So has anyone run a sling like this before? Somewhere along the way I’ve acquired one with plastic hooks… never used it and I was wondering as I buy my first AR if I should buy a new sling or if this one is worth giving a try… near as I can tell it’s like the one in this link:
My luck with Zahal stuff has been hit or miss. There’s a couple of rail parts that were top notch, but the couple of nylon pieces I’ve worked with have been ‘eh’ at best.
My advice is stick with US made for slings. SpecOps Brand’s Mamba if you’re needing a lot of configuability, the SpecOps Brand Lonestar for single points and the Blue Force Gear VCAS sling for two point use. Just my .02… ymmv
I’ve used similar slings in the past and have had no issues. Sometimes simple is better and thats about as simple as it gets. One of the Sgt’s on a neighboring SWAT team uses a simple two point sling and swears by it. The advantage of the IDF sling in my eyes was that it was longer which made a difference wearing it over bulky body armor.
At my house, slings are like holsters. There are ones laying around I’ve used and found lacking or have been replaced with something I like better. They seem to multiply with time. Keep it and try it and if you don’t like it you can always use it on a bug out bag or something. Having used one, two and three point slings at one time or another I can say (and sure that others will agree) they all have their strengths and weaknesses. It all depends on what your needs are.
I’ve recently started experimenting with the Gunslinger sling from Emdom USA. It can go from a standard two point to a one point pretty quick so I’ll try it out and see if I like it or not.
http://prostores2.carrierzone.com/servlet/emdomusa/Detail?no=57
All the IDF slings I’ve sold over the years (and currently have in stock) have had coated metal hooks with paracord for attachment. I’ve not seen one with a platstic hook…could it be a coated metal version you mistook for plastic?
I’m pretty sure it’s plastic… the hooks are super light and don’t feel like there’s much strength to them… I assumed para cord was the intended attachment, but mine definitely didn’t come with it… if I’m remembering correctly it was sent to me as a secret santa thing on a different forum, so I am completely unsure of it’s origin, I just know I was told it’s an IDF sling and it seems to match up with the pics I’ve found.
Also, the sling in the link above has plastic hardware according to the website (though mine doesn’t have the IDF seal on it anywhere)…
I’ve got one from Zahal with the plastic hooks and I’ve never had a single issue with it. Side sling swivel on the front and para cord on the back.
I’ve had it about 4 years.
I have both plastic and metal hardware on my various IDF slings. They are the only sling I run. I love them because of the versatility and simplicity. You retain the good old two point attachment but can run it in “tactical” style carry too.
At first I was leary of the plastic, but I’ve never had an issue with it.
just for reference, those of you who have had no issue with the plastic snap hooks, have you run them hard? In a class?
I have. Not a problem. There are actually like 4 or 5 variants of the IDF sling.