The Worst Assault Rifle Accessory
Mako tire-deflator only useful in the apocalypse
by MATTHEW GAULT
Gun companies make thousands of accessories to modify, personalize and enhance firearms. Many attachments—such as scopes, slings and extended magazines—are useful and even necessary.
But there are other devices meant to modify weapons that are silly, ridiculous and even dangerous. One of the most useless—and expensive—was the Mako tire-deflator. Meme-worthy a decade ago, it has now seemingly disappeared from the Internet.
For a mere $200 the dedicated warrior could screw this hunk of “hardened steel” to the flash-hider of their AR-15, M-4 or M-16.
That was a lot of money for a ridiculous hunk of metal. The makers of most crappy weapon attachments price their goods low, so no one chokes while buying a gag gift for a gun-nut friend.
Here’s a few examples. For a mere $22 an enthusiast could attach a lime green—described as “zombie-colored”—bayonet to their pistol. It was for those moments when you needed to stab and shoot at close range. Simply trap the walking dead on the end of the short knife, then unload the clip.
The now-defunct Website Gun Nutz once sold tiny plastic testicles to adorn your favorite firearm. “The number-one accessory that no respectable gun wants to be without,” the back of the package boasted.
As silly as these are, at least the manufacturers realized they were novelties. No serious urban weaponeer would strap lime-green or pink plastic trinkets to their gun. But Mako thought more highly of its ridiculous faux-bayonet.
Just look at the price.
FAB Defense—an Israeli arms company—created the tire-deflator but apparently no longer offers it. The company’s Website claimed it “[leads] in development and manufacture of the highest quality, cutting-edge tactical equipment and weapon accessories for the state of Israel’s military and police.”
It also created the “pentagon” magazine kit—which arrays five 10-round magazines in a star shape, allowing the industrious to circumvent laws banning large- and medium-size magazines.
The tire-deflator was ostensibly designed for use at checkpoints. It was about as mission-specific a piece of equipment a gun company could create.
The deflator weighed about half a pound and stuck out a little more than seven inches. The syringe-style point “deflate[d] tires in seconds,” and would “not interfere with shooting.”
In theory, when a suspect pulled up to a checkpoint in a car, an Israeli soldier standing guard could push the pointy deflator into a tire, deflating it quickly.
Mako’s spike deflated tires faster than a knife or a bayonet because of the syringe point. The syringe made a hole, and the air shot up through the accessory and out of holes along the device’s side. The idea was that air escaped faster from a hole than from a knife-made slit.
There were a few problems with the deflator.
As one Amazon commenter pointed out, a soldier using the spike had a decent chance of taking a rubber chunk out of the tire and clogging the barrel of their gun. Which meant they’d have to dig out the hunk of tire before the weapon was ready to fire.
If I’ve just deflated the tire of a suspect car at a checkpoint, the last thing I want to do is unclog my gun during an escalated detainment situation.
Another problem was the price. At $200 direct from Mako, $130 on Amazon and almost $90 at auction, the tire-deflator was far too expensive to be cost-effective. Bayonets start at $40 online. Worse, specialty items that strip out a tire’s valve stem or otherwise rapidly deflate a tire run as low as $10.
So the question is … who the Hell would’ve actually ever used one of these Mako tire deflators? Mark in Ark, a guy who once sold the item on Gunbroker.com, had a few ideas.
“Imagine yourself stalking the post-apocalyptic wastelands,” he wrote. In order to survive the apocalypse, you need to intimidate bandits and raiders. The best way to do that is to set an example.
“Have you ever tried mounting a severed head on an AR-15? Not a simple thing to do! Fortunately you can now equip your rifle with the Mako tire-deflator spike and be prepared!”
Mark in Ark almost sold me on the Mako tire-deflator … almost.
Read more:
