hand sweat”! The net result is that although the Karambit is priced VERY competitively, you still feel you have something a little bit special!

So, what’s it like to shoot? Being a big chap I do struggle a little with really short AEGs and even with the stock at full extension the LITE is only 604mm long! It is, however, a very tidy little package that shoots well, straight and surprisingly far! The LITE comes with a 340 BB polymer magazine which is ridged and textured, making it very tactile and positive and the magazine is designed for smooth and uninterrupted feeding of BBs even at a high ROF. I did, as usual, try a whole load of different brand “AR” mags and all of them worked perfectly.

So, all set up it was off to the woods for some range time and the Karambit LITE performed just as positively as I expected it would, as I’ve had much experience now with their AK variants. It’s a great little AR to work with, with great ergonomics and a very positive cheek weld (even with the minimalist stock). Adding a finger rest makes it very easy to drive the muzzle from target to target, and the overall length of the rifle, the full 604mm for me, makes it easy to work with, especially in tight spaces! Once the rotary hop was set, an easy control to adjust, the LITE was shooting straight out to the end of the 30m range at a site-friendly 1.09 Joule/344fps average on a .20g RZR BB. The microswitch trigger is light yet crisp, with very little lag so it’s easy to get consistently accurate shots away time after time. Switching it up to full auto sends a nice stream of BBs downrange in quick time at a rate nobody would moan about, apart from

perhaps the airsofter on the receiving end!I would say that if you are looking for a super-

compact “PDW-Style AR”, then the Karambit LITE is certainly worth looking at… and looking at hard! It’s a great, modern-looking replica and it performs just as well as it should out of the box; it’s light yet solid and at the price it’s pretty much a no-brainer! If you fancy something longer, or with a metal body, then there’s the 5.5” AR15 Dwarf, the 5.5” AR15 Karambit, or the 8” AR15 Sword AEGs to choose from in the latest line-up from Arcturus and I am certain that there’s a model for YOU somewhere in the mix. Although I’ll stick with the Karambit LITE if it’s all the same to you!

Many thanks indeed to TAIWANGUN who kindly provided me with the AEG sample for this review. You can check out more details on the KARAMBIT LITE and the rest of the extensive range of Arcturus models by simply visiting www.taiwangun.com AA


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