Sell me on M-Lok

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herrwalther

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I got very used to having quad rails from Knights Armament on my duty M4s. While I am not interested in shelling out that much money for rails I was convinced I wanted and needed quad rails for my personal AR to replace the standard handguards. I had no interest in M-Lok.

So I started looking at M-Lok. I like the cost, even the big box store sells the length I need for about $35. Bottom rail section for a vertical grip and flashlight would be about $10 more. Which puts it about half the price of even the cheapest metal quad rails I can find. My biggest concerns are comfort, build quality, and how well they can support at most 2 rail sections. Rifle in question is a PTAC 18" upper.
 
A major advantage of M-Lok is the ability to forego pic rails and mount gear directly to the slots. Rail adapters are fine, but it's really nice to get closer profiling with direct mount gear.

I have a couple Midwest m-lok forends, they'll take as much rail as can fit. The best part is to not have a cheese grater feel when you don't have gear mounted. The midwests are a nice and slim profile as well, which feels great in hand. If a guy misses the fat profile of a KAC quad rail, you can throw on rail sections and covers. Lots of options.
 
I changed from quad to M-Lok primarily for the slimness and smoothness. They are very versatile, strong, accept about whatever you want to attach to them to include assorted lengths of rails if desired, very affordable, etc.
 
I also switched from quad rail to KeyMod to now M-Lok - Smaller, lighter and more comfortable feel to hand.

I see M-Lok as natural evolution of gun technology like use of risers/two piece mounts to one piece cantilever scope mount for ARs.
 
I wouldn't buy that cheap of an mlock rail. $35 dollars is going to get you a heavy low quality rail with a suspect mounting system. I really like the ALG rails for price/quality. They are a sister company to giesselle. They have a blem sale going on now and you can find one for under $100 prob. If you really have to go low budget matrix at joebob outfitters are cheap and not terrible. Guntec gets ok feedback on TOS Primary arms sells them.

The advantage of mlock over quad rail is overall smaller circumference and weight. You can buy direct mlock accessories or put rails where you need them but they don't have to be every e where. I also think mlock rails are more comfortable than quad rails
 
I've got both and they both work.

Prefer M-LOK because it's thinner and all the Magpul crap you can put on it. Also it doesn't make my carbine look like big box store shelving.......

Chuck
 
I had a quad rail on an AR. It was a buzz saw on barricades without the rail covers, and it was so bulky it felt like the fore end was made from a true 4x4 with the rail covers on.

I popped on an M-lok fore end i got from BCM, and the thing is a lot more user friendly now; it is much thinner to grasp and doesn't feel like a saw blade in your hands, etc.

The only thing I have mounted on it is a Streamlight light.
 
I think it's more like old fashioned light bulbs, then you had to buy the curly ones. And b4 the curly's went out, you were supposed to ditch those for LEDs. Spend spend spend so says the lightbulb companies
 
M-Lok's big advantage over KeyMod (which I prefer) is that is can work is softer materials like polymers.

Mike
 
Varminterror said:
A major advantage of M-Lok is the ability to forego pic rails and mount gear directly to the slots. Rail adapters are fine, but it's really nice to get closer profiling with direct mount gear.
Click to expand...

While interesting of note, it isn't much help to me. The fore end grip and light I want to use are not Magpul so I would need to add at least one rail section for those. How much does the rail stick out from the M-Lok guard? If it sticks out farther than a normal quad rail, I may rethink what I want to keep things balanced.

C-grunt said:
Quality is going to vary substantially between rails. What rail are you looking at and we can give you a better idea.
Click to expand...

UTG caught my eye. Like this one. I know UTG can have spotty quality wheras Magpul has a better reputation. Which is part of the reason I am getting interested in the M-Lok
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...-15-rifle-length-matte-with-black-rail-guards

Everready73 said:
I wouldn't buy that cheap of an mlock rail. $35 dollars is going to get you a heavy low quality rail with a suspect mounting system. I really like the ALG rails for price/quality.
Click to expand...

