Don't fall for slick marketing.

Recently there has been a campaign for re-packaged cheap airbrushes manufactured in China, the most notable being the Gaahleri airbrush line.

Lots of people bought into the advertising, which promised a professional level, inexpensive airbrush full of "groundbreaking" innovations. Aside from the cheap price, none of these claims turned out to be valid.

Let's start with these two claims: 

The needle is usually the Achilles heel of a cheap airbrush, so it was no surprise at how easily this needle was to bend. Even the act of picking the tip dry, bent this needle, which was so weak, that it reminded me more of soft clay than of metal.

The second claim in this image is the "innovative thread nozzle."  How is it possible to claim innovation when the threaded nozzle is exactly the same as the multitude of airbrushes already manufactured?

Failure Rate

It is notable that many customers reported that their new Gaahleri airbrush would not function at all. I had the same experience, with the airbrush I tested unable to spray even water. The failure rate seemed to be extraordinary, with 9 out of 10 contacts reporting serious manufacturing flaws.

A few of the Gaahleri airbrushes did actually work for reviewers, and a few had glowing things to say about the Gaahleri. Interestingly, one YouTube reviewer gave the airbrush high praise, but missed the failed needle packing, which leaked blue paint all over his glove.

Failure Rate

Even if an airbrush works out of the box, there is no guarantee that the airbrush will work for the long term, and replacement parts are not readily available for the Gaahleri line at this time.

Many users discovered metal shavings in the nozzle and other parts, indicating poor quality control. Some users resorted to correcting the problems with their own machining tools. A few even replaced the faulty parts with parts from reliable airbrush brands.

Eventually some users have been able to get their airbrushes working, but only by expertly modifying them and swapping parts with other airbrushes.

 And then there's the misspelled word on the airbrush.

Ergonomics

 While the rounded trigger is a welcome addition, it is hardly innovative. Several other manufactures offer rounded triggers, not to mention the Low-rider trigger offered by the Blair School of Realism.

Another claim is that a cut-out on the sides of the airbrush is designated for a thumb rest. Holding an airbrush with the thumb on the side is incorrect hand position. Why would a company encourage bad form?

 Bad Actors

Despite the problems with cheap Chinese airbrushes, there are a handful of individuals that continue to promote and defend them. They either do so because they can't distinguish bad quality from good quality, or they are engaged in a promotional campaign of propaganda. In either case, it does not serve the airbrush community, so buyer beware. 

Conclusion

This airbrush performed no better than any of the other dozen Chinese-manufactured airbrushes I have tested. It's sad to see people falling for the hyped-up marketing that surrounds this airbrush, but it seems like this is just another cheap airbrush. 

Gaahleri offers more than one model, and users report the performance of the Mobius .2 have been even worse than the Mobius .3.

There are good examples of Gaahleri airbrushes out there, but now many will fail out of the box? Considering the reliability record, it is risky to purchase any cheap Chinese-made airbrush. The odds that it won't spray correctly are much higher than average, but even if you get lucky, no one knows if this airbrush will last.

I would not recommend this airbrush, unless you test drive it before you purchase it to make sure you are getting a functional unit.