HK Army LAZR Barrel Kit vs Freak XL Barrel Kit | Best Barrel System
What is going on guys? It's Tony from Lone Wolf Paintball. Today, I am bringing you a comparison of the Freak XL Barrel Kit versus the HK Army LAZR Kit.
[Mark] Freaky LAZR, freaky LAZR.
We're freaking and we're lasering over here. So, which one are we starting with? What do you wanna hear? Let's start with the old standby, the Freak. The freak XL tried and true? Okay, we'll go with that beauty.
Freak XL Barrel System and HK Army LAZR Insert Comparisons
So, first off, nice hard outer shell casing. So, let's pop that bad boy on open and see what's going on inside. Top portion, you've got your Freak XL Inserts. One, two, three, four and five. And bottom portion, six, seven, and eight. So, this kit has eight inserts, and then obviously you have your Freak XL barrel back and then the Freak XL barrel tip itself. So, you're gonna talk about sizes? Or how do you want to go about that?
[Mark] Well, okay so hard case eight HK Army LAZR inserts, a back and a front. What's the HK one got?
HK one has, I believe as well, eight inserts.
[Mark] The hard case too, soft case.
Yep. A nice hard case. Little flashy, a little razzle-dazzle in there, like it looking good. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. So, we've got eight inserts in the HK one as well.
[Mark] Okay. HK is looking a little bit bigger, so it's gonna take more room in your bag. A little bit bigger, more room in your bag. I will say that the Freak XL kit is a 14 inch barrel and the new HK laser system is a 15 inch barrel. So, that matters to you to get an extra inch out of laser kit compared to the freak XL. All right, let's hit the extras that come in the HK kit next
Okay.
[Mark] And then we'll compare the bore sizes and the insert sizes and all that kind of--
Extras and Customization
Okay, so extras for the HK. There's two things. First off you can see, this is the actual, this is an insert inside of the actual barrel back. And on camera, you can see this one comes with a black rubber grippy on the actual HK Army LAZR barrel back itself. And then in the box, you have blue, red and gray as an option as well. So, the Freak XL kit does not come with the added customization of colors to if you're gun's blue, you might wanna throw on a blue, if your gun's red, obviously, et cetera, et cetera.
So, that's an extra, it comes with different grips for the bareback; then, you know, back of the barrel. And then it does come with a ball sizing thing. So, if you need to size up your pink balls before you go play or deciding what insert you wanna use, you can throw them in the insert, this is an actual ball sizer and see if it's a nice tight snug fit. That's probably the insert you're gonna wanna use and it has their sizes right on the actual chart itself. So, two extras in the kit that the free kick cell does not come with.
[Mark] Okay.
Okay.
[Mark] So then, like you said we know that they both come with eight inserts. So, what size inserts do we have?
Insert Sizes Included | HK Army LAZR vs Freak XL
Well, since I'm already in the LAZR kit, we're gonna go to the LAZR kit. We're gonna go, I've got a 678 here. Then you're looking at 680, 682, 684, 686, 688. And then up top with the big boys, 690 and 692. You wanna know about the XL, don't you?
[Mark] Yep. So just remind me again that the smallest insert on the HK was a six.
Smallest insert is gonna be your 678.
[Mark] 678?
678, yep. And it goes up to a 692.
Correct.
[Okay] Okay.
So, we'll start out smallest here on the Freak XL kit. you're looking at 679, 682, 684, 687, 689. And then to the big boys down below, you've got a 91, a 93 and all the way up to a 95. So, back here, 679 is the lowest for the freak XL and as for the HK 678.
[Mark] Yep.
And then the biggest on the HK goes up to a 92. And the biggest on this, I believe is the 95, yes.
[Mark] Okay.
So, the XL kit goes up in bigger sized paint, bore sizes and then the laser kit actually has a little bit smaller diameter for the smaller stuff. So, obviously both of these kits are great. I mean, you're just hitting, you're talking, what is it? .001 point?
[Mark] Yeah.
.01.
[Mark] Okay. But yeah, so they're a little smoother in there in between steps.
Yeah.
[Mark] The Freak has a bigger gap.
Correct, yeah, yeah, for sure.
[Mark] And then I did notice that, you are getting old but you had an easier time reading the numbers on the new HK kit versus the Freak kit.
Yeah, well that's 'cause these were put in upside down but now I can feel, I mean, they're both well there, yes. There's definitely bigger, laser engraved on the actual laser kit itself.
So, yeah there are a lot bigger. So, if you ever get confused, if you’re getting old like Mark or myself, they're bigger there. And obviously compared to here, they're smaller sizes printed on the inserts, not a big deal, but if you need glasses you might wanna go with that one.
Autococker Threading
[Mark] Both have autococker threading obviously.
Both have autococker threading for sure. Right now I think the LAZR kit only has autococker thread. If you wanted to buy a different barrel back for the Freak XL system, you can do that. So, that's a plus for the Freak XL. If you're rocking a 10 and a five or something you can get a barrel back that can take these inserts. Whatcha got?
[Mark] A lot more, can we see the tips? 'Cause I know HK has got a new fancy laser porting or whatever they call it.
Yeah, the laser beams. We're getting there, so...
[Mark] Hold it off to the side, so you can see the light through it.
Mark likes that.