Not sure where you are seeing M-Lok for more. Around $40 is the average price I find both online and in the stores that carry it.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/237345/magpul-handguard-moe-m-lok-ar-15-polymer
 
herrwalther said:
While interesting of note, it isn't much help to me. The fore end grip and light I want to use are not Magpul so I would need to add at least one rail section for those. How much does the rail stick out from the M-Lok guard? If it sticks out farther than a normal quad rail, I may rethink what I want to keep things balanced.
Click to expand...

Here's my 13.5" M-Lok. The top has an integrated rail. Look closely at the bottom and you'll see a 2" section of rail. That's how much it sticks out.

1OTAoSQ.jpg

ORFWQPe.jpg
 
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I like M-Lok because at maximum there is a flashlight on my carbine. Don't need rails all over the place. Just the top is fine.

I like'em slim and smooth. Lightweight is a bonus.

I am a "get what you pay for" kinda guy so I try not to cheap out on most gun stuff.

This is my 14.5 with welded muzzle brake on a 13" rail:
EIqVkjrV7oUERgtdCSLQDrth00MfZUrwQZRV7MIx-1bDUqRv_N4PppRw4wZK3JjUDnkavGPIJCU8pzwIxfj=w649-h433-no.jpg
 
herrwalther said:
While interesting of note, it isn't much help to me. The fore end grip and light I want to use are not Magpul so I would need to add at least one rail section for those. How much does the rail stick out from the M-Lok guard? If it sticks out farther than a normal quad rail, I may rethink what I want to keep things balanced.
Click to expand...

Not all rails are equal, as more than just Magpul make mlok compatible rail sections. The magpul rails are quite low profile, certainly as close or closer than conventional fixed rail sections. Equally, the outer diameters of most m-lok handguard tube bodies are smaller than that of fixed quad rails. Traditional quad rails have all of the rails standing to the same diametwe as the top rail, which is excessively tall to clear the gas tube. Whereas with mlok hand guards, the top rail is taller, then the body a smaller diameter, with the mounted rails smaller in OD than the top rail. Viewed from the end, an mlok handguard with 3, 6, and 9 o'clock rails added would look egg shaped, as the top rail will stand up taller than the other 3 from the bore axis.

Magpul isn't the only company making mlok compatible accessories. Mlok seems to have won the battle over keymod, so it has a much broader offering of accessories. Picatinny remains to be the most common, but mlok has a lot of offering in the market. If you want particular pic accessories, then mlok rails are pretty affordable compared to many other types.

I have picatinny AFG's on standard quad rails, mlok from Midwest, and proprietary modular rails for Troy handguards. The mlok is the tightest/closest fitting, aka lowest profile of the 3, and of course, the mlok guard diameter is the smallest so it has the smallest overall profile.

Of course, I'm sure there are large diameter mlok handguards out there too, if someone wants a big fat handguard. The rail sections would still ride closer than a conventional pic rail.

Another advantage is how low profile the mounting hardware is on the inside of the rail. Which is quite nice if you want to pull your handguard and service your barrel without removing all of your accessories to clear your GB.
 
herrwalther said:
UTG caught my eye. Like this one. I know UTG can have spotty quality wheras Magpul has a better reputation. Which is part of the reason I am getting interested in the M-Lok
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...-15-rifle-length-matte-with-black-rail-guards
Click to expand...

Mlok is the attachment method not the forend. Magpul invented the Mlok attachment and made it opensource. Because of that many companies make rails with Mlok attachment. If you are wanting a quality Mlok rail for a good price I would highly suggest looking at ALG Defense.
 
To the OP your request is ambiguous. Most people are assuming you want feedback on aluminum tubular MLok Compatible free float forends. It appears that's not what you are considering.
 
Not sure where you are seeing M-Lok for more. Around $40 is the average price I find both online and in the stores that carry it.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/237345/magpul-handguard-moe-m-lok-ar-15-polymer
Click to expand...

