Reviews the Para Bellum Way
Prelude
We try to be as objective, scientific, structured, honest, and transparent in our reviews as possible. We are under ZERO influence of any other company and are loyal to no brand. Generally, we purchase the products that we review, with our own money and without any pretext (i.e. telling a company that we are buying their product to review it). This helps us to have a “true” customer experience (not a cherry picked example of the product). If we review a product that has been provided to us for the purpose of reviewing, we will clearly indicate this to you, up front.
Our reviews represent our impressions and experiences with a particular product. Your experience and opinion may differ and we respect that. We also value that. Our experience is a small sample and may not be representative of every buyer’s experience. This is why we comb the web for consumer product reviews and evaluate issues that may exist, and do our best to focus on issues that others have had with a given product.
Below, you will find our methodology for evaluating products.
We are constantly evaluating new and existing options for our customers. If we find a product that better suits you, our opinions of “best” may change. If we conduct new testing that changes our opinion about a particular product, we will update you. We are not too proud to admit we are wrong and we are not too proud to admit there is something better.
And finally, please note that our opinion is based on our mission. A product may be the highest quality component in the world, but if its not battle-worthy, we don’t want it (even if we spent a lot of money on it…).
General Information
We always provide the same information for every product review.
We provide general product information, including:
- Manufacturer
- Manufacturer Part Number(s)
- UPC(s)
- MSRP(s)
- Country of Manufacture
We tell you what we like about the product, and what we don’t. This is sort of a summary of the rest of the review.
In our Review of Reviews section, we give you the summary of reviews that we have found. In particular, we dive into the negative aspects, as available. This helps us to strategize our technical evaluation. If there are complaints about a particular characteristic of the product, we will spend extra time interrogating it.
We provide the description of the product from the manufacturer. Note that this text is verbatim and we do NOT edit a word or letter, even typos. We clearly indicate quoted text in red font. We make no assertations to the accuracy of any of the manufacturer’s claims.
We provide an overview of what you will get in the package with the component. We also provide you with our initial impressions (first impressions count).
Scoring
Scoring Categories and Rubric
Value
Value is a very important measure for us. It is the ratio of quality to price. The higher the quality at a given price, the better the value. The less expensive for the same quality, the better the value.
Our judgement of quality is collective across the other parameters of our review.
For price, we evaluate the market for a given component and classification of component (e.g. by AR class, by component finish, or by component features). We provide you with a box-and-whiskers plot of the price spectrum (MSRP) for the component type, including overall (for broad context) and within a specific category (for apples-to-apples comparison). Below, you will find an example of a price chart that we use:
We will describe the price of a product as being “at the Xth quartile” or “in the Xth quartile”. The latter describes a price in the interval between the quartile X-1 and quartile X (e.g. “in the 1st quartile” means between Q0 [min] and Q1; “in the 2nd quartile” means between Q1 and Q2). We may also describe a price relative to the “interquartile range” (IQR), which is the range between the 1st quartile and the 3rd quartile. The IQR is the middle 50% and is represented by the green box. The median price is represented by a blue diamond inside of the IQR.
Generally, pricing should be judged carefully, as you often get what you pay for. We don’t look at price in a vacuum, as it needs to be weighed against quality and features. However, there are some insights that we can gain from these charts.
- A price in the 1st quartile is very inexpensive, compared to competitors. We are particularly rigorous in our evaluation of products in this range. Sometimes, there is a good reason for a component being so cheap (inferior materials, shortcuts, poor quality control, etc.). Sometimes, we find absolute gems in this range.
- A price in the 2nd quartile is a good, compared to competitors, as it is less than the median price. We often find this to be a sweet spot of value. It is where we consider standard quality to be a good value.
- A price at the median price is standard. As long as a component has standard quality, it is of standard value.
- A product in the 3rd quartile is still a reasonable price. We generally look for higher quality or additional design features in this range.
- A product in the 4th quartile is very expensive. For us to consider any product in this range to be of acceptable value, it must offer something that competitor products do not.
Installation
An installation experience is something to consider when building an AR. In the world of aftermarket components, there is a lot of variability in design and quality that can make installation an absolute nightmare (e.g. specialty tools or modification required). In contrast, some customer-centric manufacturers go to extra lengths to make installation as easy as possible (e.g. including installation widgets). We share our impressions and experiences with installation, because as nice as a component may be once installed, there may be a very frustrating experience leading up to it.
Form
Form is a very broad category of evaluation and it is extremely important. Generally, this refers to the technical specifications for the component. If a component gets a low score for Form, it probably means that it uses inferior materials and/or finishes, or it just doesn’t meet the standard dimensional specifications. Either way, a poor Form score can mean anything ranging from being a bitch to install (i.e. requiring modification to fit), to low durability, to an outright dangerous and unreliable component. We divide form into the following:
Material: We compare the base materials against the standard for the component type (e.g. Mil-Spec). We will provide you with all of the specifications that we are able to obtain for the component.
Finish: We look at the type of finish for the major parts of the component and compare it against the standard. We also evaluate the quality of the finish.
Treatment: When a part should be treated (e.g. ball peening, heat treated, etc.), we want to make sure that the component meets the appropriate specifications.
Testing: Critical components need to be tested to ensure conformance and integrity (e.g. High Pressure Testing, Magnetic Particle Inspection). We review the manufacturer’s claims of testing against the standards.
Weight: Mass can be an important consideration when evaluating a component. All else being equal, a lighter component means less that you would need to carry around. We weigh all components in our lab; we do not take anyone’s word for it.
Dimensions: When appropriate, we provide actual measurements of dimension (e.g. length, width, height, diameter). Where there is a standard, we verify that the component’s dimensions meet the standard.
To calculate the Form score, we average the 6 scores.
Fit
There are dozens of parts that need to mate perfectly to build an AR. Standardization attempts to ensure interchangeability of components, which allows us to really customize a gun to our tastes. However, not every part meets the standard specifications, either intentionally or because of poor design and quality control. Regardless, we make sure that there are no issues with fitment and interface of the components that we review.
Function
Function is a bit of a catch all that describes the shooter’s experience, once the gun is built. It includes:
Performance: How does the part perform in real life? How does performance compare to the standard and average competitor? Performance includes operability, accuracy, consistency, etc. Many of our Para Bellum Labs tests interrogate the performance of a component or system. As we execute new testing or have new experiences with a component, we will update this score, appropriately.
Durability: How does the component hold up over time? If the materials or finishes are inferior, the durability component can be implied or self-evident. As we get increased experience with a component, we will update this score, accordingly.
Serviceability: How easy is it to remove/disassemble the component (as appropriate), clean it, and reassemble/reinstall it?
To get the Function score, we average the Performance, Durability, and Serviceability scores.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics doesn’t apply to every component; if you can’t see it from the outside of the gun and you don’t interact with it, ergonomics probably doesn’t apply. But when it does, it is an important measure that affects the shooter’s experience (perhaps more than any other facet of our evaluation). This evaluation is essentially comparing the design of a product to the corresponding design of the shooter (i.e. anatomy and physiology). It looks at the compatibility of man and machine. This evaluation may include consideration to shape, size, finish, and adaptability/adjustability of a component.
Scoring Calculation
Once we have determined the appropriate score for each of the categories of our evaluation (i.e. using our rubric), the overall score is automatically calculated based on a weighted combination of the individual categories. We weight certain categories more than others, because some are just more important. The table below illustrates the weighting applied:
All together, our calculation of overall score is formulaic and calculated for us based on the individual category scores.
Note that Form is a simple average of Material, Finish, Treatment, Testing, Weight, and Dimensions scores.
Function is calculated as follows:
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