Real Avid Bore-Max Master Cleaning Kit and Mobile Workstation Review

By Justin Opinion

Gun cleaning. Do you love it or hate it? Most people I know fall firmly into one category or the other.

Whichever side of that fence you’re on — Real Avid has a new gun cleaning product that can streamline and improve your process. It’s called the Bore-Max Master Cleaning Kit and Mobile Workstation. While that’s admittedly a long product name, this is a whole lot of product.

One-Stop Shop?

The Bore-Max Master Cleaning Kit contains everything you need to clean your rifles, shotguns and handguns — except for the cleaning solutions. For those, you can stick with your favorites. The kit can handle pistol calibers from .22 to .45, rifle calibers from .223 to .30 cal., and 20 ga. and 12 ga. shotguns.

It includes high-quality nickel-coated brushes and jags as part of its Speed Clean System, and even includes the special patches designed for the precision-fit jags. The brushes are double-density, which help ensure that all the stubborn fouling and carbon are loosened in the barrel’s rifling. The jags are like surgical instruments, with an extra long contact area. Designed to work with the provided patches, they make a perfect contact fit to the bore and push out the maximum fouling and debris. Bore mops are included for the 20 ga. and 12 ga. shotgun bores and are also of high quality, high-density construction.

[Be sure to read Andy Grossman’s guide on how to clean a handgun.]

Driving all these tools through your bore is the Bore-Max 3-piece Speed Rod. It has a wonderfully ergonomic handle to help you push or pull the rod with ease. And its ultra-glide bearings allow it to gently follow the rifling while you keep the handle in the position you like. All this would be enough to describe a very comprehensive cleaning kit, but I’m just getting started!

The kit comes in a sturdy carrying case, complete with handle and heavy-duty closures. This makes it nicely portable so that you can have it with you at a match. It keeps everything you need for cleaning together in one neat, portable package.

The Foundation

The carry case itself becomes the workstation mentioned in the name. It’s a modular system that can be used and configured various ways to suit the environment, the gun you’re cleaning, or your working style. For starters the clear lid can be removed and turned upside down, making it a nice work tray with a high lip to keep parts together and contain any spills. The included cleaning mat fits the bottom of the inverted lid perfectly.

The center section is easily removed and can be placed into the inverted lid, or set anywhere you like. This is where all the cleaning tools are located — and all well-labeled for easy access. In addition to the previously mentioned brushes and jags, the kit includes five double-ended steel picks of varying shapes and sizes, and eight brushes — four with steel bristles and four with bronze bristles. The diversely sized and shaped brush heads should allow access to any hard-to-reach area that needs scrubbing.

The opposite end of the brush handles are handy polymer scrapers — also of various shapes and sizes. The “tool rack” of brushes and jags tilts up to 90 degrees to make finding and accessing the tool you need easier. This also exposes the provided Speed Clean System patches beneath. Because these patches are specially designed to work with the precision jags for maximum bore contact, Real Avid advises against using other types of patches with them because they might get lodged in the bore.

Lifting the tool tray out, you expose the bottom section of the modular kit, which is designed to be a rifle cleaning station. Two yokes that are folded flat for storage can be raised into place and locked to a vertical position. They include Gun Gripper technology to fit to any size gun and hold it firmly in place. The space beneath has several sizable compartments to organize parts as they are removed for cleaning. There is even a small parts compartment in the kit with a closable lid to keep the very small parts secure.

[Don’t miss this article on how to clean your rifle.]

For bolt-action rifles and such, Real Avid includes the Smart-Fit Bore Guide — a rocket ship-looking device that helps protect your rifle bore and reduce mess while cleaning. It comes with three different-sized, funnel-like ends that allow the tool to fit various calibers.

The workstation even includes a very nice work light and long gooseneck mount. It can be connected into any of the four corners of the base tray and throws strong light wherever you need it. The light also has a magnet and clip, so it can be placed nearly anywhere. The light uses an internal rechargeable battery that is charged by using the provided USB cable.

The Answer

I often get a gun field-stripped and partly cleaned only to realize I need my work space for something else too. If you’re working in a non-dedicated space like the kitchen table — this is a constant problem. With the Real Avid Bore Max Mobile Workstation, I can just lift it up and move it out of the way. Nothing is disturbed — it’s just like I left it when I’m ready to go back to it.

This would be an ideal workstation to have when traveling to matches or spending a day at the range. It can even turn the tailgate of a pickup truck into an organized and efficient cleaning station. So, if you love cleaning your guns, the Bore-Max Workstation is like a dream hobby bench. And if you hate cleaning your guns, the Bore-Max Workstation helps you get it done quickly with no fuss and without giving up valuable space. Everybody wins!

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