Specna Arms J04 Edge 2.0 – review of airsoft gun
Construction of Specna Arms SA-J04 Edge 2.0
Recently, I had the opportunity to test the SA J-73 Core replica in practice. There, I liked the light weight, which was not achieved at the expense of durability. Here, the issue of solid construction has been turned up to 11. At first glance, there is nothing to complain about. With a stronger and rather malicious pressure, we can notice a slight slack at the stock. However, this is normal when it folds to the side like this. We can also find some slack on the wooden front grip assembly. It's not something that would bother me and they are unlikely to fall off during the game. The replica is built in the VFC standard and we disassemble it with a system of levers and pins. A nice touch is that, just like in the live firearm, the wood is plywood and not a solid piece as in other popular replicas of this platform.
Upon closer inspection, you'll also find some other nice touches. What particularly caught my attention is the fact that the upper cover of the replica holds very well in place. Embedding this element always gives me a bit of trouble in other replicas. Here everything fits well and does not cause problems. As for the materials used in the construction, it is quite good. Most of the replica is made of steel, including the body. The outer barrel and the stock are also made of steel. The lid and small elements such as the trigger guard, pins and screws are also made of this material. The trunnion and small elements such as sights are made of aluminium alloy.
There is a place for the battery under the cover. Classically, there is little space for AK airsoft guns here and we will need special packages adapted to this replica platform. Fortunately, they are easy to find in the Specna Arms offer. When connecting the battery, we can also notice that the replica's cables are different than standard ones. This is due to one of the most important innovations used in the replica, which is the pre-installed GATE ASTER system. It replaces the contact switch and really affects the fact that the airsoft gun has a better response to the trigger and gives us the ability to program its operation. About the functions of this system a little later. However, inquisitive readers may notice that there are already replicas of the J Aster Edition series. They have the described system installed. What distinguishes Edge 2.0 from them?
Here you will also find a clever ESA 2 spring replacement system. All you have to do is fold the stock and unscrew the element holding the spring guide. Then, with the Allen key, we can turn the guide 90 degrees, which will allow it to be pulled out together with the spring. This type of system allows you to change the power of our airsoft gun in a dozen or so seconds and is a very good solution for people who are looking for one replica for forest games and those in buildings. We have a stronger spring installed at the factory, which gives about 1.33 J, but in the box, we will also find a weaker one, which gives us about 0.9 J.
Inside the replica we will find the Orion v3 gearbox. Of the interesting solutions used here, it is worth paying attention to the piston, all teeth of which are made of steel. Gears are also made of this metal. However, they are not produced in CNC technology. A plastic retarder is used on the sector gear. The piston is finished with an aluminium head with bearings. Such a set together with a type 0 cylinder with an aluminium, double-sealed head gives the correct angle of engagement. The nozzle is less than 20mm and is sealed. The system passes the syringe test and is characterized by good work culture. The grease was used where it is needed and, what is important, there is not too much of it. This is important due to the fact that the optical sensors of the ASTER system are sensitive to dirt. One grape with the gearbox is shimming. The gears have a bit too much slack in my opinion. The hop-up chamber is completely standard. The bucking is quite rigid and the cylindrical spacer is responsible for spinning the BBs. The aluminium inner barrel has a diameter of 6.03mm and is decently made. As a standard for this type of airsoft guns, it is quite long and measures about 45cm.
Using and performance of SA-J04 Edge 2.0
The airsoft gun comes to us in a cardboard box with a foam insert. In addition to the replica itself, we will also find some marketing materials and a full instruction manual. There will also be a cheat sheet for programming the ASTER system using the trigger and the replica selector. There were also high-quality mid-cap S-mag magazines. As befits the Edge series, here too we will get two magazines in the set. The package also includes an adapter for batteries in case we somehow still use the Tamiya plug and a weaker spring - M90. The box from the airsoft gun can successfully serve as a transport unit. A nice touch is its strengthening in the place where the slide of the replica rests. This protruding and quite sharp element often destroy replica boxes. It won't be a problem here.
How about the action? Very good! According to the manufacturer's assurances, Specna Arms SA-J04 Edge 2.0 should shoot at 380 fps with 0.2g BBs. I got around 375 fps. It's still pretty good. When using heavier BBs, we achieve around 1.33J. So, there's nothing to cling to. Importantly, there are no big differences between individual shots. The described results should be enough for typical Sunday skirmishes. The airsoft gun in the factory configuration allowed for accurate shots up to about 50 meters. At 30 and 40 meters, hits are almost certain as long as you don't make a mistake while aiming. The maximum range is 60 meters. Here, however, you can't count on effective fire because the imperfections of the standard hop-up system come to light. Despite this, we should still be able to achieve efficiency during standard games without any problems.
Positive impressions of using the airsoft gun are also enhanced by the GATE ASTER system. There is no issue of jamming of a single fire mode here. Thanks to the possibility of pre-tensioning the spring before the shot, we can achieve a very pleasant reaction to the trigger. The system itself also gives other possibilities, such as an active brake, protection against battery discharge or a diagnostic system in case we have problems with our toy.
Summary about Specna Arms SA-J04 Edge 2.0 airsoft gun
It's hard to find a perfect airsoft gun straight out of the box. Maybe that's why so many players immediately decide to tune their toys. For people who are looking for a replica of the AK platform from the Specna Arms stable, it is hard to find a better offer than the Edge 2.0 series. It combines many well-thought-out and effective solutions while offering a solid and realistic construction. The fact is that we do not have an absolutely all-steel structure here. The barrel trunnion could be made of a different material, which would bring the replica closer to the original.
Do not kid yourself. Reenactors certainly still have a long list of objections they could make to the described construction. And that's not a bad thing. In my opinion, this is not an airsoft gun for this group of customers. It is more of an offer for people who want to stand out or enrich their collection and at the same time plan to use this replica. An advanced electronic system controlling the operation of the replica, durable internal parts and the ESA 2 quick spring change system will be useful for this. It will also be a good proposition for people looking for the first replica with an emphasis on forest games, but with an occasional trip to arenas or games in buildings. Of course, provided that we are not interested in buying as much as possible for as little as possible. In this type of construction, in my opinion, it is more about style or uniqueness than about making them look as cost-effective as possible. Certainly Specna Arms SA-J04 Edge 2.0 has almost everything you can expect from a modern airsoft gun in a traditional AK platform package.
Author: Boreq
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