I’ll start this review by mentioning that I’ve never really cared for the vertical fore-grips on my ARs or AKs, and for good reason: Many of them are just plain junk! I’ve tried several fore-grips on rifles over the years, and they all had one thing in common – they would either break or get so loose that they were of no use to me. I had several of the fore-grips completely break off the rail on ARs over the years, and I attempted to repair them with epoxy, all to no avail. While I believe a fore-grip is a good idea on tactical-type rifles, I had all but given up on finding one worth the money.
Enter US Tactical Supply and their Mil-Spec Grip Pod System. I’ve written about some of the products that US Tactical Supply offers, and I can assure you, everything that they sell is the best-of-the-best when it comes to quality. They don’t sell junk – plain and simple. About 90% of their customers are government agencies, and they have pretty strict guidelines as to what they are looking to purchase. As an example, the State Of California, their Dept. Of Corrections, has something like a 7 or 8 page list of attributes that certain products must have, if you want to sell anything to them. And, most state and federal government agencies also have similar guidelines – as does the US military. We can’t afford to have our troops buying inferior products – not when their lives might depend on their gear – we don’t want that gear to fail them when they need it most. So, while it may seem like a real hassle selling anything to government agencies, there is logic to it all.
The Grip Pod System is a revolutionary vertical fore-grip, integrated with a very strong and stable bipod that is hidden inside the fore-grip. Now, I’ve tried cheap Chinese knock-offs of the Grip Pod System, and they were junk – I should have known, because they were inexpensive to start with. US Tactical Supply told me that one of the selling points of the Mil-Spec Grip Pod System is that, when they take it to trade shows and gun shows, they deploy the hidden bipod legs from the fore-grip, and proceed to place a full-sized man on the top of the gun – with the gun resting on the ground – and the legs do NOT fail in the least. Well, I honestly didn’t believe this test – until I tried it myself. Now, while I’ve recently lost 40 pounds of unwanted extra weight, let’s just say that I’m still well over 200-lbs. I was sure the bipod legs would fail when I stood on my M&M 762 AK-47, with the Grip Pod System attached to it’s quad-rail. Nope! Nothing happened – the bipod did not fail, nor did the Grip Pod System fore-grip break or come loose – I was impressed, to say the least. I tried the same test with a Chinese knock-off, and it broke the bipod legs as well as the fore-grip breaking right off the quad-rail.
I guess what I really liked about the Grip Pod System is that the bipod readily deploys if you need it, when going prone to do some long-range shooting, or if you just want a more stable shooting platform to work from – I like that. And, the bipod also readily slips right back up inside the Grip Pod System fore-grip when you don’t need it. Honestly, the system doesn’t look to be as stout and well-made as it is – but it’s actually stronger than it appears, which is obvious from my standing on the AK with the bipod legs extended. I can’t think of a better test than this.
US Tactical also sent me a Light Rail Module (LRM) for the Grip Pod System fore-grip .bipod. The light rail module adds a single or double rail system (I was sent the single rail model for this article) to the Grip Pod System and allows the user to have a tactical light or laser at their finger tips – securely attached to the Grip Pod System. It only takes a minute to attach the LRM to the Grip Pod System Grip Pod, too. I like simple – simple doesn’t fail, compared to some more complicated products.
Both the Grip Pod and the LRM are made of reinforced polymers – not cheap plastic like the knock-offs are made out of. Both the Grip Pod and LRM are available in black or tan. The GPS02 is the military model, and it sells for $149 and the GPS-LE is the law enforcement model, and it sells for $95. Personally, I’d go with the Mil-Spec model. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but you won’t have to replace it because it won’t break on you. The LRM is $29.95 for the single rail model and $31.95 for the dual rail model – very affordable if you ask me.
I’ve mentioned many times in my SurvivalBlog articles, that if you buy junk, you’ll have to buy it again. If you buy top-of-the-line products, you normally only have to buy once. I don’t claim to be any sort of expert. I like to call myself a serious student of lots of things. And, I’ve learned a lot over the years when it comes to buying the best I can afford. In the long run, when I buy the best I can afford, I don’t have to buy a replacement for it, because it didn’t fail me. I hope I’ve been able to save SurvivalBlog readers a few bucks, and some headaches by doing these articles. I’m learning, and hope you all learn a little something from my articles. I hear from SurvivalBlog readers daily, and if there is one thing I have learned from you all, its that, you are all a very intelligent bunch of readers.
I have no vested interest in US Tactical Supply, but I do enjoy doing business with them. They are a small, American-owned company, that sincerely cares about their customers and their customer service is second to none. If their customers aren’t happy, then they aren’t happy. If you’re looking for cheap, poorly-made products, then don’t bother looking at the US Tactical Supply web site, you’re not going to find what you’re looking for there.
If you own an M14 or Springfield Armory M1A rifle, then you need to check out some of the newest and high-tech stocks they carry for these rifles – you are going find something you’ll want .I haven’t tested any of their M14 stocks, but I’ve sure checked them out at the US Tactical Supply store – and I was absolutely blown away by what they carry. Give them a call if you have a special need in this area – bet they’ll have exactly what you’re looking for.
Pat’s Product Review: Grip Pod and Light Rail
