I can’t make up my mind between a VIS upper or one with the SWS rail. Is one much heavier than the other? the SWS website has their 7" rail listed as 9 oz which seems really light. The VIS also looks nice and as far as I know might save weight on mounting hardware. I know with an 18" barrel the weight of the rail won’t be as obvious but I may have the barrel fluted to lighten it up down the road. I remember reading something about how the SWS rail includes or acts as a heat sink. Does anyone have a picture of this? How does it work (or does it)?
noveske SWS rails are special for noveske, and i dont have any experience with them. but the SWS rails sold to the public have a big ass steel barrel nut that shrouds the first 4" or so of barrel… i dont know how this compares to larue’s and DD’s heat sinking ability, but i know both of those rails sink heat pretty good
My Noveske has the SWS rail and it has been awesome. Having said that, between the two if I had had the extra cash I would have bought the VIS. I would prefer to have the one piece system that the VIS offers.
If you’re going to use the upper for an actual SPR build, I’d go for the VIS purely for functionality. It’ll allow you to use the entire picatinny surface without having to worry about bridging a gap between the upper and handguards.
Aesthetically, the SWS rails look and feel nicer (IMO). The weight will be about the same on both.
The SWS rails are very light. The only rails that are lighter (that I’m aware of) are the DD Lites. They rails themselves don’t act as heatsinks, but they are “fluted” somewhat as they have sections taken out in the midsections of the side rails. After reading bb’s post, it might be the barrel nut that absorbs heat. The SWS rails uses a proprietary nut locks the rails to the barrel, and then the rails themselves lock to the MUR upper via an anti-rotational pin.
I ended up going with the SWS rail on my Noveske. I like the idea of the VIS, but who knows what rails will be available in a year or two? I like the option of changing out rails if a vastly superior product shows up on the market. With the VIS, you have a VIS and thats it.
I’m going to use the build as an SPR/toy and maybe a little 3-gun competition. I’d like to keep the whole thing around 8 lbs. I figure a fluted barrel/ VIS build would weight about that much but I can’t find anything that indicates the weight of the SWS 18" uppers compared to the VIS.
BTW, someone did a weight comparison of BCM uppers and if I remember correctly the 18" ones were less than 5 lbs with rail. Noveske lists their 18" lo pro upper as 5 lbs 6 oz, where does that extra weight come from?
I can’t really answer your question, but if I were you, I would call Noveske directly, and find out the pros/cons of each option, as well as the weights.
Most likely the barrel contour and the MUR upper receiver. The MUR might add an ounce or two, plus Noveske uses a medium/semi-heavy barrel contour. Most 3-gunners cut down the Noveske SPR’s to 17" to get rid of extra weight and length. They are somewhat front-heavy, since they’re designed first and foremost as accuracy rigs.
Most likely the barrel contour and the MUR upper receiver. The MUR might add an ounce or two, plus Noveske uses a medium/semi-heavy barrel contour. Most 3-gunners cut down the Noveske SPR’s to 17" to get rid of extra weight and length. They are somewhat front-heavy, since they’re designed first and foremost as accuracy rigs. I’d also guess that, in the case of the SWS rails, the barrel nut adds an extra ounce or so.
I can’t speak of the VIS as I don’t have one, but the Noveske/SWS rail is very narrow, is pinned internally to the upper receiver for anti rotation, and it has multiple QD swivel sockets. The VIS doesn’t have the QD swivel sockets.
I’m very impressed with the SWS/Noveske rail on my N4 low profile.
My SWS rail is solid and well made, but I wouldn’t call it lightweight. That barrel nut is 5 oz alone. My 11" rail - including the barrel nut - weighs in at 19oz. It is several ounces heavier than competing rails from LaRue and Daniel Defense.
