P698 Glock 26 Style Spring Pistol Review and Some Addendum Thoughts

Wow! This P698 Glock 26 Style Spring Pistol is really a nice little piece and has a lot going for it, especially in this price range of spring airsoft guns. First, the overall appearance is pleasing, if not entirely accurate with regard to the surface texture variations between the slide and molded grip-frame which would be typical of the real Glock. There are very noticeable molding lines on the trigger, slide, frame and magazine base, but in this price range this is to be expected.

Also, the gun is pictured with an orange colored muzzle end slide face, but as supplied comes with a full length black slide and orange barrel extending approx 1/4 to 5/32 inches beyond the slide, which I at least find more attractive. The picture also indicates ‘COMBAT DELTA’ and 9×19 indented into the left slide face, but mine arrived ‘smooth’.

So….how does it feel and shoot. In a word – good. It’s no wonder Glock’s are so popular. It just naturally fits, at least in my hands. The grip contouring and thumb indentation, even including the ‘pinkie rest’ on the magazine extension, the back strap shape and radius, trigger and trigger guard notch are all ergonomically correct for an intuitive ‘grip’, site picture & target acquisition. What I find remarkable is how the front site blade visually indexes so accurately within the ramped Novak style rear site blade (and on such an inexpensive pistol), allowing a very precise site picture which minimizes the effect of the short site radius.

I’m sure this makes perfect sense to those of you who appreciate such things. The magazine holds 9 BBs, and is fed by manually retracting a spring loaded ‘follower’, thus allowing the insertion of BBs into the ‘ammo well’. The follower incorporates a detente notch allowing the user to lock the follower spring in the base position while loading – a nice touch – though perhaps not really necessary. Just remember to release the follower to ensure proper feeding prior to reinsertion of the loaded mag. Depressing the magazine release when the pistol is vertical will immediately drop the mag – there’s no binding – yet the mag catch clicks and holds securely. Being that it is a spring airsoft gun, the slide must be manually retracted to compress the spring and cock the pistol for every discharge (shot). By the way, I’m certain this is ho hum stuff to most of you, but for those new to Airsoft, it’s not bad info., especially since this is such a great ‘starter gun.’

Anyway, the spring feels really firm, perhaps because this is such a small pistol, and I found it necessary to grip the slide pretty much along it’s length between the four fingers and thumb of my left hand. I suppose one ‘can’ cock this pistol by gripping just the cocking serrations on the rear of the slide, but I don’t recommend this method, as doing so requires a grip tight enough to dimensionally compress the slide. After a few times though, it becomes second nature. The first shot was a real surprise. This thing shoots hard for a low cost springer, and I highly advise proper eye protection, especially if there’s any chance of a ricochet. I didn’t ‘bench’ this thing for accuracy, but it would be interesting to see how it groups and at what distances.

Trigger action was also a nice surprise, with no take-up like most real Single action/double action Euro wonder nines. Apply pressure and the trigger moves rearward about 1/8 – 3/16 of an inch and releases crisply (on my example). Trigger pull is tactile but not too stiff. By the way, I didn’t subject the pistol to any torture tests or put a gazillion rounds through it, but then again, it still impresses me at this price. The gun comes in a molded Styrofoam box with a printed cardboard cover and a sample pack of.12 gm. BBs, all of which were quickly dispensed through my example, without a hitch. So….there it is. I really like the P698, to the degree it’s kind of hard to put it down. I just wonder if any real Glocks might be sold as a result of someones discovery of this fun little thing?

Addendum thoughts: First of all, why such a lengthy review of an inexpensive spring pistol? First, there isn’t always a distinct and technically measurable correlation between the cost of an item and the enjoyment one experiences in connection with it’s use. In other words, it doesn’t always take a lot of money to have a lot of fun. In some cases, there’s an an inverse expenditure/benefit correlation (more money, less fun). Besides, Airsoft customers seem to be very passionate regarding their opinions of everything Airsoft, and no wonder.

Airsoft is now worldwide. So whether an individual is considering a low cost or expensive item, a review is a review. When buying a car, the astute customer consults both professional and consumer reviews to find out as much as possible in order to make an informed decision. Imagine looking for an econobox just to discover little or no evaluational information is available because you’re not shopping for a Ferrari.