PDL Written |
|
Pensieri
di Who? We received a sample set of these new Airsoft fragmentation
effect grenades, made by an Italian company by the name of Pensieri
Di Leonardo (PDL). Even though PDL have apparently
been making these ‘effect grenades’ since August 2000, sadly we have only
recently found out about their existance.
Brief
history Originally here in the UK there has only been one
main solution for Airsoft pyrotechnics (aka ‘pyros’), and that has been
from a company known as Enola
Gaye , who make ‘pineapple BB grenades‘ (shown in the image
to the right), ‘mk5 thunderflashes‘, and various other pyros including
smoke generators.
Now the Enola Gaye
BB grenades are good, but there’s room for improvement, and this is
where the SoftAir
Fragmentation Effect Grenade from Pensieri
Di Leonardo (PDL) comes in. PDL are an
Italian ‘innovation’ company that produce various obscure devices. They
also make fishing lures that dispense maggots, to be honest I can’t see
the connection between BB Grenades and fishing lures, but I’m sure there’s
one there somewhere. Just don’t get your order confused or you might be
slightly confused when you receive your parcel.
So
what’s a BB Grenade? For anyone that’s not used or seen them,
an ‘Airsoft grenade’ is a pyrotechnic product that simply goes off bang,
and sprays bits of its casing (the PDL version is primarily made
of cork) and a few BBs everywhere. Although being explosive items they are
no more dangerous than your average ‘party popper‘.
As with everything in
Airsoft, they’re completely non-lethal, and only used for dramatic effect,
if you’re near it when it goes off, a marshal will declare you ‘hit’. The
debris is simply for effect, you are normally termed as being caught by
the grenade if it goes off near you, rather than if you’ve been hit by any
flying bits of grenade.
The grenade is loud
enough to distract, and they spread enough debris for effect while still
remaining extremely safe. Please do take care with these items, although
they are non-lethal, extreme caution is advised with their use (as
with any other smoke or pyro).
Looks As with anything Composition The grenades are The fuses are |
Safety! These
should all be common sense rules, and we highly recommend following these
safety points:
-
Never
use the grenades near animals or livestock. -
Never
throw them directly at people. - Once the fuse has
been lit, throw the grenade immediately, DO NOT hold it! -
Store
the primer (sandpaper or other ignition source) away from the grenades
at all times,
and never
carry the primer in the same pocket at the grenades. -
Use
Airsoft grenades only for their designed use – Airsoft skirmishing. -
Store
them (longterm) in a decent steel fire/water proof box (an old British
army 7.62 ammo tin should be fine, and can be found at your local surplus
store for about £4). - Store the grenades
in the dissassembled state with the green fuses removed from the cork bodies. - Store your grenades
in a safe secure place (away form children) – treat them like fireworks. - Never return to a
Airsoft grenade once it has been lit. - Remember if for whatever
reason your clothing catches fire STOP – don’t run, DROP to the ground and
ROLLOVER to put out the flames.
Please do remember that
not all skirmish sites allow the use of pyros, so do check with the site
organiser to make sure that their use is acceptable.
18+
Pyros should be treated as fireworks and as such should only bought and
used by people over the age of 18.
We also recommend that
the use of pyros is carefully supervised, especially at woodland sites during
the summer or other places where brush fires can be a hazard.
Video footage:
We
tested these at our local urban site recently during a skirmish, and they
sure turned a few heads… and made a few feet scarper too! Sadly it’s almost
impossible to get a digital photo of one of these babies detonating – for
one thing no-one wants to get that close with an expensive camera,
and the camera shutter just isn’t fast enough on my digicamera for quick
snaps. Handily PDL themselves have some video footage of one being
tested, which we’ve hosted here for you.
Cost As
of December 2001 these new effect grenades from PDL are 6.43 UKP (9.32USD)
for three (for individuals to buy), or 3.85 UKP (5.59 USD) to a retail outlet
(when bought in bulk). PDL recommend that you purchase a minimum of 10 at
a time. Given that they come in boxes of three, I guess they mean a minimum
of 10 boxes (30 grenades).
Where
to buy As of yet we know of no dealers around
the world, other than PDL themselves. They will ship internationally, and
they do understand emails in English, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue
getting a few ordered. You may want to consider getting together with some
buddies and buying a bunch of effect grenades at the same time.
If you are a retailer
that is an authorised PDL distributor (anywhere in the world) please
do let us know, and we’ll put your details here.
Edit July 30, 2002:
UK Stockists now include Flectarn.co.uk
Conclusion
At
£2-£1 each (depending on the quantity purchased) they sure give
you plenty of bang for your buck (please excuse the really, really bad pun).
The PDL effect grenade is a welcome change fom other types of pyro,
and a truly innovative product.
I highly recommend using
pyros during CQB skimishes as nothing clears a room faster than a BB grenade,
and they increase the pace of the game somewhat. A team of four properly equipped
men/women can effective take control of an entire building with minimal AEG
ammo use.
BB grenades not only clear
rooms, but confuse the opposition for a few seconds after detonation, which
provides a significant edge during a fire fight. Remember
that with normal rules if you’re in a room when a pyro goes off you are officially
hit.
In short, well what more
can I say – we’ve tried them, and love them.
Some points of note though:
-
You
do not get an ignition source with the grenades, this is most probably for
shipping safety concerns, so you’ll need some sandpaper, or the top of an
old Enola Gaye grenade to use them. -
You
only get one clip for every pack of three grenades, so you will want to
save them up if you want to hang more than one from your webbing at a time.
These products receive
the Arnie’s Airsoft thumbs up and come highly recommended.
Tips
Arnie’s #1 tip
– if you are on a budget, get used to throwing the odd grenade towards folks
while screaming something like ‘Fire in the Hole!’ at the top of your
voice, but don’t light the grenades fuse. This has the advantage that
people scarper as if you’ve thrown a ‘live’ grenade at them, and that you
can run in after throwing the grenade and salvage it for later use.
There are only one disadvantage to this theory is that folks can light the
grenade and throw it back at you, or you can loose the grenade. Just make
sure you watch where you throw it.
If you’re on a real budget
go out with a few grenades, and a few apples – as your average skirmisher
won’t be able to spot the difference of the projectile coming their way, and
will tend to react the same to the apple as the grenade, although obviously
the apple wouldn’t normally explode. I’m kind of imagining that there are
some really horrified milsimers out there now. :)
Arnie’s #2 tip:
Tape a piece of emory/sand-paper to the side of your primary weapon,
of fix it to your load bearing equipment, that way you’re not short of hands
to light the pyro.
Common choices are either
taping the top of an EnolaGaye grenade to the foresight of an AEG,
or taping it to a lanyard string.
PDL’s
contact details
Email:
staff@pensieridileonardo.com
Street address: Pensieri di Leonardo srl via Senese n. 187 – Comune di
Poggibonsi -SIENA – CAP 53035 – ITALIA
Tel/Fax: 0577983688
– 0349/7400913
Site
Links:
Airsoft
BB Grenades: An unfinished story part1 – By LT Macpherson
Green Mountain Rangers North Eastern Air Soft group
Airsoft
BB Grenades: An unfinished story part2 – By LT Macpherson
Green Mountain Rangers North Eastern Air Soft group
External
Links:
Pensieri
Di Leonardo
(in Italian) – You can find the translated
link here.
Enola
Gaye
http://members.kabsi.at/tceltorro
– A great video of the PDL grenade in action
Comment
on this review in the forums
Last modified:
Tuesday, July 30, 2002 7:35 PM
Copyright 2001 ArniesAirsoft