Our readers might be tired of hearing about how great SHOT Show 2017 was for us here at the site, but we aren’t done highlighting the companies and gear that we found ourselves drawn towards. Hexmag is no stranger to The Arms Guide, we have several writers who have tried their polymer AR-15 magazines and found that they performed admirably during all the tests we put them through. So when when our editor was talking with Hexmag at their booth at the show fellow writer Travis Pike and I were looking at their display guns and were excited to see that all of the rifles on display were wearing Hexmag rail covers, in all three styles of rail systems.
In a recent article I talked about the three major rail systems out on the market, KeyMod, M-Lok and the old faithful M1913 style rail, and it spawned a good bit of conversation about the pros and cons of each system. Despite all the industry turmoil about which one of the three rails systems would prevail all three seemed to be selling well. The problem was with all these systems on the market very few companies made covers for all three styles. That is where Hexmag was different, we knew the Hexmag rail covers were going to be coming out from earlier conversations with the company but we weren’t sure when. Im my opinion its always a much better experience to see a new product up close and in person than to read press releases about them.
The rails themselves were made of Hexmag’s proprietary PolyHex Polymer and come molded with the instantly recognizable Hexmag corporate logo. The thing that for some reason baffled us was the fact that all three varieties of covers on display felt like the same soft yet grippy material but the length and widths of the rails varied so much. We didn’t get a chance to pull the covers off the display rifles so we could see how the three covers differed in their construction, that would have to wait until we got demo models in hand.
We took the time once the Hexmag Rail Covers arrive to weigh and measure each of the three styles in order to give our readers a more complete look into the difference surrounding them all. We took the liberty of listing them below in a way that breaks them down to include the manufacturer’s part number. We started with the oldest and most recognized rail system, the M1913 picatinny rail, then onto the M-Lok and finally the KeyMod. At the time of this article the rails are only available in black and flat dark earth.
Specifications:
1913 Style Cover:
- Part # HX-LRC-BLK
- Variety: 18 Slot cover
- Length: 7″
- Width: 1″
- Weight: 0.7 oz
M-Lok Style Cover:
- Part # HX-MLC-BLK
- Variety: Wedgelok Slot Cover
- Length: 6 1/2″
- Width: 5/8″
- Weight: 0.2 oz
KeyMod Style Cover:
- Part # HX-KMC-BLK
- Variety: 7 Slot KeyMod Wedge-Lok
- Length: 5 1/2″
- Width: 5/8″
- Weight: 0.3 oz
There are some of us diehards out there that won’t completely abandon the M1913 style picatinny rail for one reason or another. In my life it’s honestly because my Zenitco Russian AKM rails are M1913 style and the rails on my new Sig 556 Classic SWAT use the same rail system. I know the M1913 style is old, outdated and loves to shred fingers and gloves but for those two rifles there is no alternative. Now I also own several rifles that use the KeyMod system and I find it a much more comfortable experience overall. The thing about owning different rail systems is that it can be maddening to try to find companies that make accessories that enhance them with any sort of consistency across platforms, well with Hexmag we finally have solved that problem.
Hexmag hasn’t let us down to date with any of their products, from magazines to adhesive textured magazine covers, to magazine followers and now onto rail covers. The Loveland, Colorado based company has been very welling to listen to consumers needs and input when designing or adapting their product lines, and this is a breath of fresh air in the firearms community. Hexmag has found a way to appeal to all three of the major rifle rail system supporters and done it in a way that continues their tradition of making affordable and high quality accessories. The complete list of Hexmag retailers that will be carrying the Hexmag Rail Covers is found at the companies web site at www.Hexmag.Com
If you are tired of getting your hands torn up by your rails when they aren’t being used you should do yourself a favor and look into the Hexmag Rail Covers. The company currently only makes them in two color choices, Black and Flat Dark Earth, but there are rumors of more colors being available in the Fall of 2017. The set of M1913 style covers are now on my Sig 556 rifle and the M-Lok and KeyMod varieties will soon be in the hands of the rest of the staff here at the site for further testing. Be sure to check back with us to see what guns the rail covers end up on and what we do with them during testing.
