EMG Helios EV02 Compact Bolt Action Airsoft Sniper Rifle by ARES (Color: Black)

"4* only because the provided mag is absolute trash.

Pros:
It's very compact
The cylinder matches the volume of this inner barrel way better than the ev01/ev03.
Spring changes are super easy and involve 1 single allen key.
Can handle up to a m140 spring. (m130 ~480 fps on a .20)
Adjustable "cheek" pad
Decent aftermarket support (if you know where to look)

Cons:
Cheek pad/butt pad is plastic.
Hopup grub screw goes down really far before actual adjustment happens.
The provided magazine is terrible. Claimed 85 rds only holds maybe 20, if the bb catch doesnt absolutely fail first.
~4-5bbs never make it into the hop chamber per mag

General consensus is that it is a solid rifle to just take out of the box, bigger spring and go wild. Would buy another if I need to again.

"Just picked this up on a whim. I own an as-02 with a wolverine bolt in it and wanted to try and swap it over to this one. With some minor drilling, filing and fitting the parts into the pistol grip for the air line everything else is working. I’ve got an action army hopup unit and the spiral fluted barrel for my as-02 on here as well. All in all I’m pretty happy with it

"Solid gun, but the orange cap does NOT screw off. I learned this the hard way and now I have a silencer I can't even use.

"A good rifle for a good price but when upgrading, there are a lot of faults.

The EMG Helios line is based on the Ares Striker As02 platform, they're overall the same rifle but with different body styles. They can accept all mags from all strikers save for maybe the smaller slanted AS01 mags. That said there are faults you should know before buying.

1. The upper receiver only has one mechanical connection, so there's a lot of play between the two pieces that will only get worse with time.

2. The Bolt charging handle is disguised as one whole piece when it's actually two. The bolt itself and the knob handle which is screwed on. If you upgrade the spring, the increased bolt pull will snap the flimsy aluminum bolt to the knob attached too. (Happened to me.)

3. The Stock has a mag slot but only the EVO line of mags seems to stay in it without modification. I put the larger AS01 mags in the slot but they fell out with minimal effort/gravity itself.

4. There are no tools with this model like the EVO1, nor is there a hidden compartment.

5. The edges of the plastic are super sharp, so you'll want to sand them down.