I bought the Airsoft Innovations Tornado Grenade on a whim. It seemed to be getting good reviews and there was a promotion where each grenade came with a free spoon kit. I bought it from gungas.com, the retail side of Airsoft Innovations. The grenade normally comes with a rubber cap and pin. I personally prefer the spoon option because with the original Tornado, once you pulled the pin, the timer would start. With the spoon, you can pull the pin but hold the spoon down till you wish to deploy the grenade. Very useful for airbursts which I will cover later. The picture below has the spoon kit already installed on the grenade. Installation took a matter of minutes and is quite simple.
Grenade with Spoon Kit installed.
Arming the grenade is easy. With the spoon on and pin in, fill the grenade with propane. Once on the field, screw on the bottom cover. I say on the field because once you do this, the grenade will fire its payload if the spoon is released. Without this cover, all of the gas will blow out the bottom. Once you have a target, pull the pin and throw.
BB port. One on each side
Unarmed
Armed
The grenade itself is very study and will survive many throws. In addition, it is completely reusable. However, you do want to keep track of where you put the pin after you throw it. Also, I suggest tying the spoon to the grenade with 550 cord and tape to prevent loss of the spoon which likes to disappear in the grass.
There are three different arming options. Instant detonation, 1.5 second delay and a 3 second delay. This is where the spoon kit comes in handy. The airburst is perfect for tossing the grenade around a corner or through a window when you're right next to it. To set it for airburst you remove a plug on the top of the grenade. The 1.5 and 3 second delay are adjusted by rotating a knob in the spoon.
Instant doom
Delayed doom
Now this is all well and good but how does the thing perform? Quite well. Properly lubricated, the delays are consistent. The BB spread is virtually 360º. Even laying in tall grass the grenade manages a good spread. The airburst is quite effective. Ideally, you would be throwing this onto rocks or concrete where the grenade spins on the ground. Initially, I ran into problems with the delay sometimes going upwards of 15 seconds. Not that useful for a grenade. I discovered I was not properly lubricating the grenade. When putting in the grenade oil (Which I recommend purchasing if you do get one of these grenades), ensure that the piston is fully depressed so the oil can enter the chamber. This immediately solved the delay problems.
All the way down
I’m quite happy with the little bastards. Completely reusable, 180 BB’s flying every which way and good reliability make for a great grenade. At almost $100 they’re not cheap but you’re paying for a quality product. I've yet to use them in a game but they've gotten plenty of abuse flying around my apartment and the parking lot. I will update once I've actually used them in a game.
Size comparison. Grenade next to TM G18 AEP
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"When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy."
Re-read the Skirmish Rules - they are allowed and you can only toss them underhanded.
Though when Bracket says they're probably not effective I will tell you that they're definitely not effective. DkHelmet brought his out to the field a few times. Useless.
__________________ "Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong."
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I have read the rules, and I knew grenades were allowed, but I read on another thread about certain kinds of grenades not being allowed unless tested, and i just wanted to make sure, but thanks for the heads up.
Skirmish "rules" are the rules we play by. We often discuss things on the forum that are not part of our "official skirmish rules."
When in doubt, go with the written skirmish rules for clarification.
I saw a grenade that would work effectivly for throwing on dirt/grass. Instead of spinning the bb's come out from all sides of the grenade.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHjMzL4enjY
Yea! See I could have dedicated that 10 minutes to my plan of how to stop being a lawler in life. But pff thanks to Mr. North Carolina is awesome over here it's gone. Gone I tell you.
Crazy NC Man- "It looks cool , it is cool, and you will be the coolest guy on the airsoft field"
I could stick 72 BB's in my butt after a Mexican meal and shoot them out with more force and coverage!
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...If guns kill people, do pencils misspell words?
If guns cause crime, all of mine are defective!
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I used two AI tornado grenades in a weekend game at PL. Due to the cold weather green gas didn’t really work well. But, if you use it inside the PL castle I can see it be very effect.
While they are nice, I would only spend the money on them if I played a lot of MOUT or CQB. One of our teammates picked up 2 tornado grenades, and they dont seem to work too well out in the woods. Since they're rarely on a hard surface, they dont get that "spin" effect, and it shoots the BBs out all half-assed.
__________________ -WARPIG "No better friend...No worse enemy." Team SOG - Liaison/Training NCO - www.sogairsoft.org
is the dark earth a good choice in color? Is it hard to find? Should i go with the blue or the yellow one? **ENGLISH!!**... if any one has any thoughts.
Are you sure that will be within the FPS limits? 
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