Benjamin Craftsman Line: Akela, Cayden, Kratos

New for 2020, Benjamin has released their Turkish made “Craftsman” line of airguns.  These are the Akela, the Cayden, and the Kratos.  All guns sport lovely Turkish walnut stocks, and can be had anywhere from $549.99 to $629.99.  All are available in .22 caliber, and the Kratos is also available in .25.  The Cayden and the Akela both have a 280cc tube reservoir, and the Kratos has a 480cc aluminum bottle.  The Cayden and the Kratos are traditional style full length rifles, while the Akela is a bullpup design.  These guns all have a smooth operating side-lever, and none are regulated.  They all also have externally adjustable power via a transfer port adjuster.

All of the guns have a max fill pressure of 3000psi.  They all use a male Foster quick disconnect fitting, so no probes to lose.  We like that.  The .22 caliber version of all of these guns use a 12 shot rotary magazine, and the .25 Kratos uses a 10 shot magazine.  All guns ship with two magazines, and no….they are not interchangeable with Marauder style magazines.  They all include a tool kit, a female Foster quick disconnect fitting, some spare parts, and an owners manual.  A really cool feature is that they all include a lower picatinny rail, and have a bushing built into the stock for easy attachment and removal.  All guns also have sling swivel studs installed from the factory.  They all use a picatinny type rail on top for scope mounting, which is something you see more and more these days.  Let’s take a look at the individual guns.

AKELA

The Akela is a relatively short bullpup design.  It feels good in the hands, it’s quick to aim, and it holds steady in the off-hand position.  It’s also the shortest of all the Craftsman line at a mere 32.9″.  While I wouldn’t call any of the Craftsman line “light” guns, it is the lightest of the line itself at an advertised 7.71lbs.  It has a fully shrouded barrel that does a decent job of keeping things quiet.  It also has a neat fully adjustable cheek piece.  It will adjust both for position front to back as well as for height.  If hunting is your thing, the Akela deserves a good look.

Cayden

The Benjamin Cayden is an unshrouded sporter style rifle.  It’s a little shorter and lighter than the Kratos, so if noise is no issue for you…this would be a great choice for hunting or plinking.  Although unshrouded, this is the only gun in the Craftsman line that comes with a threaded muzzle brake.  If noise is an issue for you, luckily the barrel terminates in 1/2x20UNF threads so you can attach a moderator.  It has a checkered Turkish walnut stock with an adjustable cheek comb and rubber buttpad.  It feels nice in the hands and is very pointable.

Kratos

The flagship of the Benjamin Craftsman line is the Kratos.  It has a 480cc aluminum bottle instead of a tube reservoir.  Like the Cayden, it has a checkered Turkish walnut stock with an adjustable cheek comb.  Like the Akela, it’s also got a fully shrouded barrel that keeps things quiet.  The Kratos is a pretty heavy gun that would lend itself well to benchrest.  That’s not to say that it wouldn’t make a good hunting gun, but after mounting a scope…you can expect to be north of 9lbs.  The Kratos is a good shooter and feels like a high end gun despite it’s middle of the road price.

.22 caliber version

.25 caliber version

Benjamin has some pretty stout offerings here in the Craftsman line.  There’s something to suit just about everyone, and at a middle of the road price point.  The guns are good looking and have a heavy, quality type of feel.  If you like what you see, you can find all of these guns in stock right here on the Baker Airguns website.

Donnie R

Donnie Reed is our Sales Manager and general airgun guru here at Baker Airguns.  He was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, and qualified as both a Rifle Expert and Pistol Expert.   Donnie is now a competitive airgun shooter, focusing primarily on field target and benchrest competitions.  He has won both PCP and piston class field target matches, as well as local benchrest competitions.  Donnie also runs the Youtube channel and Facebook group ALL THINGS AIRGUN.  His first college degree is in Mathematics and Sciences, but he is still pursuing another in Physics and Astronomy.