[Mark] Yeah, and then rotate it, there we go. Okay.
Tip Comparison | HK Army LAZR vs Freak XL
So, you've got long ports and then you have your little tiny holes. So, you've got to kind of got slits in the barrel and then you've got actual holes for it. So, definitely different. I don't think there's a barrel on the market that has combined both of those aspects yet, but that's the LAZR. And then obviously the Freak XL, you can buy your Freak your All-American spiral or an ACP currently. So, this one is the spiral. You can buy your standard ported frequency, if you'd wish. And then you have the ACP tip for all conditions. This one's meant to shoot, through a lot of, I don't know, what's the best way 'cause you wanna see the inside of that?
[Mark] Yeah, turn it the other way, so the tip's pointing at me.
That way?
[Mark] Yeah. And then tilt it more down.
Down.
[Mark] There we go. Yeah. Right there.
Okay, so you can see this one's, they're all conditioned tip. Obviously you're gonna shoot through old paint shells, dirt, mud water, a lot easier with this tip. So, I like that there's definitely different options with the Freak XL kit, going with tip options. So, that's a good one right there.
[Mark] So, what I'm seeing right now biggest differences are HK has a couple of extras that come with it
Yeah.
[Mark] But Freak has more variety right now in terms of tips and colors and...
Correct, I guess so.
[Mark] And non options to threats.
Yeah, I would agree with that. As of right now, yeah, Freak is definitely more. You have more customization options available with the Freak stuff compared to... Obviously the LAZR system’s new, I don't know what else HK is going to come out with but as of right now, they only have it in dust black and they only have it for autococker as compared to the Freak XL, you've got options and different backs you can buy for it and tips, so. Which is cool.
Price Difference
[Mark] What do we have for a price point?
Price point, the full Freak XL Kit is $209.95. The LAZR Kit... obviously everything that comes with it you can't get anywhere else right now. $199.95, so $10 more is the Freak XL kit, so...
[Mark] Interesting.
But obviously there's more options available. And I don't know, I'm excited to actually hop into this LAZR kit, put it to the test, shoot the LAZR kit in the field and in some videos and see what it has to offer.
To see the HK Army LAZR in action, take a look at our YouTube test video below:
[Mark] Awesome.
I'm definitely excited for it.
[Mark] Anything else you can think of other than get these at Lone Wolf Paintball of course?
Well, they already know to go to Lone Wolf Paintball but overall, like I said you guys haven't heard about the new LAZR Kit by HK. I wanted to do a quick comparison. The Freak XL Kit has been around for awhile. So, kinda seeing what the new kits on the block per se have to bring. And both of these, I'm assuming I know Freak XL. It's a great barrel, nice hard case to keep it protected. Same thing with the LAZR. We're gonna put it to the test and see what it's got to offer.
[Mark] So you said, yeah, we're gonna do a shooting video with eventually
Yeah.
[Mark] And let us know in the comments if there's any other barrel systems you wanna see us put this up against.
For sure.
For a full review of the HK Army LAZR, take a look at our helpful YouTube video review below:
For a full review of the Freak XL 2.0 barrel system, take a look at our helpful YouTube video review below:
YouTube Question
[Mark] And from the YouTube DailyDrivenGT.
Okay.
[Mark] Has the question of the day. It's very presumptuous of you to assume that you have the best question.
Question of the day, let's hear it.
[Mark] But he wants to know the best way to store paintballs. How long can I keep them stored? And is it safe to leave them in the pods?
I would not leave them in the pods, I would keep them stored at a reasonable house temperature. A lot of people like to keep them in a closet away from moisture. I would say it depends on the brand and the type of paint. I would say probably about a year shelf life would be the absolute most I would push it, but make sure you continuously flip the box over, so it doesn't get flat spots or dimples on one side of the other. It's kinda like the same concept of keeping paint stored in a pod real tight together. They're gonna press against each other, they're gonna get flat spots and dimples.
So, if you're storing a case of paint at home in your room wherever it may be, room temperature preferred and every.... I mean I'm a little.... I don't know what the word is. Over protective of my paint. So, I would flip it at least once a week, go in there if it's sitting here, flip the case over, so it doesn't lay on the same spot for a year and then shoots like crap.
[Mark] Yeah. So, you'll see guys at the tournament, so it'd be like, Oh, okay, we're coming back tomorrow. They'll leave their pain in their pods but they always flip the lid just to relieve their pressure.
Yeah decompress it, yeah.
[Mark] We screwed up and left. Nobody wanted to be the pod bitch one year and didn't pop the lids and everybody's paint had dimples and fluid.
Yeah.
[Mark] And crazy patterns.
The next day?
[Mark] Yeah, yeah. What I do is if it's in, if it's a brand new box and the bags aren't opened yet then find like Tony said, I flip them occasionally to make sure they're in a dry, cool space.
That's right.
[Mark] If I've opened a bag and haven't used it all, I usually move it into a Ziploc bag and I have a couple of silica packets to make sure there's no added moisture there.
No moisture.
[Mark] Just 'cause it's been opened. But yeah, there you go. But don't sit on your paint for your go out and play.
That's fair. So, shoot paint balls. I was gonna say don't sit on it, but it's fine.
[Mark] Yeah, cool. See ya.
Bye-bye now, take it easy.