The G&G UMP is probably one of the best AEG’s I’ve ever used. For an airsofter, the UMP feels like an MP5 with all of the kinks ironed out: there are hassle-free 530 round hi-cap magazines, rails all over the place for attaching torches, grips and optics, solid externals and one of the very few silencers that dampens the noise of the gun, right out of the box.

G&G’s UMP is so good that I can even forgive it the awkward UMG name: standing for the copyright-free Uber Machine Gun.

Why buy a G&G UMP?

G&G have only been on the Airsoft scene for 20 years, and only really been taken seriously for ten. Despite this, their aftercare is brilliant, G&G’s Combat Machine and Top Tech ranges both offer great performance at their price point, and usually you can use their guns straight out of the box, with minimal tweaking.

I’ve had the G&G UMP since 2012, buying one of the first models to hit the shelves at the now-closed champions of G&G at Pro Airsoft Supplies. Ever since, it’s been one of my go-to guns for a skirmish, with a solid polymer body, great mag capacity and the fact that it can be taken from a field gun to a CQB monster by just folding the stock. The UMP isn’t unique in any of this, by any means, but there’s something about it that just works for me: perhaps it’s how comfortable it is to shoulder or the solid click as a 500+ BB magazine thunks into place.

Originally, I was looking for something that fit to my 2012 strengths: I was fast, I was a terrible shot, and I didn’t want to carry too much weight. The UMP tied in the small form factor, reliability and low-weight of the many MP5 airsoft variants out there, but then made some improvements. The simplest is the standardised Picatinny rails allowing easy attachment of optics, grips or a torch, but the introduction of ambidextrous controls and stick mags that are a big ergonomic improvement* with hi-caps that often feed better and carry over double the capacity of an MP5 stick to boot.

*Your mileage may vary.

It’s also a great gun for most situations without dropping too much money into it: I bought the suppressor, and have run it close to stock ever since. The internals have remained a sealed-up mystery to me, and I’ve only actually added some external bits to help with ergonomics or to fit a specific scenario.

What should you change?

So, as I said, I haven’t touched the G&G at all. It’s stock, and the only addition I’ve made to the inner workings of the gun is set the hop from time to time.

It’s rare as rocking horse excrement at this point, but G&G’s own UMG suppressor is the business: the gearbox in the UMP is quiet, and with the QD suppressor on I’ve shot people who heard nothing but the rounds hitting their vest. This sounds nonsense, but it’s really true. I don’t know what black magic G&G are doing with their guns (I have a G&G F2000 that’s similarly near-silent in the gearbox) but I can only assume it’s witchcraft.

Elsewhere, I’ve added a Wolf Eyes torch that has been living in my box of kit for 15 years and it’s stayed there since, although I’ve rotated through several different grips and optics before finding a cheap optic at an Airsoft boot-sale that managed to fit the bill. It’s low maintenance, none of the bits need to jump to other guns if I’m not using it, and I don’t mind if anything gets damaged because the UMP is the newest part of the set-up at eight years old. I’ve struggled to find a grip that does the trick, although that’s more on me than anything else.

The Good

Version 3 gearbox means it can keep going all day on semi.
UMP magazines are incredible to handle: clean sticks with flared grips that lock into shape with a satisfying ‘thunk’.
Can outperform several guns out of the box even at range.
Nylon fibre body means you would have to be trying to damage it.

The Bad

Most of these will be “mileage may vary” gripes, to be honest. There are a few bits about the G&G UMP that can irritate, but it mostly comes down to how unique the gun is. Read on, but cut it some slack; these issues are only problems if they grind your gears.

The G&G UMP is the only UMP seriously worth considering. This means there aren’t many upgrade parts beyond the generic bits.
When it comes to putting UMP mags in your rig, you might have a problem.*
Low and mid-caps can have some issues with feeding. It seems to be hard to reproduce, sometimes they’ll just double feed.

*They do, weirdly, have compatibility with other weird SMG mag pouches: if you’ve got a P90, MP40 or a Thompson already, your existing webbing will work for UMP magazines. Embrace it. Become the weird SMG guy.

Why I love it

This is the first “review” of an airsoft gun I’ve ever written, but the key thing is that it’s impossible to be completely objective about a RIF. Personal preference, ergonomics and even anecdotal evidence all play massively into how much you’ll dig a gun, including games you’ve played or movies you’ve seen.

I ultimately got sold on a UMP because I’d seen it pop up in a few videogames around 2012 and I wanted something small and light.

However, I love the G&G UMP because it does everything: I’ve used this while jumping out of a Land Rover at mil-sim events, I’ve cleared corridors in CQC sites and I’ve dug in and brawled with this in woodland. Whatever you throw at it, it delivers. Very few other AEGs can say the same, especially for under £250.

Get it now from Patrol Base, if you fancy that.