So I’ve got a hate/hate relationship with Nuprol, from the Bocca Rail that had a poorly made barrel nut to the ammo that refused to feed in absolutely everything I put it in… including a Marui speedloader that would probably feed tic-tacs!

Nuprol is gaining momentum in the UK and further afield as the end brand of many Chinese OEM Airsoft products, slick marketing and a tendency to put their fingers in as many pies as possible has assured them a strong foothold in the Airsoft world, often by selling the same item as you’d get with an ACM (All China Made) product but with much more appealing packaging and heavily advertising.

I’ve vowed to never again buy a Nuprol product, no matter the hype and no matter the exclusivity. So you see that statement and your probably wondering if I’m either in serious denial or I’m selling out by buying the item in question… well the truth is neither, the case isn’t mine but belongs to a good friend of mine who for the last few years has been involved in the real steel shooting world, more precisely…. large calibre centre-fire bolt action rifle shooting. His rifle of choice being a Remington 700 housed within a Kinetic Research Group Bravo Chassis.

So when he approached me for a little knowledge on cases and asked about hard case options I immediately nudged him in the direction of Pelican, whose cases are trusted by shooting professionals the world over. However with a house move on the horizon and given the very light use this case was to be expected for, the budget for a £300 case just wasn’t there. I then looked at the other options such as the SRC “Peli” knock off and others made by Plano amongst others and the only one that fit the bill was the Nuprol XL case. The requirements given to me were the following…

• Budget of around £100 for the reasons above.
• Pick and pluck foam to allow a secure fit for the rifle and optic.
• Internal length of at least 51″ to slow the Moderator to be kept on the Rifle.
• Wide enough to accommodate optics and bipod whilst retained on the Rifle.
• Preferably in FDE or Tan (He has a fetish about all things FDE.

So with the above criteria and with a few testimonials from trusted friends who own the XL and standard cases I gave him the thumbs up to place the order.

When it arrived I was actually quite impressed at its build quality, on a par with the SRC case I own but with a few features I’ll get into later. The key thing I was impressed about was the material the case is made from. It appears to be made from a flexible nylon type plastic, a departure from the rigid and shatter prone ABS type polymer used on the SRC clone. It’s not quite the Glass filled nylon you’d get in a genuine Pelicase but it does appear to be pretty resilient. The only concern is that a flexible polymer can deform enough to cause a structural failure if given enough force. One example is that which befell former Airsoft International Editor (and current ASG Representative/Airsoft Action Contributor) Ben Webb, He had the downright scary experience of a case popping open whilst on public transport revealing his replica firearm.

So how does the newer XL case address this? Well to a limited degree with a latch on each end of the case, it’s not a definite guarantee against failure but it should hold up better than 4 in-line patches on only one face. I’d still make a note if this if considering any of their cases as it’s very much a worst case scenario if your replica is open to public view.

The case has the following dimensions;

Internal

• Length 130cm
• Width 32cm
• Depth 12.5cm

External

Length 137cm

Width 39cm

Depth 15cm

The interior of this case is filled with four layers of foam. An egg box type foam in the lid is stuck in place with a few dabs from a hot glue gun. The very bottom layer also stuck in place and has a flat sheet profile. The middle two layers are both of the pick and pluck variety allowing for a variable depth for various accessories.

One thing I’ve never liked about pick and pluck is it’s lack of modularity but for purposes such as this it’s a good idea overall, there’s little chance of my friend swapping out rifles as often as the average airsofter and it gives an extra degree of security for his firearm. I would say that pick and pluck in its own isn’t very stable and is liable to movement or damage, one little trick from my upholstery days is to use a product such as Gloverbond to stick the foam layers together, this will create a rock solid foam box that won’t come out with your toys and should allow you to carefully replace foam pieces should you go a little mad when ripping them out.

The case also has wheels along one end, not a feature I’d recommend using whilst holding any weapon (replica or otherwise) as its likely to upset an optics zero or loosen a bolt.

The opposite end has an accompanying handle along with the “main” handle on the long edge. Both appear to be rugged and do fold flat (ish) against the case for ease of storage.

The hinges also appear sturdy, four individual hinges than are in-line with latches on their opposing edge keep the case pretty rigid when closed.

As for the latches, a similar design to the Pelicase design with an over-centre cantilever lock which is so smooth it’ll make you curse the often tough SRC latches. The Pelicase ones are indeed tougher but they themselves are not indestructible (As Cheesy_C12 will verify). Watch patch location along the long edge can be padlocked for additional security and it’s something I’d recommend that you do if travelling with a firearm or replica.

Lastly, the case comes with an apparent IP67 water and dust ingress rating which is like to see actual evidence of testing, I’d be hesitant to push my luck by chucking this in a lake but it’s probably going to keep the worst that the UK has to throw at it in terms of weather.

To keep the case airtight there is a pressure valve which can be opened to equalise the internal pressure, a bit of a novelty for a cheap case but if you live in the mountains or plan on travelling with the case it could be useful.

So, would I buy it? A tough question. I’m forever marred by Nuprol’s constant ability to turn what could be a good idea into a pile of crap. I’ve heard good things from a few people about their newer AEGs and some other bits but not from people whose opinion isn’t biased or paid for.

I do know that there’s enough variance in quality to make me look at other brands before considering this one. If it was my rifle then I’d be investing in a Genuine Pelicase, but I’m afflicted by that geardo bug that demands that I buy genuine wherever possible. That being said I don’t think my friend will regret his purchase, it’ll certainly do what is asked of it and for the trip to his car, and then from the car to a range table it’ll be more than adequate.