HiperFire Trigger Review
Major Pandemic 04.08.14
If you have not heard about the HiperFire line of single-stage triggers, you should seriously consider them. They are absolutely awesome from the HiperTouch 24 to the enhanced HiperTouch 24E to the super tuned 24C competition model. Yeah, I know you’ve heard it all before, but this time it’s different.
HiperTouch’s founder, Terry Bender, had an idea to overcome many of the shortcomings of “match” triggers. Terry is not just some guy filing down sears and swapping out low power springs in his garage. He is a mechanical engineering consultant. The approach to the HiperTouch design was new from the ground up.
Why HiperTouch is Different
The ultimate challenge for a great tactical/hunting trigger is to deliver a smooth, fast, and flat pre-travel, very fast trigger reset, minimize lock time, assure a crisp light break, and have no noticeable overtravel, all while delivering a high hammer fall impact. With match target triggers, the goals are the same, but with even more refinement of all the above with no perceptible pretravel.
The problem is that many of these trigger design goals are all opposing forces. A smooth, fast, and flat pretravel and crisp, light, final break all require low forces at the sear, which equates to the need for lighter hammer and trigger springs, which can lead to light hammer strikes and less reliable ignition.
In standard trigger designs, very fast trigger resets, minimized lock times, and high hammerfall impact require heavy springs, which creates a crappy feeling, heavy trigger.
The final dimension is tuning out pre-travel, overtravel, and ensuring a crisp trigger break, all of which is impacted by the above light or heavy springs. Bad tuning can further impact reliability and safety. The end result is that trigger engineers have their work cut out for them to strike a balance for a great trigger.
The compromise has been either a great single stage trigger, which may have a light hammer strike here and there with hard primers, or a 2-stage, which has a 1st stage pre travel that some claim slows down followup shots.
HiperTouch’s magic comes courtesy of a spring cam-ed pressure on the hammer, which counteracts much of the hammer spring force within the first couple of degrees of movement around the point of sear engagement. This delivers the perfect situation for a great feeling trigger and break. After the hammer begins to move forward, the cam applies pressure the other way and greatly increases the hammer force. This increases hammer fall force, decreases lock time, etc. It’s a best of both worlds design and is a totally new trigger design.
The HiperFire has three spring sets (light, medium-light, and medium). Initially, I though the heaviest, strongest spring would deliver the heaviest trigger pull, but it is the other way around. The strongest spring exerts more pressure on the cam and delivers the lightest trigger feel. This is what the dual spring and cam design of the HiperFire triggers does. It’s a mind screw when you first pull back the extra force hammer and have such a light trigger pull.
Fit, Finish, Feel, Features, and Functions
The Hipertouch 24, 24E & 24C all shared many key features. All of the triggers are AR-15/AR-10 fire-control compatible with any lower receiver that uses industry standard .154″ receiver pins. The triggers are screwless “hard” tuned with static precision springs, which inherently makes the trigger more reliable than a screw tuned design that can go out of “tune”. The user can tune the trigger at 2,3, and 4 pounds with the three supplied spring sets.
Essentially, all three of these semi-automatic HiperTouch HiperFire triggers are identical once the hammer begins to fall, and all deliver best-in-class hammer fall force. Of course, with all these similarities, many will ask what is the difference between them and why wouldn’t you just opt for the best automatically. The answer is trigger tuning feel. You certainly do not want a super sensitive trigger on a duty/defense rifle, and similarly you would not want a longer pre-travel trigger on a precision match target rifle.
I HiperTouch 24 $185.00
The focus of the base HiperTouch 24 is to deliver a high performance “no modification” drop-in trigger upgrade for service/defense/duty rifles. For safety in high stress environments, the 24 delivers a flat but short and smooth pre-travel with a fast reset. By comparison, the pre-travel for this model is just a tad bit longer than the cassette design CMC and Timney triggers, but the 24’s pre-travel is shorter than what you would find on a Geissele 2-stage trigger.
The HiperTouch 24 is on a pretty even feel with the CMC from a feel and intent, but the CMC has less take-up but the HiperTouch has a better break. In this case, I would say the HiperTouch would best suited to those builds that demand accuracy and a margin of safety. For a defensive rifle, this would be the trigger I would choose in the lineup.
II HiperTouch 24E $215.00
The 24Elite has the initial pre-travel, delivers a faster reset, and the post reset pre-travel is also shortened. In essence, the 24E is tuned to be about twice as sensitive as the base 24 model for the needs of the competitive shooter, hunter, and precision LE/Military sniper.
I would not put this trigger in a general purpose defense AR-15, but if you had a defense rifle that you also use for competition and precision long-range shooting, this wild be a great go-to option. This trigger is similar to the very light AR-Gold and Timney triggers, but it can achieve an even lighter trigger feel with a very crisp break. The 24E has just enough pre-travel to be a very safe trigger, but it still delivers a match quality trigger feel.
III HiperTouch 24C $235.00
Many shooters, including me, will say the 24Competition Model has no pre-travel, no over-travel, and a stunningly light break. Obviously there is some sort of travel, but it is so little the finger cannot perceive it. Adding the flat straight trigger blade and adjustable shoe increases trigger control significantly.
This is an incredibly fast running trigger that I would love to see one of the top speed shooters run. The splits are incredibly fast. You are going to see more and more 3 Gunners running this trigger simply because it is so fast and light. That said, it is too sensitive for a defensive focused AR-15 build in my opinion simply because the trigger seems to lack any perceptible pre-travel at all. To me, it most closely aligns to a Geissele National Match trigger but in a single stage design.
The flat trigger design has become a favorite of mine in all sorts of formats from 10/22 rimfire rifles to the AR-15. With the 24C, the tunable trigger shoe offers another advantage for both finger comfort and fine tuning of trigger weight.
I mounted this in my SanTan Tactical lower receiver and clipped on a 5.45×39 upper, which shoots extra hard Russian Surplus rounds. Generally, I will have 1 in 200 that will fail to detonate, but the 24C greatly reduced that soft strike failure rate to only about 1 in 500. This shows that even the top end of the HiperTouch line can still bring it for both a stunning trigger feel and best in class hammer fall force.
Final Thoughts
You will see these triggers quite a bit in builds going forward simply because I believe HiperTouch has built a truly innovative design that actually works both theoretically and in practical use. The prices are extremely competitive to other high quality triggers in the market, as well. The 24 is a screaming great deal with no tunable trigger in the $185 MSRP price range.
The HiperFire HiperTouch is an outstanding line of triggers that is turning heads in the industry and changing minds about what a great trigger can be.
Specs
Shared Features of all Hipertouch triggers
- No Screws, No Lower Modifications
- AR15/10 Fire-Control
- Robust Single Stage, Semi-Auto
- User-Set Weights: Light, Med-Light, Medium (2-4lbs)
- Small Pins: .154″ Dia.
- Best in Class Hammer Fall
I HIPERTOUCH 24 $185.00
- Focus – High Performance, Service Rifle Upgrade
- Smooth, Fast, Flat Pre-Travel & Reset
II HIPERTOUCH 24E $215.00
- 24Elite Enhancements
- Focus – Competitive Shooters, Precision Hunting, & Precision LE/Military
- Pre-Travel is Halved, Faster Reset
- From Reset, Pre-Travel Shortened Again
- Best in Class Reset
III HIPERTOUCH 24C $235.00
- 24Competition Enhancements
- Focus – 3Gun, DMR/match target
- Straight Trigger, Use w/ or w/o Exclusive Shoe
- HIPERSHOE™: Fine tune Travel & Weight
- Fast Splits and Controllable Repeat Fire
- Retains Best in Class Reset
