Acetech’s AT1000 tracer is advertised as the “world’s brightest airsoft tracer”. Measuring a little over 6 inches in length and about 1.5 inches in diameter, the Acetech At1000 features an internal body made of metal and plastic and an outer cover made of aluminum. The inner body of the AT1000 features an individual serial number, which is a little feature I prefer in my airsoft products. On the black outer cover of the tracer unit, you’ll find the painted Acetech logo and model designation. The whole tracer is fairly standard when you think of what an airsoft tracer unit should look like – although, Acetech does add a little flare to the package with a muzzle-end featuring a segmented design for better aesthetics.
The Acetech AT1000 airsoft tracer features a 14mm counter-clockwise threading, so you’ll need an adapter if your AEG is not equipped with that outer barrel thread. However, setting up the AT1000 for use is extremely simple. You unscrew the outer shell, then install 4 AAA batteries. Screw the outer shell back on and then screw the tracer onto your AEG. Simply press the button, which will blink green once, on the rear side of the tracer and you are ready to go. I did notice some low-tolerances on the threading on this particular AT1000 unit. The threads were a little too loose for my liking, but after tightening the tracer down there was no wobble or travel.
In terms of usage, the Acetech AT1000 tracer unit works incredibly and I was consistently impressed with just how bright the BB’s were as they exited the unit. Of course, airsoft tracer BB’s tend to vary wildly in terms of quality but, whatever brand you are using, the AT1000 will brighten them up as much as they can be brightened. While some people use tracer BB’s to signal when their magazine is running low, using them as the last ten or so shots, others go full bore and load the full mag with them. Aside from these tactical applications, tracer BB’s also make it very simple to tune your hop-up unit as spotting the travel path of the BB is way easier than with non-tracer BB’s.
The rated lifespan of the Acetech AT1000 tracer unit is about 20,000 rounds with standard AAA batteries before needing to replace them. However, they have also done the math on using more expensive, “eneloop” rechargeable AAA’s from Panasonic. With their increased capacity, you can get about 100,000 rounds through the AT1000 without needing to charge them! There are some tracer units on the market that feature a rechargeable, internal battery. At first, this might be the more futuristic options, however in practice being able to swap out your batteries is far better in terms of flexibility. Unfortunately, I didn’t have 20,000 rounds to put through this tracer unit to test. However, I did put about two thousand rounds through it during a night game a few weeks ago. During this night of play, I didn’t notice any degradation of LED intensity and did not have to replace the batteries.
Additionally, the Acetech AT1000 airsoft tracer is rated at detecting and reacting to up to 1800 rounds per minute. This equates to 30 rounds per second and is pretty darn speedy – way more so than most out of the box airsoft rifles. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything with a rate of fire that high – my best being a Krytac CRB Mk2 with 11.1v LiPo battery. With that rifle, however, the AT1000 had no trouble keeping up with fully-automatic fire and even semi-automatic shooting. It was responsive and didn’t let me down.
Overall, Acetech’s AT1000 airsoft tracer is an incredible tracer unit that will brighten up those glow-in-the dark BBs like nothing else. For about $66 dollars at AirsoftExtreme’s website, this is also some serious value given its brightness and battery life when compared to much more expensive tracer units from the likes of G&P, who’s units can run upwards of $100 dollars depending on the model. At other online retailers, you can find the Acetech AT1000 retailing for about $85 dollars. Even at that higher price, the AT1000 is worth it and a much better purchase than any other tracer unit on the market. It’s simply a BB-brightening beast that will make you feel like you shoot laser bolts a la G.I. Joe.
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