PTW pricing to quality question

[wind953]

I've always wondered just what makes a PTW so damn expensive. Are they out-of-the-box better than every other AEG brands with heavy upgrades? Are they super accurate without the need and hassle of installing TBs and shimming this and upgrading that? Are their externals real steel? Are they any better than the best after-market metal body upgrades? Do they require only a fraction of maintenance needed for other high-end AEGs?
I've seen pictures of pimped out PTWs in the Media section. What exactly is the point? If it's just for looks, then okay. It's a waste, but PTWs don't exactly have many variant models. But if they are for performance and reliability, then that's honestly pretty damn dumb.
As far as being realistic, I'd still pick the sweet metal blow-back sounds and feels of GBBRs. Am I wrong in assuming PTWs still can't quite get out of the inherent sewing-machine sounds that plague AEGs in general?
In the end is it just blind brand-name-following? If I had 2k, I'd much rather buy the highest end GBBR and do some internal upgrades.
Thoughts?

[mcguyver]

There's about 3 years worth of threads on the PTW. Not all you could ever know about the PTW is contained in these forums though, most of what I learned came from years of working on them, tinkering, modding and using them.

A GBBR has it's uses, but nearly all the guys I know who have a PTW and a GBBR realize that each has it's strengths and limitations. A PTW requires far less maintenance thna any AEG or GBBR, and nearly all the maintenance of a PTW is in the cylinder. Short of a part failure which is exceedingly rare, there is no need to open the gearbox, and in fact, 200K+ rounds at 400+ FPS is quite common. Some of mine surely have surpassed 100K by now, even though they have moved on to new owners.

A GBBR requires cleaning of the moving components like any GBB, they suck in cold weather, and you have to use ammo plus propellant and be able to carry that with you. The PTW lack the recoil, but being battery operated offers it a wider climate range of reliable operation.

I wouldn't spend 2K on any GBBR, I'd put that into a PTW long before I got that far.

But I'm funny that way.

[The Acer]

If I had 2k, I would go PTW, than GBBR

PTW is superior to gbbr, for mags, and performance, usable in winter time, and I can not justify that to get a little recoil.

That is the summarization of my opinion



PTWs perform very well, better than most aegs, and way better than any GBBR (internal gas) system out there.

Yes a quality GBBR is just as expensive as a PTW, however my fear is the maintenence of a GBBR and mags, (leaking, etc), quality Mags alone will cost a huge chunk of cash and your limited to 50 or 30rnd mags. On top of that, you will be parinoid that you may lost your mags when ever you do a mag change, cause that upgrade mag costs close to $80 or so.

PTWs, you can get 120rnd mags, or if you look hard enough, real caps. You have the option of cheap mags of $10, or systema brand ones of $50.

[L473ncy]

If I had 2K in the bank I'd go with Classic Airsoft.

You get pretty much the best of both worlds between a GBBR and a PTW. Only downside being external tank and line but not a big price to pay if you get those super light paintball tanks. AND you can refill off paintball fields' tanks or if you have a scuba tank one of those.

Other than that though, I'd go GBBR otherwise because I have a decent AEG already that I know will be able to be fielded so if the GBBR goes down I can switch. If I really had the money though I would go Classic Airsoft and PTW.

[wind953]

Sounds like it's mostly due to the advantage of reliability coupled with minimum maintenance required. That surely is a respectable reason to go for a PTW over other high-end AEGs and GBBRs.
GBBRs aside for a moment, what about high-end AEGs littered with aftermarket enhancements? Is a stock PTW still better in terms of performance and reliability compared to another high-end AEG with all the VERY best aftermarket internals? It seems that version of the AEG might end up hitting around the same cost as buying that stock PTW. Is there still a large gap in performance in reliability even then?
If I spent the same amount of money on another AEG, ending up with on-par internals, and a bonus of flashier external bling, wouldn't it make more sense to go that route? You get a better looking gun in the end. With the PTW you might have to spend hundreds more if you care about how it looks.

[pusangani]

PTW takes the advantages that the AEG has over GBBR's and enhances them.

[mcguyver]

With an upgraded hop-up and motor, which I used to do, the PTW is rock-solid in performance and durability. This is tempered though by the fact that the PTW is an electronics-driven gun, and you don't want to go swimming with it. But, if you are spending big dollars upgrading an AEG, you'd be looking a Triggermaster or similar drive system, then same drawback applies. You can also use real uppers that no AEG can use, as well CNC billet lowers are available for the PTW.

