E&L Airsoft New Essential Version AKM Airsoft AEG Rifle

"If you are looking for an AK that stays tried and true to the rugged and reliable legacy of the real AK, then this is your gun. A solid gearbox that can handle an 11v and 25c out the box like a champ with decent semi-auto snappiness.
It has a MOSFET, real wood, stamped steel construction, and even an actual AK cleaning kit in the stock. (DO NOT USE IT ON YOUR GUN) also (TRY NOT TO GET AK THUMB WITH THE TRAP DOOR) it hurts like hell.
I love the weight and if it's too much for you, or if your playing for more than 2 hours straight, just get a shoulder strap and distribute the weight. mine is 9ish pounds fully loaded with a high cap and my rail system etc.
the accuracy of this gun is also decent, sometimes but rarely your bb will just go to the side after roughly 26 meters.
with that, I am planning on getting a new inner barrel but besides that, as beautiful as the gun, the mags are simply the best mags I've ever seen in airsoft. Beautiful all-metal mags with 120 rounds of capacity, no wobble, or noise, they're simply the perfect mag.
this gun will also work with standard AK mags, I run a secondary high-cap that isn't from E&L and it too has no wobble.

"For such a good price, this gun is absolutely phenomenal. She looks and feels like a real AKM. Performance is solid and still holds up well in competitive combat. I've had this gun for about 2 years now and it still shoots straight and true.

The only warnings to be given is that, as of this review, there are no other compatible mags for this gun. Only E&L magazines will work with their guns.

Secondly, you do need to make sure to take measures to clean the gun's exterior. It will rust a teeny tiny bit. For me it's fine because I use my AKM with a old style kit. but to some this may be a problem.

"I was looking for a solid AKM to modify into an East German MPi-KM-72, and at first, I was going to go with an LCT AKM, but then a guy I know on an airsoft forum recommended the E&L version to me. I wasn't sure what to think at first, but after some further prodding, I went out and bought it, and having used it for most of my recent airsoft season, I can safely say that I made a wise choice. The first thing I noticed about this AKM was how real it feels. Even though this is only the lower-priced New Essential version, the metal is good enough quality that I can trust this gun if I accidentally fall down with it or smack it against a tree. Swapping in real steel AK furniture wasn't much of a hassle, either, though I had to mod the stock so I could fit it on the gun. Even so, once I did, this gun really started to turn heads!

I've talked enough about the looks, though, so I'm going to talk about performance. It's not the most powerful, most accurate or even the fastest-firing AKM, but it's really reliable. Not once did it malfunction during a game. Granted, it occasionally double-fired even though I had the safety selector set to semi, but other than that, it hasn't let me down yet. Best of all, it works really well with the CYMA hi-cap mags I bought.

However, not everything about this gun is roses. My biggest complaint about the gun is that the top cover is really hard to put back on once removed, especially with a battery hooked up. I had to slam down on it to get it on. Also, the charging handle is pretty much impossible to work if there's a NiMH or Li-Ion stick battery in the gun, so you'll have to take the battery cover off to adjust the hop-up if there's a battery in.

Other than that, I really have no complaints about this gun. If you're looking for a solid AKM, you definitely can't go wrong with this one!

PROS:
-Looks and feels almost like a real AKM
-Pretty easy to install real steel parts
-Extremely reliable
-Performance is all right
-FPS isn't excessive
-Good mag compatibility (at least with what I've used)
-Guaranteed to turn heads at the field

CONS:
-Battery cover very difficult to reattach.
-Charging handle impossible to work with stick batteries