Guys.. as usual there's a lot of the same people having the same arguments. Those that have been customers of ours for a long time and know what to expect, and others that just ride us for sh!ts and giggles at every chance. Neither do anything for the rest of people that are just trying to tune in to see what the OP has to say. That being said, we still appreciate those that are willing to give us the benefit of the doubt before going off..
The fact is that there was enough comment about the clamping method that we scrapped (yes, scrapped & destroyed) 200 handguards and changed it up. Part of the reason that we had a delay in production. We ate it because we didn't want to spend every day going forward seeing these kinds of arguments and having to repeatedly defending our decisions. Unfortunately a dozen of these first versions still made it out before the change. To that end, we'll be letting our customers know that have one of these 12 and they wish to swap them out they can do so at no cost.
We ran some tests and reduced the clamp cut length by almost half. This provides a cleaner "look" while maintaining sufficient clamping force. This also addresses the issue of the minor deflection at the top-rear of the handguard. To address the concern with the screws used to attach the rail, please understand that our rails have steel Helicoils installed to ensure that they can take use and abuse. Also understand that our rails with the two lateral clamps provide 1/2 the stress to the attachment devices than the models with one clamp.
While these are cosmetic changes, we decided to make them to put people at ease.
Why did we decide to clamp from the sides?? Well there were a few reasons for this. Primarily, everyone and their dog uses the same bottom clamp. It's cheap and easy to do. We weren't interested in copying others designs, we researched and tested to look for the most optimum attaching method within our specifications. More importantly; it had to attach to a standard barrel nut and not download the cost of a custom attachment device to the customer because of an engineering workaround. Lets try and use what you already have.
In order to attach to a standard barrel nut you require a little more 'clamp' to overcome the outer ridge when installing and securing. Lateral clamps provide twice the grip and security while ensuring that the handguards require no special mounting tools or accessories and can be attached to the greatest variety of existing receivers in use. We don't want to only provide a product that fits OUR rifle.. but everyone elses as well.
Our handguards are designed as utilitarian pieces. They're lightweight and effective. They were designed with the input of our existing clients as well as many law enforcement and military personnel in several countries. we wanted to provide a product that got the job done and was versatile enough meet mission-specific objectives, while feeling just as at home at the range. It does not have the space to attach 3ft of rail covers.. some people don't like that. It does however have the room to attach any required accessories.
While we respect other peoples tastes, I hope they respect ours. If everyone liked the same thing there'd be only one RAS system out there.. this is not the case. Ours met the goals and needs of our company and those of our clients. We are happy with the outcome, and we know that once you wrap your hands around one of our rifles you will as well.