You can make an AEG as accurate as a PTW.

You can have quick-change velocity feature in an some AEGs, same as a PTW.

You can make an AEG shoot as hot as a PTW.

You can make an AEG as miserly on battery power as a PTW.

But you can't make an AEG do all the things a PTW does at the same time for any money. And you will give up real dimensions and balance, as well as bolt-stop feature and real accessory compatibility across the board.

It is very easy to spend $5K on a PTW, about as easy as spending $5K pimping out an AR actually.

[ThunderCactus]

PTW's have their place with rich albertan airsofters, but for $2000 you can have a fully upgraded G&P M4 AEG, with a mosfet, that's reliable in the rain, fully upgraded with prometheus parts internally, over a dozen mags, and various external accessories.

My Magpul M4 is fully balls out loaded externally and internally, with mags, batteries and triggermaster it's still under $2600
And it doesn't short out in the rain

But PTW's REALLY don't like to get wet, as Jonas would tell you lol
But every other day of the week they work great

[swatt13]

lol yea i know about them shorting out in the rain. but in our defense out of 100+ players on the otherside they only have 6 aegs left running lol\

i would way rather have the ptw over gbbr and aeg as im tired of breaking open, shimming and messing with my aegs. i dont know enough about gbbrs to comment, i do like em tho. but the leaky mags have stopped me from getting one. i know my ptw is going to work all day and not breakdown half way through. and if something goes wrong youll know before your day starts and its a matter of replacing a board or some component. i hated when an aeg would go down youd wonder what it may be hen youd start the treaasure hunt to find out what is, then getting compatible parts. mind you when a ptw goes down you start to sweat. an aeg is usually a 40-100$ fix. a ptw is a 50-300 fix and hard to diagnose.

but the accuracy and range, the feel, the sound (they dont sound like a sewing machine) the reasponse is unbeatable. esspecially out of the box. but getting an aeg to frenchys quality takes alot of knowledge, parts, money and experience. so each has theyre downfalls but its pretty rare a ptw owner regrets getting one theyre worth the money

[Danke]

The more expensive any AEG, PTW, or GBBR is the more "worth it" it is.

The catch is that they still have bugs that require money to be thrown at them/or they go down on the field.

If you can afford them they're worth it.

if you can't afford them it doesn't mean you should quit and go home. If that was the case everyone would open their wallets at the beginning of the day and the person with the most bucks would be declared top player and then you could stand around bullshitting for the rest of the afternoon.

[Kokanee]

I've always found that the rain issue has been overblown severely when it comes to PTWs. I have never had this issue, but do admit to doing some preventative maintenance on my rifle in the form of running a tube of chapstick along the edges of the lower and upper receiver where they meet. This seems to repel any water for the length of a game.

I have, on the other hand had AEGs go down because of the rain, but we're talking "raining elephants driving macktrucks" rain, and nobody's rifle worked after they became soaked. When your barrel is full of water, accuracy and hop go completely out the window.

Because PTWs still command (on average) pricetags above $2k, they can be out of the price range of the average player. I was fortunate enough to purchase a challenge kit for $1k from an american retailer who brought a truck load of AEGs etc across for a big game. Henceforth, I would be foolish to ever sell it as if I wanted another one down the road I would be losing money.

[aZn_triXta07]

Anyone try the PTW Clones made by Celsius or are they that just bloody impossible to get your hands on :S ok I stepped on a line the PTW crew is gonna lynch me lolol

[Kokanee]

I don't think you'll get flamed over that, if anything the PTW enthusiast community would have loved a ready source of cheap, available spare parts. I certainly would love to be able to build a complete new upper (maybe spr etc) for use w/ a red cylinder, but the cost of ptw parts is prohibitive/availability it an issue.

[aZn_triXta07]

I'm asking because I know Evike carries them in the US and I was wondering on picking one up for kicks ... I tend to have a bad habit of buying airsoft guns I don't need for really no purpose whatsoever since I hardly get out to the field let alone have time to chairsoft at home :P

[Death March]

I havent had issues using my PTW in the rain,and all my other AEG's have been sitting for the past 3 plus years since I'v bought my PTW.