EG18X and EG25 Smoke Grenade Review

At the last Fighting Carbine class taught by NC Scout (an excellent AAR can be found here), I had brought down an EG-18X Smoke Grenade to test out. Unbeknownst to me, however, my fellow AP Editor Jesse James brought down a bunch of EG-25 Smoke Grenades as well. This allowed us to get a side by side comparison of the two grenades. So while Jesse and I threw our grenades, NC Scout took these photographs and JohnyMac took the videos you can see below.

Enola Gaye is a UK based company that produces various types of commercial smoke grenades. Some of their designs are not sold in America, and others seem to only be sold to pyrotechnic companies. The ones available in the United States directly from their website are the EG-18, EG-18X, and EG-25.

For this test, we chose blue smoke because, while Jesse had several colors to choose from, blue was all I had.

Initial bloom of the EG-25

Bloom of the EG-18X

My hope was that, although smaller, the EG-25 would do well enough to warrant its purchase for Break Contact scenarios. As you can see below, the EG-18X was far superior in that regard, though it obviously depends on wind direction. The EG-25 would be more useful as a way to signal another team or a recovery unit. Having a couple of these grenades with any measurable level of wind would provide a decent shield against an adversary. See below, with the EG-25 on the left and the EG-18X on the right. Since we were talking throughout the video, a generic soundtrack was added to cover the voices for PERSEC reasons.

We also tested a “black” EG-25 smoke grenade, which is really just a gray cloud.

The only real drawback to the EG-18X was that the cap fit loose on the grenade and, when the grenade was flipped over, some blue powder would fall out on the ground or get onto your hands. I have some reservations about that – particularly in adverse weather conditions. Despite that, it is a great tool to have at only $17 a pop. The EG-25 is sold in packs of ten and retails at $60. Remember, if someone initiates contact at you, you are very much advised to break contact. This EG-18X is a great way to do so and is lightweight. They also have a molle pouch to hold the grenade on your belt or your kit.

We hope to have a few other products from Enola Gaye to test in the near future, so please keep an eye out for those.

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About the Author: Patriotman

Patriotman currently ekes out a survivalist lifestyle in a suburban northeastern state as best as he can. He has varied experience in political science, public policy, biological sciences, and higher education. Proudly Catholic and an Eagle Scout, he has no military experience and thus offers a relatable perspective for the average suburban prepper who is preparing for troubled times on the horizon with less than ideal teams and in less than ideal locations. Brushbeater Store Page: http://bit.ly/BrushbeaterStore

16 Comments

  1. Anonymous July 24, 2020 at 08:20

    5

  2. Coyyote July 24, 2020 at 10:07

    Any experience with OC grenades? I think Fox and Saber makes some variations

  3. Recon Prepper July 24, 2020 at 10:32

    this definitely don’t look very impressive. I guess you had to be there. The only thing I see they would be good for was to mark a position. I could see a search and rescue unit using them for popping smoke for a life flight helicopter to find but otherwise doesn’t look like enough to cover my tracks and hide from the enemy.

    • NC Scout July 24, 2020 at 11:32

      Skinny ones weren’t impressive. Big ones are.

  4. scextremist July 24, 2020 at 10:55

    I have been trying to find a source for these for a few years now. NC, SC, GA, OR eastern TN.

  5. That dude July 24, 2020 at 10:57

    Check out patriot gear and smoke the make miltary grade smokes. I have trained with one of the owners, he’s the real deal. The problem with the cardboard canister of the eg line is they collect moisture and over time they become ineffective or degraded in thier ability. Stay dangerous.

    • Patriotman July 24, 2020 at 13:03

      Thanks – will take a look!

  6. Gray Man July 24, 2020 at 13:43

    5

  7. Shillelagh Pog July 24, 2020 at 22:56

    I vacuum sealed all mine with a small desiccant pack inside and a v-cut to ease opening.

  8. Pro Opfor July 24, 2020 at 22:57

    I’m a military pyrotechnics specialist by trade. Buying smoke was killing the budget because I had to use so much. The whole point was to make everything difficult, so we would saturate it in smoke and charges. It was just far more effective and much cheaper to make my own.
    Some potassium nitrate, powdered sugar and paraffin wax burns for a long time when melted to a peanut butter consistency and poured into a cardboard tube. A 50/50 mix of sulfur and aluminum powder make her fuse ready, and personally I cut down poplar dowl rods as caps. Makes a cheap smoke that’ll burn for about 3 minutes. There’s 1000 different recipes out there and it’s very forgiving.
    There are different ways to make colored smoke, but the chemicals can be toxic for most of them and the chemicals can be hard to find or highly controlled, so I wouldn’t recommend those without experience.
    But if you’re looking to have some safe fun with the kids and a good opportunity to teach them some chemistry while storing up on smoke, it’s very safe and my young uns loved it. Safe legal fun.
    Throw some flex seal on them and the few I’ve forgot to rotate out have lasted a few years.

    • johnyMac July 25, 2020 at 13:04

      Pro opfor, I chuckled when I read your comment. I use to do just what you explain in my early teens. Use to use underwater demolition fuse to detonate. If you brush the outside with some varnish, the cardboard tube holds up pretty well in the weather too.

      My only question is, what is the “50/50 mix of sulfur and aluminum powder” for? More positive ignition with a fuse maybe?

      Thank you for reading the article and then posting your recipe.

      73 & God Bless

  9. Pro Opfor July 25, 2020 at 14:51

    @JohnyMac It Wouldn’t let me reply directly to your post for some reason.

    While the mixture is fuse sensitive most of the time on its own just from the heat of the fuse, It was unreliable. Especially when I would daisy chain smoke with charges on an electrical firing system. The S and AL mixture gives me a reliable ignition mixture that is both sensitive to fuse and E-match while being stable. Throw in a dash of Dark Aluminum and even better. Also works great for the times I had to whip up some cast thermite charges for some downed bird training.

    Everyone loves the first fire mix as an ignition mixture. And i’m sure it works great when they have a can full of thermite on a youtube channel. However they don’t account for the rapid expansion of gasses when it is capped. And it would burn so fast it blows your cap off and your ignition mixture with it before it can ignite it. The S/AL mix is just as hot but deflagrates much slower so it won’t blow your caps off and fail.

    • johnyMac July 25, 2020 at 15:24

      Thx Pro Opfor for the info.

      For the future, anybody can reach any of the AP columnists 1:1 by sending a email to [email protected].

      Thx again Brother

  10. Somebody July 25, 2020 at 23:17

    Drawback to throwing smoke grenades to break contact: expended grenades with fingerprints all over ’em, just lying there waiting to be scooped up by the OPFOR and sent to a forensics lab.

  11. Karl Dahl July 26, 2020 at 22:38

    Pro Opfor, I would like to second a request for an article! I have been experimenting with friction wire pull fuses as used in marine signaling devices, as well as German grenades, for homespun smoke canisters, and was considering offering to write an article, but would prefer to defer to a pro.

  12. Karl Dahl July 26, 2020 at 22:40

    Coyyote they are unpleasant, i.e. effective, either when first popping off or in an enclosed area. Definitely an effective deterrent

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