The GHK KAC PDW is a forgotten masterpiece of a bygone airsoft era. In my opinion, it is a significant milestone in the history of the current GBBR world. The KAC PDW was the first true successful model of the Taiwanese manufacturer. Sadly, GHK neglected and then abandoned the
platform, a move that was highly undeserved. Its successor, the GHK G5 is also a successful model, but still, the PDW leaves a deeper impression in players – and for a reason.

The PDW is not only a milestone for GHK, being their first reliable replica. Back in 2011, this level of operation, resistance to cold weather, and gameplay experience was on a whole different level. Back then, the reliability and operation of GBB rifles was significantly worse than today’s
standards. Many players still judge gas rifles based on the era of 2008-2013, when the GBBR market was all about primitive WE gas blow backs and WA M4s with “childhood diseases”. These models gave a bad reputation to gas-operated replicas. With that being said, the 2011 version of the PDW was only a temporary stop, the perfect version came with the 2012 update. Then, the final, 2013 version came along with the goal of emptying GHK’s stock of spare parts, because the platform was discontinued due to licencing issues, something that is still handicapping the market to this day, in my opinion.

The packaging of the replica is rather minimalist. It is a cardboard box with some pieces of cardboard inside that is cut to the shape of the rifle. We can see a seal of QC pass, which is encouraging – back then, GHK quality was truly great, unlike nowadays when the manufacturer is
having serious quality hiccups. The content of the package is the replica itself, a magazine, an awful BB loader and the instruction manual.

The replica itself is very compact and almost annoyingly light. Weighing around 2 kilograms (~4.4 pounds) when empty, it still manages to be very sturdy, especially the newer generations after 2012, which fixed the wobbling outer barrel with the help of a rubber piece.

Externals are mostly aluminum with some traces of steel (mostly around the gas block, the operational buttons and the screws). Unfortunately, they did not go overboard with steel parts. Personally, I would have been happier with a steel outer barrel.

The quality of the externals is nice, the markings on my version are made with an engraving needle, but there are other versions featuring unmarked receivers and laser engraving as well. Receivers without a marking are usual for the first batch from 2012, while laser engraving is frequent for the KAC PDW and Umarex / Elite Force licensed models.

The craftsmanship of the outer barrel is outstanding, and the same goes for the whole upper receiver. In my opinion, it surpasses the AEG version from VFC. The whole replica is thorough and rich in details, for example, parts of the gas piston are moving and participate in the cycling. These parts give off a unique rattling sound results in an even better experience.

There is one significant issue with the body, and that is the small size of the stock hinge. If the screw inside is tightened too much, the hinge will tense up and become prone to breaking in cold weather, resulting in the stock falling off.

A surprising touch is that GHK paid attention to the compensator as well. It can be disassembled and even adjusted just like the real steel part. Even the small borehole is authentic, due to the real steel counterpart being 6x35 caliber.

Overall, this ~295 USD replica could be an example worth following. Many people do notunderstand when I say this, the GHK G5 is a step back and is part of a regression from GHK. The GHK G5 was more of a good economic decision, because the body of that replica is mostly made of polymer while selling at the same price as the PDW.

The magazine release button is easy to operate, although its spring is weak. After some time, it will weaken even further and will not hold the magazine securely. This can be quickly and easily solved with a spring change. The fire selector is very comfortable, and fully ambidextrous. The screw inside got loose all the time, it needs attention.

The charging handle is similar to M4s, but somewhat shorter. The spring guide connects to the bolt carrier through this, at the rear side. The hook part is made of steel.

The trigger group is very durable, it almost lasts forever, except for the hammer spring which may break sometimes. During my time working with PDW replicas, I have not encountered any broken hammers, sears or anything else, unlike with G5 replicas. This says a lot, in my opinion. Whoever held a G5 in their hands, knows the typical mushy, long-travel and generally awful trigger. The bolt carrier, together with the nozzle inside, is completely identical to the G5. It is small, and yet it weighs quite a lot and gives a huge kick when fired. Something which is different in the PDW, the gas pistons reach into the receiver, the bolt carrier hits these first, going into the front set, and then recoils back against the receiver and hits the bolt carrier for the second time. This gives off a ridiculously loud and rattling sound. Once you shoot it, the whole field (!) will know your location. Indoor skirmishing is a whole different level, sometimes I was asked to use something else. I also have fun memories seeing many friendlies jumping near me when shooting it.

The nozzle has double O-rings, the rear one is for sealing and the front one is to act as a buffer of some sorts. I had to replace the front O-ring twice in 5 years, because the plastic nozzle stopper deformed it and this made the nozzle get stuck. The nozzle itself can be easily converted into an adjustable nozzle by adding some epoxy glue and a single screw. Being a large and oversized part, it handles feeding issues quite well.

The 2011 version still had a fixed hop up. Honestly, it was crap, but the subsequent 2013 batches adopted a screw-adjusted hop up system, which was first made by FG Airsoft (an aftermarket manufacturer) and then copied by GHK themselves. On the fixed hop up version, a closed rubber band is pressing against the rubber nub. This setup gave ideal hop up spin for something like 0.23 gram BBs. Let’s just say, if you have such PDW replica, you would do well to upgrade the system and be able to adjust the hop up by turning a grub screw that goes through the body over the hop chamber. The hop system is very simple, roughly made of 8 parts including the barrel itself. Its accuracy is acceptable for its size, it definitely performs better in indoor scenarios, but it can compete with the average setup also in outdoor areas. Personally, I was using it on ranges up to 40 meters (~130 feet). Inside this range, I could hit anything, anytime when I wanted, especially when using it with a good bucking and heavy BB. Unfortunately, the parts fixing the hop chamber to the outer barrel can be easily damaged, which makes the whole hop up system fail and not work until the next repair. I had 3 different cases like this, one time I performed the repair in 10 minutes, all while under fire in skirmish. This is thanks to the easy disassembly of the KAC PDW, one of the advantages of the platform.

The magazines were the best the GBBR market could offer back then. They were so good, that they were able to boost the performance of WA M4 models that suffered from stuttering. And the CO2 magazine was the icing on the cake. The green gas magazine was working fine even around freezing temperatures, this improved even further with the successor G5/M4 second generation mags.

One downside of the magazine was the eventual rusting of the cover. Also, the feed lips were so tight that it was impossible to load or unload BBs without a serious effort.

Whether you accept it or not, the GHK PDW was a milestone in GBBR history. It layed the foundation with its reliable, game-oriented design. Today, we view it as a rarity that has no spare part support and is more of a collection piece or a guarded treasure than a skirmish replica. In some ways, the GHK G5 is an improved successor design to it. It is popular for a reason, since it has some even better technical solutions. Still, for me, the fully polymer G5 is a step back with its receiver cracking issues compared to the KAC PDW.

Photos: Batmause
Text: Batmause
Translation: Yssomru