How to spot a FAKE Atlas Bi-pod

[BigJohn141]

I made this thread to help those looking to buy a Atlas bi-pod to make sure they get the real quality deal and not the Chinese knock-off that is out there. In this post I will point out some of the key things to look for to tell the difference between the two. Lets get started.

Due to the fact the mounts are interchangeable between the two, I have removed them for the pics. With that said, just because it has a real mount doesn't make it a real Atlas.

These are the two mounts, the real ADM mount that comes on a BT10-LW17 on the left and the Chinese mount on the right.



Now on to the bi-pods themselves.

At first glance they look really similar, the real one has some dirt on it because it has been used and with great success.



Even from the other end the still look very similar, both displaying the same markings.



In fact they will both accept the different feet offered by BT for the Atlas.



But now we will get into the details where the Chinese version falls behind of the genuine Atlas.

The first and possibly easiest way to tell the difference is in the knurling on the bi-pod. The real Atlas has the regular style knurling you would expect with the little teeth sticking out for grip but as you can see the knurling on the fake is inverted offering far less grip.



Out of attachment room, continued in next post.

 

[BigJohn141]

When looking at the leg pivot stops you can clearly see the Atlas has nice machined edges and is thicker where as the fake is thinner, stamped, and with rounded corners.



Wen looking at the pivot bolt and pivot stop pin, you will notice there are slight differences between the real and fake. (real is on bottom)



And the last major difference is the fact that the real Atlas will both tilt and pan while the fake will only pan with no tilt at all.



As far as quality, the real Atlas is much smoother and easier to use, you can tell Kasey has put the time into making sure each one is right before it leaves the factory. As for the fake, one leg is really stiff, one is loose, and both feel gritty when extending them.

Do yourself and your fellow hard working Americans at B&T industries a favor and only buy the real deal.

 

[Boydo]

Great write up. Thanks for showing the differences. I have been lucky so far and havent bought any fakes yet. Like watches or sunglasses......

 

[H_Talon]

anyone know of a dealer to avoid for selling fakes !!!!!!!

and how do you tell who has real ones ????

Talon

 

[Sportin Wood]

Kasey has a Chinese competitor?

 

[Victor Co Heather]

WHAT THE HELL??? Friggin Chinese. I can't believe it.

 

[kydron]

Wow. No idea there were knock-offs already for these. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Doyputasos]

I remember hearing a segment on the news a while back on how the Chinese are hacking into the company computers from Lazy-Boy recliners to, now apparently, B&T Ind Atlas bipods. They basically hack their way into the company computer and steal all of the schematics and then off to the factory. They take advantage of millions of dollars of research and development spent by American companies and then start stamping out near-clones of the American engineering. Atlas seems kinda small-time, but, hey, those bastards are trying (and succeeding) to make a buck. Thanks for the heads up John.<style id="_clearly_component__css" type="text/css">#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } </style>

 

[LawnMM]

The saying, "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is," comes to mind. Wow an Atlas Bipod for 100 dollars on Ebay!!! Know what I mean? If it's not a known and respected dealer or a hide member selling one used I wouldn't entertain the notion.

 

[Gman021]

Kasey has a Chinese competitor?

I would appreciate you changing your avatar. It is incredibly distracting. (sarcasm)

 

[Redmanss]

anyone know of a dealer to avoid for selling fakes !!!!!!!

and how do you tell who has real ones ????

Talon

There are many dealers out there. Triad Tactical, Mile High Shooting, Rifles Only to name a few. Or I believe you can still but direct from their website as well.

OP, awesome writeup and many thanks. I avoid ebay like the plague, but you never know when you might come across one of these things. Fucking thieving copy cats...

 

[Silverbullet2]

What is next, fake Lapua bullets? Damn!

 

[Arkast]

Thanks for the heads up. Hope you didn't lose too much getting that fake one in your possession.
Next thing we know, they will be making fake Dillos smh.

 

[BigJohn141]

The fake one came from a airsoft website, I knew it was fake when I ordered it. I couldn't believe they were making a fake Atlas so I had to see it for my own eyes next to a real one. I honestly didnt expect it to be this close in appearance to a real Atlas and that is why I made this thread. The way the gougers are now days, it seems like just a matter of time before someone would try to pass one of these off as the real deal.

 

[ORD]

What a damn shame!! I hope to hell that Kasey/B&T are aware of these counterfeit copies and are taking steps to address the issue. @#$%ing savages!

To the OP...thanks for your work on diagramming out the differences with the knock-offs. I only buy from know/trusted Hide vendors on items like this, but this thread should serve to help out others who may be unknowingly buying cheap Chi-com @#$% for top dollar.

