Just wandering if most of the members here don’t like YHM handguards. While perusing most of the picture threads I’ve noticed that most members choose Larue, DD, and some KAC rails but I don’t really recall seeing any YHM’s. Because they are half the price are the half as good? Or do you just prefer one company over the other?
Brandon
YHM stuff has a bad reputation with many here, and not just their rails. Hopefully some of the more experienced members will stop by to share their experiences. I have had no problems with mine, so far. That is a sample size of one, and not a lot of hard use, though.
I have a YHM Diamond in spectre-length (9.65") on one of my uppers. I just needed a rail, and didn’t want to spend much money to put a rail on a mediocre upper (my Bushy carbine). It serves its purpose just fine. While I haven’t had any problems so far with mine, it isn’t as well designed as the other rails I’ve handled. My other uppers wear DD Omega rails right now. The YHM is round and ends up feeling very fat compared to the Omega. It also doesn’t feel nearly as sturdy. The Omega feels like I could use it to hammer 16 penny nails all day long without affecting the zero on my rifle. I like that feeling. If there’s ever a hammer-shortage, I’m all set. 
Is it an okay deal for about half the money? Lots of the people here will tell you not to bother with anything that’s not the top-of-the-line stuff. For a serious social-use gun, I agree. It’s the same as with most of the other parts on an AR. You get what you pay for, and if you want a go-to gun, you have to pay for it. But for my Bushy, which is now relegated to use at the range, it works just fine.
/YMMV
They tend to be sharp, large and heavy.
Spend a little more and get a LT or DD rail.
C4
I buy YHM because I am not in the Corps and dont expect my rifle to be run over by a 7 ton and I only use it to attach flashlights. I have 6 of them. I use locktite on the screws to keep the tube stable and have not had an issue with them. They are what they are - and I dont run VFGs…
I get mine for under or around 100$ and spend the 200$ (or 1200$ for all 6) on ammo and training.
I’m going to spring for DD Omega rail from Grant in the near future. I don’t suggest YHM. I’ve gone through some hoops to discover their tower is not milled or cast properly. It leaned causing about 25 - 30 clicks to the right. I won’t be buying anything YHM in the future. The supplier is swiftly replacing the tower with a Daniel Defense.
I have the YHM diamond cut spectre length FF as well. It is on my MP15 and I didn’t want to sink more money into a Tier2 rifle (It is a perfectly functioning rifle thus far). My attitude at the time, as this was my first rifle, was that it’s way cheaper, and it’s functional, so why bother with a Daniel Defense? I felt this way up until I purchased my DDM4…
The YHM handguards are really FAT as St. Judas said. They are very beefy and a number or machining steps that could have made them lighter were skipped, so they are heavy. As Grant mentioned, the rail edges tend to be very sharp and can very easily cut you without rail covers. My DD VFG will not fit onto my YHM rail, but the YHM rail does accept other VFGs.
The DD Omega 12.0 FSP beats it in all these areas. It also just straight feels better in my hands. Now, I am not LEO or military, but I like knowing that I can count on my equipment to function 100% and fit in my hands comfortably. I don’t think that YHM handguards make your gun only good for the range, but I do think that when you purchase Larue or DD you pay more (about double or triple) to squeeze that extra 20-30% out of the item. In my opinion, the difference in weight, balance, and ergos makes up for this extra cost as you will hopefully own this rifle for a lifetime.
The YHM rails are heavy, wide, and the edges are sharp. When you put rail covers on it it is even wider. Not so great.
Since the fore-end is one of your key interfaces with the rifle I would spend the extra $100 or so and go with a DD rail - they are light, narrow and smooth. Also I think every DD rail ships with 3 ladder rail covers - a $30 value.
You can get black ergo ladder rail covers for $2 and colored ones for $5 at Botach. Yes I know everyone hates them, but sometimes they do come through especially on price.
Cool - I always thought any rail ladder at $10 was too much. Still dont know I want to risk Botach to - they smell bad even 400 miles away in LA. 
My personal experience with them has been mixed, sometimes it’s been bad, but in the end I’ve always gotten what I ordered. There have been a few mistakes and delays, but since the post-election craze they have gotten better. I ordered my ladder rail covers from them, along with my TLR1, Aimpoint H1, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It all arrived fine. I would say, for non emergency things, such as ladder rail covers, they are worth the risk. Their prices are VERY low, and with that 15% off they have right now, big ticket items are all of a sudden very affordable.
Brandon
I have a couple for a number of years and they work fine. I got mine back when YHM first came out with their free float rail. Back then there were not many free floating rail manufacturers it was mostly just tubes. As a matter of fact my carbine rail was so new it was from the first batch sold and they forgot to machine the front threads for the insert. They sent a new one and I shipped the old back in the same box, they had shipped me their test run prototype the first time.
They are large, but I have big hands so its fine for me even with rail covers. I was mainly after the accuracy benefit from free floating barrels, anyways.
Here are what my two look like today.
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee73/tangotag_bucket/IMG_4096.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee73/tangotag_bucket/IMG_4106.jpg
With all the other options available now, I will try the thinner and lighter models from other manufacturers in the future for my newer rifles.
I’ve cried “foul” on YHM for a minute.
As previously stated, their rails are extremely heavy. In my case, they were quite out-of-spec.
My experience with YHM has been enough to where I don’t believe they are a bargain at any price.
I’ve had issues with products from one of the site sponsors here, so I won’t get into it, but they’re on my shit-list as well.
Two broken sling-mounts and a rail even MORE out-of-spec than the YHM.
I don’t have any experience with LaRue rails, but Daniel Defense’s products are exceptional.
I always like to ask people (that like YHM rails) if they have ever had to take one apart (after it has been red loctited on).
To me, one of the important parts of a rail system is if I can easily get it apart.
C4
I have a YHM Diamond rail on my S&W with a low profile gas block. I haven’t had any problems with it at all. The edges do seem a bit sharp, but a couple of rail covers took care of that. As far as weight goes, I don’t think they are heavy at all. I have a Magpul stock and with the YHM rail it balances just about perfectly. As a matter of fact, my father-in-law was amazed at how balanced it is. They are slightly larger in diameter than some that I looked at, but as a previous poster mentioned, I have large hands and it fits me well. Quality is excellent, and it is extremely solid mounted on the rifle. I compared it with a friend’s that has a Troy rail and to me the Troy seemed somewhat heavier in the front.
Jeff