DMT-07 AR-15 Combat Lighter AEG Review

This time, I'll be reviewing the DMT AR-15 Combat Lighter DMT-07 AEG.

This is one of the items I got in Airsoft97's New Year's lucky bag in 2021.

There's an article introducing the contents of Airsoft97's 2021 New Year's lucky bag, so please take a look if you're interested.

Since it was a manufacturer and model I wasn't very familiar with, I did some research and it seems to be a product manufactured under the supervision of Airsoft97, a major retailer, and sold under the brand name DMT. I was able to find out that it was made in China, as indicated on the box, but there were no clues to identify the manufacturer (I suspect it's one of the Hong Kong manufacturers).

The retailer's selling points are that all products are inspected in Japan and that it has the performance to easily hit a 30cm x 30cm target at 30m, equivalent to the basic setting of 97's custom menu (apparently with a 7% hit rate).

Considering that it sells for around 2 yen, it offers incredible value for money.

I'm also a customer of Airsoft97 and I've used their shop and bought parts from them, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Let's begin the review.

Outer case

First, let's look at the outer box.

It's even simpler than the G&P product I introduced previously; there's nothing written on it.

If you look to the side

To put it simply,

"Please read before use. This product complies with US and Canadian product manufacturing standards. Leaving this product carelessly in public places may lead to misunderstandings with law enforcement agencies such as the police. It can also cause confusion, so please be careful. Please manage it properly yourself according to local rules. Furthermore, please refrain from tampering with it, as it may lead to dangerous situations or injuries. Of course, the warranty will be void. It is the user's responsibility to carry it safely when transporting it."

This is what it looks like. What caught my attention was the part that said, "This product complies with American and Canadian product manufacturing standards," but I don't know what those standards are. In a reputable production facility, this kind of boasting is usually about compliance with ISO standards, and the major industrial standards are mainly ISO, Germany's DIN, and Japan's JIS, so I didn't really understand.

Next.

Finally, there's something to identify the product. I think this is a measure to keep it to a minimum so that the model can be identified during storage.

I'll open the box.

Despite the low price and the resulting cost constraints, the product is well-made. I was surprised to see two dehumidifiers included. The customer service was also very attentive.

These are accessories.

I appreciate that it includes the maintenance bar, which is often omitted.

By the way, these are all the included accessories, so please use this as a reference to make sure you have everything you need if you've just purchased the product.

Next are the documents.

The ammunition used is expensive Tokyo Marui BBs. As for the muzzle velocity, it's impossible to know without actually checking it.

appearance

Let's take a look at the exterior.

Let's start with the overall picture.

It's on the opposite side.

This is an ultra-compact AR-15 (M4 type). Is this a trendy style? Because it's a resin model, it weighs less than 2kg, so a man can easily hold it with one hand, and even a woman can handle it easily.

The stock is a replica of the standard MAGPUL CTR. I like this one and often swap it out for this one.

If you remove the stock like this, the connector and battery compartment will be exposed.

There is a warning that it is for 7.4V only. The battery space is inside the stock pipe, so I don't think anything other than a stick-type LiPo battery will fit.

The connector is Tamiya type. The wiring looks like it's silver-plated, but that's hard to believe at this price. There was no fuse.

If you look at the base of the stock, you'll see a swivel that allows it to be used on either the left or right side.

I often use a single-point sling, so this is very useful for me.

I often see beginners skipping the sling, but I recommend it because it makes movement easier and allows you to switch between your main weapon and sidearms more easily.

Let's take a look at the receiver.

It's a very ordinary AR-15 receiver; there's nothing particularly noteworthy about it. Conversely, I'm surprised that no features are omitted at this price point.

Naturally, there is no engraving.

It's on the opposite side.

The same goes for this side. It's amazing how they've managed to reproduce the bolt forward knob, case deflector, and ribs around the magazine catch despite being on a tight budget.

This is a standard feature of the AR-15 (M4 series), and it has a hop-up adjustment mechanism inside the ejection port.

Pulling the charging handle opens the port and locks it in place.

It has a drum-type chamber that's easy to adjust. Visually, it looks quite similar to the chambers used by VFC and Lonex.

This port has a mechanism that closes when you press the bolt release lever on the opposite side.

It's amazing that they managed to include such a feature, especially considering the cost constraints of this model.

Next, let's look at the grip area.

This is an A2-compatible grip, the same as on a standard M4.

