L86A2 LSW - ArniesAirsoft - Review Archive

Author

Merlin

Registered: February 2006
Location: Southern California
Posts: 6

Review Date: 15/4/06

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: �370.00 | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Solid, Accurate, Good battery life, Good power
Cons:	Bipod could be better

Long, drawn out reviews bore me and I suspect they bore other people, too. In the interest of holding your attention I've decided to make this as compact as possible. So, after two weeks of use, many thousands of rounds fired and over twenty hours of play, here's my review:

The STAR LSW
Get one. Get two, if you can afford it. Get them now. Better yet, get both an L85 and an LSW.
The end.

Too brief?
I'll elaborate.

The STAR LSW (enhanced review)

I bought it from Guns 'n Guys. They offered a very good price, good service, and prompt shipping. A highly recommended retailer despite the clunky website and limited selection.

The package includes the gun, a manual(same as the images available on STAR's website), an archaic loading tube/rod, and a magazine. The LSW is too long to fit in STARs trademark gun cases so they made a closed cell foam-and-cardboard box for it. The box is durable enough to keep but an aftermarket case would still make a nice accessory.

Pro's:
-Shoots ~400fps with .20g BB's right out of the box
-Has a very high ROF with an 8.4v battery. So good that I use a 7.2v battery on occasion to conserve ammo.
-Very efficient power usage; An intellect 8.4v 2/3A cell battery lasts more than a day of play for me.
-Very accurate. I ordered a KM barrel with the gun but decided to keep the stock barrel in! I might get a teeny improvement in accuracy if I swapped them but I'm so happy with the way it is now I don't want to bother.
-Well balanced.
-Accepts all Marui type STANAG magazines. I've tried RWC, TM, STAR, EC and G&P magazines and they fed fine.
-Extremely durable. Made from 1/8" stamped and welded steel plate with nylonite furniture, just like the real one.
-Unique
-Superb magazines. The STAR SA80 Magazines(it comes with one, I bought extras) are the only midcap mags I've used that fed in all STANAG compatable guns I have. They are reinforced internally with metal bands and have a very strong follower spring. The mags have "RG", presumably for Radway Green, printed on a moulded plastic baseplate. The magazine internals have a buffer plate that reduces any shock from the bottom. I have no problems just dropping a magazine when I need to do an emergency reload.
-It uses a captured hop-up system that is very efficient. Think of the TM M14 hop-up system. It's a bit like that.
-There's room in the foregrip for custom batteries. I choose to just use Minis. They fit nicely into a pistol mag pouch for easier carrying of spares.
-It has a spring release!
-The LSW is always partially wound for a faster response time. It's not 100% wound like the PSG-1 or KSC but it's better than any other AEG.
-Many of the internals are compatable with Marui, Systema, etc. In fact, there's a rumor that some of the internal parts are Guarder. The motor is identical to the EG1000S.
-The gun seems to be quite reliable. The only failure I've had was a deformed BB getting stuck in the hop-up unit. The barrel is much longer than most unjamming rods so I had to use my real gun cleaning rod to get it out.

Cons:
-The bipod spring is too weak. I'd like a stronger deployment spring in there for a more secure fit. The current spring allows one leg to pop out and hang a couple inches down if you shake the gun vigorously. Obviously, this isn't a problem with any other products in STAR's SA80 series.
-Misaligned Bipod mounts. The hooks that hold the bipod in place are a few millimeters too far back which prevents an easy retraction. Again, other models don't have a bipod so this isn't a problem.
-I'm getting rather picky here; You need to use a flathead screwdriver to change the battery. This isn't a significant problem since STAR included a multitool that is stored in the handle. It looks just like the real SA80 multitool with an adaptation for airsoft; The gas tube reamer is replaced with a hex wrench of the same length.
-Difficult to disassemble. If for some bizzare reason you're not happy with the stock performace and want to upgrade, it's a [profanity] to take apart.
-I'm told the trademarks aren't 100% correct.

Neutral stuff:
-Realistic weight. At 6kg it might be too heavy for some people. I like the weight and it's barely noticeable, even after nine hours of play, if you get a good sling.
-If you live in a country with strict limits concering the power of airsoft guns you may have to downgrade the spring.

If you have any unaddressed questions you can contact me through my team forums: www.saintjamesgrenadiers.com
My screen name is Merlin.