KeyMod vs M-LOK Test Conducted at NSWC-Crane

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The most remarkable differences between the two types of attachments was observed during repeatability testing. With variations measured in MOA, KeyMod exhibited a spread from 0.2 to 14.6 while M-LOK varied from 0.0 To 6.6 POA shift.

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http://soldiersystems.net/2017/05/0...keymod-vs-m-lok-test-conducted-at-nswc-crane/
 
but why? I don't get it..If the rail is of the same materials, they are using the same type of pic rail attachments to put stuff on the rail why is there such a noted difference
 
My guess'd be the attachment system/lockup for rail sections/accessories on the KeyMod vs M-LOK.
 
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Throwing in my worthless 2 cents. When keymod came out I hated it. I came to the same conclusion of the ugly supermarket shelving system on a gun but after using it for many years it became extremely versatile. Ease of use keymod wins, I absolutely hate mlok systems I would pick a standard quadrail over it any day of the week and that's not due to looks its due to wrestling sections on that piece of shit setup
 
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Noveske13 said:
Throwing in my worthless 2 cents. When keymod came out I hated it. I came to the same conclusion of the ugly supermarket shelving system on a gun but after using it for many years it became extremely versatile. Ease of use keymod wins, I absolutely hate mlok systems I would pick a standard quadrail over it any day of the week and that's not due to looks its due to wrestling sections on that piece of shit setup
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The good news for keymod fans is keymod isn't going away anytime soon - there are lots of keymod handguards out there, and there are more keymod accessories on the market than m-lok accessories (though that will change over time as the M-Lok market grows).

Hell, quad rails are still alive and kicking and haven't been eliminated by tubular rails (pre-keymod/m-lok, such as Troy, MI, Geissele, etc.) or Keymod or M-Lok.
 
drypowder said:
This is the death knell for keymod that sheer ugliness was not.

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Yes the mall ninjas will make it so. I can't see how repeatability makes a hill of beans worth of difference for a keymod or mlok attachment. The only thing I could possibly think of is a laser and who is going to be mounting and unmounting a laser? But now we know which one is "best".

Seriously I have no problem with one of them dying, standardization is a good thing. I would base it more on the ease of adding attachments and how secure they remain under rough handling, not something for which 99% of folks will never notice.
 
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SDIVER2006 said:
but why? I don't get it..If the rail is of the same materials, they are using the same type of pic rail attachments to put stuff on the rail why is there such a noted difference
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This is not about mounting stuff on the pic rail, it's about mounting stuff on the side or bottom using the mlok or keymod systems.
 
Flashpoint said:
Yes the mall ninjas will make it so.
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Actually it's the reverse. The military and law enforcement drive the mall ninja market. Note that there have been plenty of civilian consumers bashing keymod ever since m-lok came out, but that didn't change anything and many of the high end manufacturers stuck with Keymod over M-Lok.

SOCOM commissioning this comparison testing, and presumably choosing M-Lok over Keymod, will move the needle.
 
I went with m-lok simply because I don't like the looks of keymod. Now this seems to make it a better choice.


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i can see why this would matter for US forces as rail mounted IR lasers and what not, and stuff would get thrown off.

But for your average joe shooter it's not really gonna make much difference. All my free float rails are Samson evolution rails and the are keymod. Key mod or not I got the rails cause they were a good bargain and don't regret it one bit

A mounting system is not gonna make or break my shooting.
 
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I have a keymod rail I got for a good price from PSA a while back. Didn't even know there was much of a difference. Not sure with my style of use I ever will either.


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Been sayin' this was coming for awhile... I don't put anything on a rail that would require a zero. So, don't care about that. It's just aesthetics for me. Of course I'm not an operator so it's not a matter of life of death either... Most of my ARs still have some form of proprietary rail system... VTAC still doesn't suck either...
 
B00ger said:
I have a keymod rail I got for a good price from PSA a while back. Didn't even know there was much of a difference. Not sure with my style of use I ever will either.


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Same here; I got a stainless upper on sale for a good price from PSA early this year. It had a keymod rail. I didn't care. Also I built an upper several years ago (before M-LOK even came out), and I put a Rainier Evolution rail on it...which is Keymod. Those two rifles don't get shot as much, so, I'm not going to worry about it.
 
keymod would make more sense if A. the big part of the keyhole was pointed toward the muzzle instead of away. The way it would actually work with recoil securing said attachment instead of possibly loosening it. That'd be why I chose MLOK for an AR10, besides asthetics. Oh, and if you know what your doing, MLOK is easy AF to secure........tighten the screws all the way down, turn, insert, loosen until secure nut moves and turn in opposite direction. I'm a newb and it takes literally like 5 seconds.
 
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Repeatability is good, however for a soldier, or anyone that might use their rifle hard, I think the drop test and load tests are far more important. Conveniently the M-Lok system was shown superior there too. IIRC these were the major deciding factors for the Marines and Canadian forces.
 
drypowder said:
Hell, quad rails are still alive and kicking and haven't been eliminated by tubular rails (pre-keymod/m-lok, such as Troy, MI, Geissele, UTG Pro Militia etc.)
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He gets the UTG contingency to sign up with promises of secret access to the platinum section and what-not, then forgets all about them. I see how it is.
 
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The UTG lives on amongst you......quietly and affordably doing it's job, and doing it well!
 
Where Magpul gets you on M-Lok is the accessories. The M-Lok rails usually come bare. Back when tubular handguards were all the rage over quad rails, they'd come with a few rail sections. With the M-Lok rails, you might get one rail section piece; or you might not get any. Magpul now has you by the balls and even the smallest rail section (3 slots) made of polymer is $10: https://www.amazon.com/Magpul-Industries-Slots-M-LOK-Section/dp/B00PDKO760

Longer rail sections or those made from aluminum, go up in price.
 
I hate them both, in my worthless opinion keymod is worse but i went back to quad rail.
 
Ikarus1 said:
keymod would make more sense if A. the big part of the keyhole was pointed toward the muzzle instead of away. The way it would actually work with recoil securing said attachment instead of possibly loosening it.
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Don't things mounted on the gun "try" to move forward from recoil? The gun jerks rearward, while accessories "want" to stay still, which is effectively like pushing them forward?
It would be the opposite if you dropped the rifle vertically onto the stock - that would put force on the accessories to move them rearward
 
The research is solid and the data is good, but their 'n' is too small. The next logical step would to be a larger 'n' outside of the lab; and to repeat these same tests with rails of other manufacturers. Aside from this, the data are fairly conclusive.

Edited to add, I don't have a dog in this fight. I have used all three (KM, M-LOK, and pic rails) and don't have an issue with any of them.
 
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Humph. I also have some MOE handguards on rifles, some of which date back to before they were calling it M-Lok. Bought their light mount kit to put a light on one, and a few other attachment pieces. Never had a quad rail, though.
 
Have quad on my M&P 15x, mlok and one keymod on PSA uppers, that's how they came when purchased.
 
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