Been contemplating a while, what to build next. Finally decided to give the new m lok system a go. I personally feel that this will surpass the keymod, though time will tell. After reading up on the new offering from ALG Defense, I decided on their new m lok rail in a 13" form. Really happy I did, this is a very nice handling weapon.
The dirt:
14.5 PSA CHF M4A1 Profile Barrel w/A2X
Shaved FSB
PSA upper receiver (I’d typically go BCM, this one kind of fell into my lap)
BCM BCG
BCM gunfighter mod 4 CH
Aero Precision lower
Daniel Defense lpk
Magpul MOE+ grip (love these)
Vltor A5 system
Aimpoint C3
ALG Defense 13" M Lok tube
Irons will be Troy HK style (on order)
Magpul MS3 sling
I’ll be pumping at least 500 rounds through it Saturday. Shot it earlier today, cycles nice and smooth. I really like this rail, it’s light and very comfortable in the hand. I also must say, the two PSA M4A1 profile barrels I have seem to be very well gassed. Overall this is the cheapest one I’ve built and that was my goal. I feel like this is a nice setup for little money.
When you say “FN” barrel what you are really saying is a PSA barrel, correct? You do realize that when FN makes barrels for commercial companies they make them to their spec. That means if Bubba Gump Gun Works wants a 16" barrel with a .098 gas port, that’s what they will get.
Absolutely. In my industry we generally refer to parts made for companies by the manufacturer. Not trying to mislead anyone, just a habit that probably shouldn’t carry over in this instance.
I won’t go so far as to say I trust this weapon on any level I would my BCM’s and my Colt. This was a box of parts build, with the exception of the ALG rail.
M-LOK is backwards compatible with MOE accessories and is more versatile and easier to manufacture than either MOE slots or Keymod.
M-LOK just updates the MOE standard with a TDP that is open to all manufactures and was designed from the outset to be utilized on metal, polymer or carbon fiber mounting surfaces.
Here are a few M-LOK advantages over Keymod off the top of my head
M-LOK works over a wider material thickness range than Keymod.
M-LOK uses a flat nut that is suitable for polymer, metal and carbon fiber mounting surfaces.
M-LOK is a true direct attach system so a line of accessories mounted next to each other do not need to be slid off to remove just one piece.
M-LOK has better recoil/impact support than Keymod.
M-LOK uses a larger bolt and has greater direct surface contact than Keymod resulting is greater pull out strength (a single MLOK mount exceeds 300 lbs in all materials)
M-LOK accessories are multi directional (can be mounted forward or backwards).
M-LOK has a uniform internal edge that can be generously chamfered allowing a better feel on the hand than Keymods 45 degree under cuts.
M-LOK can use any of the millions of MOE accessories already fielded via an adapter plate.
M-LOK slots are much lower cost to manufacture than Keymod resulting in lower cost to consumers.
M-LOK nuts are much lower cost to manufacture than Keymod resulting in lower cost to consumers.
M-LOK bolts are commonly available (user replaceable) and allow more torque to be applied than Keymod.
M-LOK slots requires no special CNC cutters or complex injection molds to manufacture an undercut like Keymod resulting in lower cost to consumers.
Keymod does allow for a slightly lower QD mount than MLOK and is almost flush on the inside of the tube (that might affect those mounting suppressors internally within a small freefloat handguard)
titanse05 nailed my thoughts. I think keymod will be overshadowed by m-lok once Magpul starts releasing accessories. They’re both interesting designs, although I believe m-lok is simpler therefore more accessories will be released at a lower cost. Who knows what will truly happen… My vote is in m-lok for now. The downside to the ALG rail, is that it’s not a true m-lok compatible design being the mounting surface is rounded instead of flat. Not sure how this will play out and I certainly would have waited for a different design had I known this before acquiring the rail.
In addition to the advantages I copied over here I think that M-LOK wins in the aesthetic department. The biggest advantage is that Magpul will be making direct attachments for M-LOK and will not be making anything for keymod.
All this being said, a lot of people are already heavily invested in keymod so I would imagine that the market will support both systems.
I do find it interesting that Geissele made their M-Lok rail with flats and ALG made it rounded. Same company with two different approaches. If the rounded design works it will make for more comfortable rails.
Production simplicity is probably a part of the decision. It’s the same extrusions between both styles of the ALG EMR rails. They were already having those extrusions produced, now with a different machining job, they have M-LOK connections instead of the bolt and but block system on the original EMR.
