When I thought that I'll be arriving early at the IWA Outdoor Classics 2015, I was gravely mistaken. There was a massive a build-up of vehicles on the East side of  Nuremberg Messe that we slowed down to a crawl. I was a few minutes late from the opening time on the first day, and there was a long queue at the Press registration desk. Nevertheless, I got my Press badge, went to the Press room, did some quick online updates and off I went to check the airsoft side of the event.

This year, a good concentration of airsoft companies in Halls 7 and 7A can be easily noticed. Some of the names that we have not mentioned in the past years were already there and even BB manufacturers from Mainland China have a presence too. Some airsoft exhibitors mentioned to me that even if the fees of being an exhibitor are hefty, it is still worth the money coming to the IWA Outdoor Classics since they do get good business in terms of bulk orders made on the spot or the weeks right after the show.

I made my way to WE Airsoft Europe/Nuprol area near the end of Hall 7 to check on Ross and Lucid Mind. They were still preparing their booth and I was also late for my appointment with them due to the traffic so we decided to move the video interview to later in the afternoon. We had small talk since I just had few minutes before my appointment with G&G Armament.

At the G&G Armament Booth in Hall 7, I immediately found Charlie Suarez and Amanda Liao, the Marketing Manager for North America and Manager, respectively. We were off to business quickly with Charlie already ready to do the video presentation for Popular Airsoft, showing the new AEGs for 2015, and the interesting thing that they have for this year is the M.I.T. Unit or the Military Intelligence Unit that they have will be releasing soon. The M.I.T. Unit is comprised of a mock-up suppressor that tells you the rate of fire, a PEQ box, a Light unit which is installed on the helmet that blinks to tell you that the wearer is hit and a vest that has hit sensors. Once the BBs hit the vest, the light unit is triggered to indicate that the wearer is hit. This is good for indoor games, and most likely a good system to use  in indoor force on force airsoft tournaments to minimise the possibility of cheating.

From there, I dropped by Classic Army to set an appointment for an interview and they told me to drop by anytime. We have a lot of questions to Classic Army so we'll spend more time with them when the interview takes place this weekend. I went to the RedWolf Airsoft booth to rest my feet a bit and some talk with Rob, Paul, Danny, Chris, and Clarence.

Moving on, I went to King Arms and CAA Airsoft Division to find out more about the CAAAD Premium GBB-R. The item wasn't on display yet and they took my number to text me to come over when it’s already there. From, there I walked around checking other booths and the Airsoft.nu guys bumped into me at the GSG booth. They were on their way back to the Press room for lunch, so I decided to join them as well and rest a bit before proceeding for the afternoon appointments.

After lunch, I went quickly to the ICS booth where they will be having scheduled public demo for the disassembly of the their different CXP AEGs that use the Transform4 technology. Alice Chen and Ruru Hsieh were really gracious hosts, taking their time to explain to me the various features of the CXP-HOG, CXP-APE, and the ICS PAR MK3 which all use the Transform4 Split Gearbox and Blowback Technology. The latest of which among these is the CXP-HOG which we reported about last month. It has some distinct features such as three ways to do magazine release, an improved handguard for easy installation of battery and ambidextrous bolt handle. Jonas Persson, demonstrated the take down of the CXP-HOG and did the video for us on the finer features of the PAR MK3 and the CXP-APE.

It's our first time to encounter Valken Tactical at the IWA Outdoor 2015, and they are heavily pushing their V12 HPA technology which can be used by airsoft players in cold weather conditions and those who prefer HPA as a power source. The V12 HPA is available as the unit itself, and also in complete airsoft gun package. Another product that they have this is the Valken AR-1 which has an HPA tank in the stock area, easy maintenance, compatibility with real steel and airsoft accessories such as pistol grips and AEG magazines, and it's all mechanical including the blowback technology. It will also come with their own Vertical Foregrip and Handstop. The final production unit also will come with Valken Meta Rail System. Valken Josh did a video on the products that will be on our YouTube Channel next week.

Next up was Modify-Tech which Hanna Liao setup the appointment for Jane Liu to present their soon to be released Modiy XTC or the Xtreme Tactical Carbine which we are actually excited about as it's a fully built-up AEG carbine design and their first AEG offering. Holding it, it actually feels good in the hand and with the KeyMod Rail System, it has a slim profile. This features 14mm  CCW flash suppressor, working and adjustable sights, metal body, ambidextrous fire selector, steel trigger, and adjustable stock.

The XTC will come with a 190-midcap polymer AEG magazine and separately, a 300-round high-capacity magazine which has its own wind-up system to compete against the Flash Magazine. Called the JET magazine, it also has its LED light unit for Tracer BBs and you can easily disassemble and take the LED unit if you don't want to use it. It is Tokyo Marui compatible, thus you can use it in other AEGs. Jane also made a video for us to talk about the finer points of the XTC which you shall be watching next week after the event.

My last appointment for the day was with my first appointment in the morning which I mentioned above. Back to WE Airsoft and Nuprol where Ross and Lucid Mind have prepared a table where the new Nuprol products were laid out. We know that the first thing that comes to mind when we encounter Nuprol is about their line Green Gas which are getting good reception in Europe and now being used by airsoft players in the USA. But there are more products other than Green Gas coming out under the Nuprol brand and these are BBs, including tracer BBs, a sturdy sling system, and newly-designed mesh goggles. They also have tactical helmets and soon, tactical vests.

To top off the day was a visit with again at the Gunfire booth which I had a quick chat with them in the morning. But with their new Specna Arms Girls for this year, I wouldn't miss the chance to take photos of them and with Lukasz, we had our photos taken for posterity.

Checking my watch, it was already 1730H and I had to rush to the Press room to check news items filed  by the news team and have the site updated. Indeed, I left Nuremberg Messe for the hotel and a date with Michael Belousov, organizer of Border War MILSIM and his lovely wife, Martina.

The first day was heavy and busy day. I expect Day 2 to be heavier and busier still. My big thanks to the companies who have welcomed Popular Airsoft at their booths, everything is so much appreciated.

More photos at the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page.