Ics v ares

[Snowdrop]

I'm looking at getting the m4 from either one of the two makes above, ICS or Ares. There isn't much difference in price, and recently AI voted them both highly.
I'm guessing a few people out there in airsoft land have used both so what is you opinion on them? Are they reliable, easily upgradeable, parts easy to come by, how good are they out of the box etc.

As usual, any comments appreciated.

[Dave]

Re: Ics v ares

I owned an ICS and it was great. Split gearbox meant it was easy to service, and I believe theyre lipo ready out the box? Only thing id say against them is that there are major compatibility issues.

[Icebass]

Re: Ics v ares

I'd go for the ics due to the fact that it has the slpit gearbox design and the quality of their m4's left me very impressed.

The only time i've used an ares gun was a few years back and it was their g36e.....it was a bundle of problems. Maybe it was a lemon but i've never bought anything ares because of this.

[delta1ukc]

Re: Ics v ares

I would have said ares as a first, however to be fair i recently obtained an ICS L86 LSW and it seems very nice. Personally from expreience most of the older gen ICS stuff i came across was junk, with terrible wiring being one of the main factors encountered. I know of 3 MP5's 1 AK74 and an M4 with these issues. However current reviews and info on ICS new gen stuff seems to be that they have upped their game. So with this in mind i took the gamble and got the L86. Externally its very solid and has a quick change spring that can be set to three diff FPS settings which is rather novel. Took it to my local site on sun and although the rate of fire even with a 12v batt is not the highest i was impressed. I have owned star L85 and although i had an acog on the L86, the L85 by star was heavier. In fact the LSW was quite light. I would say the star ares guns have slightly better external build qaulity but not by a lot. ICS deff seem to have improved.

[Trigger Last Chancer]

Re: Ics v ares

I have had both , and as personal preference the star wins
I have only found 2 mods that need doing to the star
1. Mad bull shark hop rubber
2. GNP m120 motor
.
The stars use a micro switch system meaning they are li-pol ready
They come stock with a 6.03mm barrel (ics6.08mm)

To me the star feels slightly better built aswell


Although stars are picky with what midcaps will feed.


Hope this helps

[KaRcop]

Afraid I don't have experience with ARES M4, though their TAR was nice externally. Am currently using an ICS m4 and I have to say the split gearbox is a fantastic feature. Swapped the spring in roughly 5 minutes, though you could do it quicker. And compatibility isn't much of an issue unless you want to change lots of the exterior. Although, having said that, I think the design of the gears is slightly odd - the main UK ICS importer was telling me that it's not a good idea going for anything but ICS gears.

So yeah, ICS is reliable, good quality and has a couple of nifty features but compatibility can be a pain.

[KaRcop]

And delta1ukc is right, as well. The old ICS stuff wasn't good at all but they've upped their game in the past couple of years. So long as it's reasonably new you shouldn't have issues.

Another caveat with the ICS is that the stock motor is very loud. Gonna swapping to a G&P m120 I think

[Snowdrop]

Re: Ics v ares

Great stuff lads, looks like I am going to have to play with both and see what's what. Opinion seems to be pretty good with both!

[Snowdrop]

Re: Ics v ares

G & P m120 over a tm eg 1000? Had heard the Ics was loud, if you excuse the pun!

[KaRcop]

G & P m120 over a tm eg 1000? Had heard the Ics was loud, if you excuse the pun!

Yeah I think so... I have heard good things about it is all :-)

[Snowdrop]

Re: Ics v ares

Been doing a bit of research and I am going towards the Ares - all metal body, tightbore as standard, li po ready. However, looking at a few pics it would seem that in the fore grip I need a nun chuck battery if I want to go to a 9.6, though I can posibly squeeze in an 8.4. Anyone got any ideas and is this standard with all m4's that run batteries in the foregrip ie not in the stock or PEQ?