Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles MLok versus KeyMod?

Give me the pros/cons of MLok versus KeyMod handrail holes.

Is one faster, more secure, lighter, easier on the hands???

Is one emerging as the new "standard" for accessories?

Both work well if you install things right. I've got a few of each and no preference. Both good designs.

Key Mod can be installed backwards which has caused some issues of damaged rails and accessories coming loose. Installed correctly and it works great.

M-Lok can't be installed backwards and works better with plastic/polymer. They work too.

Even though both are freely licensed for manufacturers I think they are clearly divided into the MagPul camp and BCM/VLTOR camp. Neither is gonna make the other guys stuff, though some rails come either way.

Personally, I choose the hand guard I like best and don't worry about which mount design as long as it has a picatinny rail on top.

M-Lok seems like it is becoming the way forward.

Did a little online reading myself out of curiosity. Seems M-Lok is easier and cheaper to manufacture, as TWR stated above, in metal or polymer.

I never really paid much attention until I recently was buying a set of MagPul handguards, and saw that M-Lok had sort of replaced the MOE slots on the polymer stuff. So I did a little reading to see what it was and it seems it is out-selling KeyMod in most venues.

Plus keyholes are fugly......

Yep!

Thanks. One thing I enjoy about the Campfire is that I can get real opinions from real people about real gear. That's a lot better than the advertising/propaganda from the manufacturers and retailers.

M-Lok is more secure.

JMHO, Key mods are a little less "adjustable" or more fixed in mounting positions.

The key mod is set in a rigid pattern, the mount is going in hole A or B, you can't slide it forward or back in the slot if you need to adjust for clearance, reach, etc.

I think mloc is bit more flexible if you need to move mounts around your rails.

And not all keymod mounts have the proper lug to ensure it stays on.

Proper mounts, proper installation and keymod works but Mlok sure is simple.

That said, I bought the BCM ladder panels for my KM rail and they sure give it a good texture without adding bulk. That was my only gripe with the KMR, it was slick.

I look at it as a personal "boots and backpacks" type preference thing. As a logistical, cost effective, bang for the buck, marketing and supply thing,.....the magpul mlok is a great idea. Box store to large supply volume for big purchase orders, and use of plastic stuff, it's a WIN, WIN.

For an individual, quality, design thing, where higher manufacturing costs can be absorbed by a niche market,....the keymod is outstanding. Long gone are the huge and ugly quad rail crap that have the circumference of a football.

On the keymod portion of the rail, at most, I'm only running a scout light mount, a forward qd mount, and a small hand stop. I have no need to stack a bunch of stuff, and nothing I'm using is available box store. I fit into the niche market. For this individual need, I prefer my keymod vs mlok, though my favorite manufacturer, KAC, makes both.

If I were not running a KAC gas system with their keymod as a first choice, I'd likely run a BCM keymod as a second choice.

I also prefer the Keymod don't care for a plastic mount.

M-Lok works on metal or polymer.

Keymod is only for metal.

M-Lok is supposedly a stronger and simpler attachment, and is what military is standardizing on.

Keymod uses an undercut flush mount that maximizes strength for being lightweight and having minimum bulk. Someone using niche market high end mounts, who have no need or desire to stack numerous accessories against each other, will having a very sleek and light forend with ample internal clearance for suppressors, gas blocks and such. You will have no issues with lack of strength, it will be sleek and bombproof.

If on the otherhand, you have a need or want to fit, or retrofit any number of the many plastic Magpul accessories, or you are military and need bulk orders, that work with retrofitted stuff, then the bulkier mounting system of the mlok works, whereas the keymod will not. The mlok is cheaper and easier to manufacture in bulk, and therefore a big winner for Magpul.

Using my first choice favorite as example , KAC, they make both, with both being top shelf. Pick your poison. If you are a fan of a great keymod forend, likely you will shy away from mlok. If you need mlok for your stuff to work, then you will not be looking at keymod.

I've talked to several guys who say the same things - and they all had bought several keymod handguards prior to mlok coming online... So they try to convince everyone of keymod's superiority (which doesn't really exist honestly).

Both work great, both have their fans and detractors, and plenty of high quality stuff available for both - Mlok is not just cheap plastic magpul stuff as the detractors would have you believe.

OP - pick the one you like and go forward without any doubts as to whether it is a good system or not.

I personally like Mlok (and I'm a big Noveske fan!), but I would not have chosen it if the handguards I wanted weren't available in that format. I'm a slow adopter of anything honestly, so just bought my first non picatinny rail (other than carbon fiber, slick, etc) this year. I went with SLR Rifleworks - they offer keymod and Mlok.

That's not quite true in my case. Though I did experience keymod prior to release of mlok, I tried both prior to my latest KAC order. I absolutely love their keymod in all aspects. The mlok goes against the grain for me in unwanted bulk and fugliness in aesthetics. Their keymod is my personal favorite by far on my setup, their mlok is not. So in my niche market world of personal preference, superiority does exist in a slim and trim keymod. But, if I wanted or needed an mlok clamping system, or I actually preferred the feel and looks of an mlok, then without question it would be the choice.

I'd just not take it so personal if someone else has a different preference. Forends and rail systems are like boots and backpacks.

Can you elaborate? Being serious, honestly.

I looked at several makes of handguards prior to buying into either system or any brand for that matter, and the handguards I looked at that came in both were no different in "slimness" (dimensions), and very little in weight. For example, 1oz difference in weight for a SLR Ion Ultralite 15" handguard (11oz for mlok vs 10oz for keymod, less for shorter ones). It appears to me the weight difference is only due to less "hole area" overall on the mlok vs keymod. Other brands had less weight difference between the two types.

KAC's keymod handguard (14.5") is larger diameter and heavier than the SLR's I mentioned above. I don't see a mlok handguard listed on their website (see it other places, but no dimensions or weight listed).

I personally didn't find any superiority in components/attachment/etc.

I'm a fan of the new KAC mod2 gas system. It uses a castle nut and compression fittings in lieu of taper pins or set screws. Developed for this is the new urx 4 IBN rail, which is unlike what you are speaking of, in that it does not slip fit and clamp at a collar. The IBN rail torques into place as the barrel nut. The two combined, configured for their keymod mounting system, have the best dimensions and feel of any rail I've run. In addition, the mounts are without bulk, leaving the internal space free and clear. This and the hole pattern, makes for the best looking of any rail I've used.

KAC makes an IBN rail configured for the mlok mounting system. But the nature of this clamping system adds bulk, and takes up internal space. This and the hole pattern, is not so attractive to me. I tried to learn to like it, for future versatility, if down the road I needed to mount something that would not work with keymod, but I am set in my ways, and have come to terms that I'll not change my preferred setup.

So, my posts on this subject are not to say, one is universally superior to the other, but to say, depending on intended needs and wants, either can be superior to the other. For some, neither are good, as they find superiority in a completely different rail system.

I like the BCM KM panels, but mine sheared of plastic while installing. They held fine, but they'd be trash if I removed them. Definitely gives it a nice feel.

I have Ergo on another rig and they are a bit bulky, but I kind of like the rubbery feel.