Post by deeno on Oct 8, 2006 20:07:53 GMT -8
I'm back finally and I'll write a bit before heading off to sleep. I was able to free up an hour or two to head over to RAP4 and check out their shop.
The store itself is actually quite impressive. I wasn't expecting a full blown retail store front and not in my wildest dreams did I expect that they'd have an indoor arena to go along with it. Browsing around, I saw a lot of their soft goods that I recognize from the website, but I didn't really have time to look through them. One thing I did note was that the shop was pretty much all MARPAT on display. I couldn't even find any items in ACU aside from a small section of BDUs, so I'm guessing the locals in Northern California are all wearing MARPATS.
First thing you see when you come in is the grenade launcher and pistol section (which also happens to be my fav).
Take a look at some of these bad boys.
The thing that I like about this shop is that every single gun they have on display is different in some way/shape/form. There were about 3 walls worth of unique paintball guns (somewhere between 20-30ish) and a lot of what I saw on the walls, I can't remember seeing in their on-line catalog yet. And of course RAMs are much much cooler upclose and personal compared to the adds on the rap4 website.
I really dig this MP-5 with the super short thunder launcher
The on-line adds just do not do it justice! Here are some other items of interest (some pics bad due to glare off of the glass):
Barrel mounted thunder grenade launcher. Yep you heard me right, you could even put this sucker on a Spyder.
There's the RAM 68 shotgun in the back (hard to see). There is a bone stock Ion right next to it to help you gauge how long it is. It's pretty much the same size as the real deal.
I like this barrel mounted bipod. The clamp looked to be pretty much universal and can be mounted on anything with an exposed barrel.
Some pistols. I don't remember seeing any Blackbirds, but they definately had T68s, the older 40ex pistols, and of course a few Sig Sauer P226 on display.
Some RAP4's. If you look carefully two of them are sporting different clamps to clamp two mags together.
More RAP4's
RAP4 with the M203 thunder grenade launcher.
Some more RAP4's and RAP5's. I had to sneak a shot of the shop manager in there.
Here's a clearer pic of the new RAP4 Storm. I can't really comment on what market it's for, but I can tell you that it is most likely the shortest non-pistol marker on the market. In fact it's not any longer than an Overlord and it's probably roughly the same size/shape as my mini-cocker.
The store manager told me that they've been in this location for ~3 years and that most of their business is through the website and that very few locals even stop by the shop. I was kind of shocked by that as I think I would be in there at least once a week if I was still in Santa Clara lol. It's also run and owned by some friends/family which I was very happy about and not just because they are all Vietnamese too. Mom and pop type shops get three thumbs up from me as they tend to take care of their past customers rather than just trying to hook new ones and take their $$$. Nothing makes me happier than shops that actually respond to phone calls and emails (well okay, rock bottom prices make me happier, but what can I say? I like my toys, but at the same time, I'm a total cheap skate).
Okay that's about it for the RAP4 store tour. I didn't get to check out the indoor arena or the softgoods, but I had a great time and could definately have killed a whole lot more of it in there as I really didn't get to play with anything besides the P226 before I had to head out.
I'll get the P226 pics up and write a little something tomorrow
The store itself is actually quite impressive. I wasn't expecting a full blown retail store front and not in my wildest dreams did I expect that they'd have an indoor arena to go along with it. Browsing around, I saw a lot of their soft goods that I recognize from the website, but I didn't really have time to look through them. One thing I did note was that the shop was pretty much all MARPAT on display. I couldn't even find any items in ACU aside from a small section of BDUs, so I'm guessing the locals in Northern California are all wearing MARPATS.
First thing you see when you come in is the grenade launcher and pistol section (which also happens to be my fav).
Take a look at some of these bad boys.
The thing that I like about this shop is that every single gun they have on display is different in some way/shape/form. There were about 3 walls worth of unique paintball guns (somewhere between 20-30ish) and a lot of what I saw on the walls, I can't remember seeing in their on-line catalog yet. And of course RAMs are much much cooler upclose and personal compared to the adds on the rap4 website.
I really dig this MP-5 with the super short thunder launcher
The on-line adds just do not do it justice! Here are some other items of interest (some pics bad due to glare off of the glass):
Barrel mounted thunder grenade launcher. Yep you heard me right, you could even put this sucker on a Spyder.
There's the RAM 68 shotgun in the back (hard to see). There is a bone stock Ion right next to it to help you gauge how long it is. It's pretty much the same size as the real deal.
I like this barrel mounted bipod. The clamp looked to be pretty much universal and can be mounted on anything with an exposed barrel.
Some pistols. I don't remember seeing any Blackbirds, but they definately had T68s, the older 40ex pistols, and of course a few Sig Sauer P226 on display.
Some RAP4's. If you look carefully two of them are sporting different clamps to clamp two mags together.
More RAP4's
RAP4 with the M203 thunder grenade launcher.
Some more RAP4's and RAP5's. I had to sneak a shot of the shop manager in there.
Here's a clearer pic of the new RAP4 Storm. I can't really comment on what market it's for, but I can tell you that it is most likely the shortest non-pistol marker on the market. In fact it's not any longer than an Overlord and it's probably roughly the same size/shape as my mini-cocker.
The store manager told me that they've been in this location for ~3 years and that most of their business is through the website and that very few locals even stop by the shop. I was kind of shocked by that as I think I would be in there at least once a week if I was still in Santa Clara lol. It's also run and owned by some friends/family which I was very happy about and not just because they are all Vietnamese too. Mom and pop type shops get three thumbs up from me as they tend to take care of their past customers rather than just trying to hook new ones and take their $$$. Nothing makes me happier than shops that actually respond to phone calls and emails (well okay, rock bottom prices make me happier, but what can I say? I like my toys, but at the same time, I'm a total cheap skate).
Okay that's about it for the RAP4 store tour. I didn't get to check out the indoor arena or the softgoods, but I had a great time and could definately have killed a whole lot more of it in there as I really didn't get to play with anything besides the P226 before I had to head out.
I'll get the P226 pics up and write a little something tomorrow