The NOVRITSCH SSP2 Airsoft Gas Blowback pistol was released just a few days ago. With the pistol pushing the boundaries of what a “regular” pistol can deliver, we figured it might be a good idea to give you an insight into the development.
To get that, we talked to Yan, the Team lead at the Research and Development Department, who gave way to the SSP2 design as it is. And he gave us a bunch of interesting points that don’t usually make it to the release clip or product description.
A quick introduction to the NOVRITSCH SSP2
Before we dive deep, here is a basic rundown of what this pistol actually is. As one user on Facebook described it, “the SSP2 is a love child of the SSP5 and SSP1”. For those unfamiliar with the two “parents“, the new SSP2 is a fairly-priced HiCapa sidearm that uses tricks seen with the competition SSP5. That means:
- Redesigned externals with a modern honeycomb grip.
- Fixed outer barrel with MapleLeaf bucking and a TDC modded Hop-Up
- Steel hammer and sears to avoid excessive wear
- Lightweight aluminium blowback housing
- Bolted ambidextrous safety
- and enough features to make this list go on for a while…
Long story short, it’s a pistol that gives you accuracy when you need it the most – in tight corners where the target almost never fully exposes…
SSP2: The child of the SSP5
At the beginning of the development process, it was clear that the SSP2 would have to work strongly with the SSP5 design. Even the original instruction that gave way to this new pistol was very clear in this regard: “Put the SSP5 Hop-up system in a regular HiCapa and see what issues pop up.”
And no wonders. With its accuracy and muzzle energy, the SSP5 has stood up to its name as The Primary Pistol, making it a great starting point. But not everyone will opt for a 300-buck pistol which also created pressure to keep the pricing fair. As Yan summarizes it:
“When it comes to price, we wanted a pistol in the stock Marui’s ballpark. However, the goal was to deliver more for that same price – both in terms of out-of-the-box performance and upgrade options.”
“Ideally, we wanted a pistol that outperforms the low-end upgrade builds off the assembly line. And since people do tend to go crazy with upgrades, we kept the lower frame 100 % TM compatible.”
Yan: “There was a lot of creative freedom in the process.”
The design language of the SSP2 is vivid at first glimpse – this pistol has a very modern, even futuristic look. The insight into this is quite interesting, as Yan describes:
“There was a lot of creative freedom in the process. The grip design came first, with the top frame coming right after. When we initially tested the honeycomb, it looked good and gave us a great grip.”
To add to the design, the top slide is actually CNC-finished. Unlike the standard finish, this makes the pistol feel and handle premium while still allowing for a decent price tag. Ultimately a win-win situation.
Moreover, the SSP2 has a long frame with a full-size Picatinny rail. This gives people more options with accessories.
Improvements to the pistol’s performance
But the bold performance goals could not have been reached if the upgrades were kept to the externals. According to Yan, the SSP2 uses manufacturing methods suitable for mass production while still utilizing SSP5 tricks on accuracy and reliability – the fixed barrel, the Hop-Up chamber, etc.
Long story short, it’s a slimed down version of the SSP5.
A great example is the slide assembly and blowback unit: Going for aluminium made it way lighter than usual with similar pistols. On the SSP2, it weighs 103 grams, which is 80 grams lighter than the SSP1 (made out of Zinc alloy). That made a huge difference but allowed us to keep it TM-compatible.
SSP2’s biggest innovation
Yan was quite clear on that question – it is the double return spring.
The reason for that is people tend to change these springs. However, with one spring, you have just limited upgrade options. By adding two springs, you basically double the returning power.
This enables more upgrade options and drastically improves durability. After all, the doubled spring capacity doesn’t wear down as fast as a single spring system. Fun fact – you can put in the original TM nozzle. And to our knowledge, as of now, NOVRITSCH is one of the first brands to have such a system in the HiCapa Platform out of the box.
The thing with the safety…
Another feature worth mentioning is bolted safety. This quality-of-life improvement makes an ambidextrous safety feel way better by eliminating excess wobble. To be fair, during our talk, Yan was visibly happy to have this problem solved.
The SSP2 – Is it worth the purchase?
The truth is that when you run down through the whole list of features, there is more that could be talked about. Anyways, the important question, is the SSP2 worth the price? Well, we wouldn’t develop it if we thought it wasn’t. 😄
But in our best opinion, the SSP2 delivers on its original goal: Be better than a stock TM while in the same price bracket. So if you are interested in something like that, make sure to check it out.