Ahhh, I see the disconnect, I think. You're looking at a drop-in handguard that snaps into the standard AR-15 handguard retainer and delta ring, not a whole forend tube that free-floats the barrel and comes with it's own barrel nut and attachment system. When most folks say "rails" they tend to mean a full forend tube, and that's going to be more costly than a drop in handguards set.
 
Sam1911 said:
Ahhh, I see the disconnect, I think. You're looking at a drop-in handguard that snaps into the standard AR-15 handguard retainer and delta ring, not a whole forend tube that free-floats the barrel and comes with it's own barrel nut and attachment system. When most folks say "rails" they tend to mean a full forend tube, and that's going to be more costly than a drop in handguards set.
Click to expand...
Yea, I assumed he was looking at NcStar brand rail or something. The Magpul polymer ones are solid if that is what you want. I assumed you were thinking an aluminum thats why i recommended ALG. Lots of choices. Midwest and Troy make drop in ones that are aluminum but not sure how much money you want to put in it, but be sure to get the correct length based off of the upper specs. You will need midlength or rifle length depending on the gas system of the 18 inch upper referenced
 
Nanook said:
To me, a quad rail is like grabbing a pineapple. Not comfortable at all. I switched to an M-lok and didn't look back.

I have a quad rail sitting in a drawer now.
Click to expand...
Exactly. Regarding my short rail on the bottom of the handguard pic, it was a temporary deal. I have an adapter for a camera tripod to which I can attach a railed whatever. I was doing some initial bore sighting using the tripod.
 
C-grunt said:
Mlok is the attachment method not the forend. Magpul invented the Mlok attachment and made it opensource. Because of that many companies make rails with Mlok attachment. If you are wanting a quality Mlok rail for a good price I would highly suggest looking at ALG Defense.
Click to expand...

That makes sense.

1KPerDay said:
To the OP your request is ambiguous. Most people are assuming you want feedback on aluminum tubular MLok Compatible free float forends. It appears that's not what you are considering.
Click to expand...

Sam1911 said:
Ahhh, I see the disconnect, I think. You're looking at a drop-in handguard that snaps into the standard AR-15 handguard retainer and delta ring, not a whole forend tube that free-floats the barrel and comes with it's own barrel nut and attachment system. When most folks say "rails" they tend to mean a full forend tube, and that's going to be more costly than a drop in handguards set.
Click to expand...

To help clarify, my AR upper came with standard A2 handguards. I am looking at handguards that are either quad rail or like M-Lok that allow modular rail sections where I need them. I have always referred to "rails" as the slots to put stuff on an AR.

Varminterror said:
Not all rails are equal, as more than just Magpul make mlok compatible rail sections. The magpul rails are quite low profile, certainly as close or closer than conventional fixed rail sections. Equally, the outer diameters of most m-lok handguard tube bodies are smaller than that of fixed quad rails. Traditional quad rails have all of the rails standing to the same diametwe as the top rail, which is excessively tall to clear the gas tube. Whereas with mlok hand guards, the top rail is taller, then the body a smaller diameter, with the mounted rails smaller in OD than the top rail. Viewed from the end, an mlok handguard with 3, 6, and 9 o'clock rails added would look egg shaped, as the top rail will stand up taller than the other 3 from the bore axis.
Click to expand...

I noticed that when I pulled some out of the box off the shelf at Academy the other day. Looked a little odd to me since I was used to the larger outer diameter of full size quad rails. Made sense to see the relief cut in the foreend to allow for the gas tube.
 
The ALG EMR v2 rail doesn't have a top rail. Round and slim. But you have to watch out for the gas tube if you move your hand too far back, you can contact it and get reminded what hot feels like.

ALGEMR-V2-M-LOK-3.jpg
 
You could always shave the FSP down and run a longer rail as well. Troy, Midwest, and Centurion make two piece rails that work with the front site Post as well. They are more than the magpul, but are aluminum, not poly
 
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