 

[Doyputasos]

BigJohn, out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the commie bipod? Hope no one would dream of supporting this kind of thievery.

 

[BigJohn141]

Out of respect for Kasey and the whole BT crew, I won't post prices or links for the knock off.

 

[Doyputasos]

No prob. I understand.

 

[skog]

I will wait for kasey to chime in but i just found a press release that says that these may be licensed copies.

 

[seanh]

why get pissed about the copies? It's not like their getting a market share of the real Atlas bipods. The guys that buy the fakes, know their fake and wouldn't be spending the money on the real ones anyway.

 

[Doyputasos]

why get pissed about the copies? It's not like their getting a market share of the real Atlas bipods. The guys that buy the fakes, know their fake and wouldn't be spending the money on the real ones anyway.

It's still theft. It'd be real easy for these to shop up on Amazon or eBay. It seems to me that your take is a little near sighted.

 

[Ravenyzf-r6]

Thanks for looking out OP

 

[303_enfield]

Or better yet, the wife buys you a fake for your birthday Wife also bought me a fake NSN in a LaRue mount while deployed. Well at least she was thinking about me.

 

[KUSA]

How do they get away with this? Don't we have laws against that?

 

[BigJohn141]

Yes WE do but those laws don't apply overseas.

 

[KUSA]

It seems that they have a licence agreement with them.

HONG KONG– MAY 22, 2012–As part of PTS’s (Professional Training & Simulation) continuing growth in the professional training and recreational airsoft category, PTS Management Group announces new relationships with several brands and in turn launches a new website http://www.magpul-pts.com


What began for PTS Management Group as a focused licensing relationship with Magpul Industries Corp. to produce airsoft products has now expanded to include partnerships with a variety of other brands. These include Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC), BattleComp, B&T Industries (Accu-shot Precision Monopod and ATLAS Bipods), Falcon Industries (Ergo Grip), GoGun USA, Iron Ridge Arms, Mega Arms, Rainier Arms, Tactical Intent, US Palm and Young Manufacturing. This new strategic direction will allow PTS to bring new airsoft-compatible accessories to market via worldwide distribution and licensing opportunities with a variety of other brands.


Samuel Lam, Managing Director of PTS elaborated, “This new direction will offer us the flexibility to pursue a number of opportunities to enhance the PTS brand and the first step in expanding our brand is our new website.”


The new site is designed to offer visitors an immersive, more social experience while offering a variety of exciting content. As part of the total redesign are more robust and detailed product highlights and descriptions designed to help visitors see more of what makes PTS products so coveted. Completing the shopping experience is a more streamlined e-commerce component.


“As we’ve continued to grow and expand, we knew it was important to create an environment that supported the PTS lifestyle. By offering a blog, training tips, a link to our Facebook page, and Twitter feeds, we’ve taken the important first steps in supporting the PTS culture that has sprung up world-wide over the past couple years. We are committed to building on the forward momentum we’ve created by continuing to develop and offer training equipment that is second to none”, Lam added.


PTS Management Group is based in Hong Kong. For more information, contact Sam Lam.
http://www.magpul-pts.com/article?i...AND-LEADS-TO-NEW-PTS-MANAGEMENT-GROUP-WEBSITE

If Kasey sold a licence to them then I'm sure he would not mind if anyone buys one.

 

[BigJohn141]

License or not, it still won't stop people from trying to pass off a airsoft version for the real deal just to make money. They have been doing it with magpul stuff ever since the PTS versions came out.

 

[KUSA]

License or not, it still won't stop people from trying to pass off a airsoft version for the real deal just to make money. They have been doing it with magpul stuff ever since the PTS versions came out.

I agree with you on that but these manufacturers such as Magpul and B&T allow them to put their names and logos on them and therefore make this possible. With that said, who's fault is it really? Who are the enablers?

 

[lazy21]

This thread just made me check my 10 bipods............I f**king hate the fact that I had to do this. Thanks for posting this! Looks like I'm GTG

 

[KUSA]

Looks like you can get this bipod for $47.99. Might not be a bad choice for a trainer. I wonder if they will make the spikes for it.

 

[lazy21]

Why not the real deal on your trainer?

 

[KUSA]

Why not the real deal on your trainer?

Because I am saving up for a USO 3.2 - 17. Between that and all the other stuff I have been stocking up on my wallet is getting thin.

 

[lazy21]

Because I am saving up for a USO 3.2 - 17. Between that and all the other stuff I have been stocking up on my wallet is getting thin.

Simple solution, I'll hook you up on a USO and you'll have enough to get the real deal

 

[KUSA]

I may take you up on that soon.