The bottom has plenty of cooling slits to allow the motor to dissipate heat effectively.

Upon checking the motor, I found it was a standard black motor. The slightly more expensive ACE LINE model seems to use 97's Inazuma motor.

I, a Japanese person with an average build of 175cm and 70kg, tried gripping the handle.

It's the size of a typical electric airsoft gun, so it's not particularly thin. It doesn't bother me, but people with small hands or women might have trouble getting a firm grip. However, unlike the real thing, there's no recoil, so you don't need to grip it too tightly, meaning anyone can handle it.

Next, I'll introduce the trigger mechanism, which uses a microswitch and is a key selling point of this product.

You'll understand this better if you watch the following video. Please pay attention to the sound.

DMT AR-15 Combat Lighter trigger movement

It has a great click feel, making it very easy to tell when you're starting to fire. While it doesn't quite have a two-stage trigger like the real thing, the trigger weight changes clearly at the start of firing and during the play phase, which is very helpful.

Next, let's take a look at the front rail area.

This is the base of the rail.

The weakness around the neck area of ​​AR-15 and M4-type polymer models is reinforced by firmly connecting the receiver and rail, addressing the molded rail design of this type.

What's even better is that it's connected with some pretty robust, synthetic parts.

Let's look at it from the opposite side.

It is fastened with two bolts and includes a positioning pin.

Let's look at it from even higher up.

These are thick hexagonal bolts. They're quite elaborate.

Furthermore, the under rail is also screwed in to prevent deformation of the rail.

I think it can withstand some heavy use without any problems. It even had the gas pipe, which is often omitted in other products.

On the other hand, removing the front rails would probably be quite difficult.

However, because this reinforcement part prevents the top rail from being flat, mounting a scope might be difficult without some ingenuity. Perhaps removing the rear sight and moving the scope's mounting position further back might make it work.

Let's take a look at the muzzle area.

The gas block is definitely there.

The muzzle has a thickened tip and looks like a silencer, but it's just a design element and not a silencer.

Because it originally has a short barrel and the airflow is somewhat high, I think the sound is louder, similar to the principle of a trumpet.

However, if you remove this large muzzle, a 14mm reverse thread will be exposed, allowing you to attach a silencer, tracer, etc.

If you rotate the muzzle slightly, you can see the grub screw that secures the muzzle through the gap in the rail.

Remove this and take off the muzzle.

While the size is limited, this can be used for installation.

Next is the website.

This is the front view. It's a flip-up type and looks very similar to the MAGPUL MBUS2 that was popular some time ago.

The same applies to the rear sight.

Naturally, it can be adjusted left, right, up, and down.

This is a site picture.

Next up is the magazine.

The magazine is likely a 300-round spring-wound type, and its shape is very similar to that of the MAGPUL P-MAG GEN.3.

This magazine is highly recommended because it's very high-performance, fits seamlessly into guns from other manufacturers, and feeds exceptionally well.

They're also sold individually and are inexpensive, so if you're interested, please take a look.

DMT Electric M4 MAGPUL PMAG GEN.3 Type Black 300-Round Magazine (Set of 2)
Despite its affordable price, it feeds well and has few compatibility issues.

Next, let's look at the actual firing performance.

Actual firing performance

Under the same conditions as always, with a room temperature of around 22°C, the battery used was an ET-1 LiPo battery 7.4V 1400mAh REDLINE (equivalent to 30C) stored at 7.6V.

Measurements were taken with VFC 0.2g bio BBs and the hop-up adjustment set to 0.

I was surprised that it was almost identical to the documents. It shows that they conduct thorough inspections.

It's a cycle.

If the battery is fully charged, it will probably fire 15 to 16 shots.

Several shots were fired and the data was collected.

Because the barrel is short, even when applying hop-up with a slightly high flow rate, there wasn't much change in initial velocity.

I think this level of performance at this price is amazing.

Introduction article on chronographs

This is a video showing the operation.

セミオート

DMT AR-15 Combat Lighter DMT-07 Semi-Normal

The squirrel

DMT AR-15 Combat Lighter DMT-07 Fully Unmodified

Personally, I'm bothered by the gear noise and piston impact sounds, but for this price, I think it's amazing.

This is the trajectory.

I checked with Yanex.

It's like a microwave.

The conditions were such that the temperature was around 25°C.

This is a ballistic trajectory image.

