I'm currently building my BAR-10 using PDI parts ordered from X-Fire, including the V-Trigger. I haven't tried any other setups, so I can't help you with comparisons... but, some things to note.The V-trigger looks pretty nice, with the working safety feature, but I'm not too sure on shipping from X-Fire to the US (I just see some Japanese symbols for the shipping costs on X-Fire...)
Any personal preferences/experiences/shop choices? All of the threads describing the different triggers are all several years old by now, or are focused on the VSR-10 variants. A more recent reference for the L96 users is nice to have for everyone
1) I can't make the safety "safe" on the VSR V Trigger. Perhaps it's because I have a JG and not a TM, but the safety arm doesn't actually block the trigger from moving completely enough. What's more, even fiddling around with it using a screwdriver to block the lug, I can't prevent the trigger from dislodging the sear. There's just too much play internally to the trigger system for the safety to actually make the gat safe.
So, yeah, technically, the safety's there... but I would *never* trust it. Maybe the 96 is different, but I doubt it.
2) Shipping from X-Fire is both easy and fast, so long as you don't expect any customer service. You place your order, they send you a confirmation email, and then a day later they send you an invoice including shipping. You pay that invoice using PayPal, making sure to put your order number in the comments section, to pay their exact price choosing yen from the PayPal dropdown (don't convert to dollars), and making sure that all of your address is 100% correct in PayPay's database. Then they ship it to your PayPal address.
I wouldn't expect to make any returns or exchanges. I've heard that they're very good about fixing their mistakes, so don't worry about that. But the whole experience has an "all sales final" kind of feeling to it. So I'd make super sure you're getting what you want.
Don't worry about customs. There's nothing with jacked trades, and the gear's legal, so it won't get stopped. And apparently there's no customs duty on "sports goods" for personal use under $2000 in value (or something; it's actually super complex, but don't sweat it).
After payment, it seems like about 7-10 days from X-Fire to Colorado. The variance is mainly, like, if a weekend delays shipping or customs clearance. Keep in mind X-Fire isn't a big Amazon operation or something, so your stuff doesn't go in the mail two seconds after you click. They work quickly, but because of the time difference, there's some lag in the process.
As for time and costs: 1000 Yen is about $8.50 US right now. You can check the conversion on Google (just search "X yen to usd" without quotes, where X is how many Yen), but the dollar is doing *awesome* against the yen right now. You will get a great deal because of this... also X-Fire has a bunch of sales on right now.
My first package had an inner barrel, cylinder/piston set, trigger, spacers, bucking, spring... it shipped for 2040 Yen ($17.46), and arrived in like 8 days. My second package is just a couple of springs, and shipped for 1200 Yen ($10.27)... They shipped it on Tuesday, and it's in customs in LA right now. I'll probably get it Tuesday or Wednesday.