 

[KUSA]

Back to the OP. How does the fake one perform on a rifle? You should put it through hell and let us know if it breaks or not.

 

[BigJohn141]

It comes down to putting a simulation part on a real gun, it might work fine but if it doesn't, someone could get hurt. In the last competition there was a slick roof setup and I hooked my atlas over it and held my body weight with the Atlas as a anchor. I would be VERY weary about trying it with the simulation atlas.

 

[seanh]

It's still theft. It'd be real easy for these to shop up on Amazon or eBay. It seems to me that your take is a little near sighted.

not near sighted at all...just the facts.

if it can be faked, it will be by Chinese manufacturing and they'll take-up the market share that won't spend the money on the real deal. To expect that fakes won't exist or to expect that everyone go just save money to afford the real deal is a bit naive.

I suggest what was mentioned earlier...head to head competition. you may find that the copy is just as good as the real deal...probably not but it happens. What we find when we find the real deal is just as good, is that we've been paying foolishly more than necessary for the product.

 

[KUSA]

It comes down to putting a simulation part on a real gun, it might work fine but if it doesn't, someone could get hurt. In the last competition there was a slick roof setup and I hooked my atlas over it and held my body weight with the Atlas as a anchor. I would be VERY weary about trying it with the simulation atlas.

Hell, my real Atlas broke and it costed me more to get it fixed than one of these fakes cost new. Don't get me wrong, I would by far rather have the real one but in all fairness everything breaks. Also, don't forget Kasey approved the replica model to be made and gets royalties on it.

 

[Rthur]

I think copyright laws should be enforced. How much money should we allow to leave the country. BTW the jobs go with it. I guess with our job market and the great economy we could let this slide right?

R

 

[KUSA]

I think copyright laws should be enforced. How much money should we allow to leave the country. BTW the jobs go with it. I guess with our job market and the great economy we could let this slide right?

R

No copyright laws were broke. B&T gave them a license to do it. If jobs are being lost it is their fault for allowing it.

 

[Rthur]

I stand corrected.

R

 

[Kasey]

Thanks for the heads up guys, we first learned of this from a European dealer about 5 weeks ago and have been trying to resolve it through Sam (quoted in article posted by KUSA) our POC with PTS.

One reason we entered this agreement with PTS was to build a relationship with a company in Hong Kong (China) that would then have a vested interest in helping us keep the pirates out of the market. Sam has been made aware of this and has promised to resolve it. All B&T products licensed to PTS will be marked "Airsoft" and have their PTS logo.

KUSA, may I ask where you found that release?

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Kasey, I'm curious but not sure if you'd release this information. What is the amount that you've had to pay for the "Patent" and all it's process', and has this actually helped you?

This, to me, seems to be a perfect example of the validity of a Patent and its inferred 'protection'. Or is that an illusion? Keep up the good work.

 

[skog]

Not sure where bigjohn found his info but here is the link to the press release is was talking about earlier
NEW LICENSE AGREEMENTS AND INCREASED DEMAND LEADS TO NEW PTS MANAGEMENT GROUP WEBSITE - http://www.magpul-pts.com/

 

[Kasey]

Sean,

We have several patents on the Atlas and the cost does not make any real difference, either a patent has worth or it does not. The fact is any Patent is only worth what you are willing to spend to enforce it's rights. We have American companies using our ideas, they have been informed of same and as additional patents are awarded to us we will enforce them.

The focus of B&T is the American market and as such that is where we patent our products for "protection" in, not internationally. So anyone can buy an atlas, reverse engineer it and manufacturer it and sell it world wide, except America. Once it crosses our borders, we have a claim on it and the law is clear on trademark infringement and while less so on the utility side, still enforceable.

China has a thriving pirate business importing knock-off goods to the US which the US government ignores.

China also has a healthy legitimate business sector which PTS is part of, they approached us with a legitimate interest in acquiring rights to manufacture our products under their banner with the added bonus of being our "face" in China. Now we will see how our partner responds to this matter.

 

[BigJohn141]

I can verify that the bipod in not marked airsoft or PTS anywhere on it. Thanks for all the info on the subject Kasey.

 

[RetardedTiming]

Was it marked "Made in China" on the packaging? The country of origin clearly marked on the packaging is typically all that customs requires. At least for our products not made in the USA.

 

[KUSA]

These things are being sold as a BT10 Atlas Bipod Replica. Just Google replica atlas bipod. Since it is a replica would they be required to put made in china on it?

 

[M1Amen]

Thanks for the heads up. I can attest to the excellent quality of the real Atlas. Top notch product and I couldn't be happier.

M1Amen

 

[TRAAV]

I looked at some of these on line and they say atlas right on the front just like the real ones do.