As expected, the initial velocity is a bit low, so it doesn't cover much distance, but as advertised, it was capable of hitting targets at 30 meters.

That concludes the verification.

G&G Bio-Bullets 0.2g
It's inexpensive and accurate, so I use it for a wide range of purposes, from performance testing to airsoft games. It's been my favorite since it first came to Japan (around 2008). It lasts a long time for a biodegradable product.

G&G Bio-Bullets 0.25g
It's 0.25g. I generally use 0.25g BBs when playing airsoft.

Summary

At a market price of 2 yen, the quality of the exterior and performance is very high, making it excellent value for money.

The resin doesn't feel cheap and is solid, and the common weakness of standard electric airsoft guns like the AR-15 and M4 series—the poor neck fit—has been perfectly addressed. The included accessories, such as the sights, are basically MAGPUL replicas, which I personally like. It even comes with a handy sling adapter.

Furthermore, despite the cost constraints, I was impressed that they didn't omit features like the gas pipe, bolt release mechanism, and bolt assist forward knob.

The trigger feel, thanks to the carefully designed microswitch, was quite good.

In terms of performance, it's roughly equivalent to a slightly lower muzzle velocity version of Tokyo Marui's standard electric airsoft gun.

Despite its low price, it hits all the right notes, and I was convinced by its claim that anyone, even beginners, can use it right out of the box.

The gearbox is the widely used Ver.2 gearbox, and the casing is AR-15 style, making it ideal for beginners or as a base for customization (it's cheap, so you can give it a try). Conversely, it might be interesting to push this setup to its limits.

The version called ACE LINE apparently uses the 97's Inazuma motor, which is said to provide better response and cycle rate.

I've praised it quite a bit so far, but it does have its drawbacks.

First of all, I think the initial velocity and distance are a little lacking outdoors. It needs to fly a bit further, otherwise there will be some challenging situations.

Next, the fact that it can only use LiPo batteries due to the battery space, yet lacks a fuse and SBD, is a major drawback. Even when using a 7.4V battery, sparks will fly quite a bit if you use a high-C-rate battery. Furthermore, the microswitch is not very resistant to burnout due to its design, so there's a high probability it will burn out before you've fired it many times.

Next, when considering it as a base for customization, I think the barrel length is insufficient to achieve a reasonable muzzle velocity. Ideally, it should be at least 250mm long.

Since the gearbox is designed for microswitches, I don't think you can use a gearbox-type FCU. Therefore, the range of customization options is limited. However, you can still do a lot without an FCU, so it's not a major drawback.

Finally, regarding the ACE LINE Inazuma Motor, I've used it before, and in terms of performance, it's about the same as Tokyo Marui's EG-1000, just a little more expensive.

Therefore, instead of the Inazuma, I recommend the Lonex A4, which can be purchased for under 5,000 yen, as it offers better cost performance (although it requires the effort of changing the pinion gear).

If it were me, I'd add a little extra to the price difference between the ACE LINE and the standard model and go for either the Lonex A4 (which has slightly more torque than the EG-1000 and slightly lower RPM than the EG-30000, offering the best of both worlds) or the A5 (torque-type) (the price difference is 3,000 yen, so I think you could buy a Lonex motor for just 1,500 yen more).

In any case, at this price, the appearance, equipment, and performance are very impressive, and it felt like a new standard electric airsoft gun.

Lastly, and this is just an unnecessary observation, but looking at the specifications and place of manufacture, I get the feeling that the manufacturer is Arcturus.

Thank you for your time.

I'm deliberately recommending the normal version.

・DMT AR-15 Combat Lighter DMT-07 ACE LINE
This is highly recommended as your first airsoft gun. It has everything you need (lightweight and easy to handle). Its low muzzle velocity makes it a reliable all-rounder for indoor use. For some reason, only the ACE LINE version is available through online retailers.

・DMT AR-15 Lighter DMT-01
This is a 14.5-inch MAGPUL-style pistol that was popular some time ago. If you like the style, I recommend it. Also, the inner barrel length seems sufficient, so you can easily customize it to increase the muzzle velocity. For some reason, it's become difficult to find it online.

・DMT BLOCK2 Lighter DMT-08C
Personally, this is my top recommendation. It looks great, and since it's probably 10.5 to 11 inches long, it's fairly easy to handle. It can also accommodate barrels around 270mm in length, so customization is straightforward. For some reason, it's become impossible to find it online.