Strike Industries has announced the availability of their new GRIDLOK series of handguards. Some of the key features of these rails are the modular construction and the possibility to quickly detach the rail from the barrel nut. Let’s take a closer look.

The opened QD lever of GRIDLOK handguard

Here is what Strike Industries said when introducing this new product:

Since the beginning, Strike Industries has constantly innovated and adapted to the needs of the modern shooter. Always striving to provide the best solutions and versatility when it comes to customization for the most popular firearm platforms. After 2 years of research and development, we are proud to announce the arrival of our GRIDLOK Handguard for the AR Platform. Our First Quick Detachable MLOK Handguard featuring full modular colorways with integrated backup sights, built in Picatinny mounts, and a spring loaded detach lever for the QUICKEST rail removal process ever.

Length options of GRIDLOK handguards: 8.5″, 11″, 15″, 17″.

The GRIDLOK rail system consists of two main components – the GridLok Modular Part and Handguard Rail Body. The Handguard Rail Body is the middle section which has a lot of M-LOK slots all over it. It is available in black color only and four sizes that result in four overall length options of the system – 8.5″, 11″, 15″ and 17″.

The GridLok Modular Part is installed into the rail bodies and consists of three parts. Its rear component attaches to the barrel nut and provides the QD feature as well as a short Picatinny rail section on top. Two front components of the GridLok Modular Part are installed on the top and bottom of the Handguard Rail Body. The top section has a low profile folding back up iron sight built into the Picatinny rail. If you have an A2-style fixed front sight on your rifle, you can retain it by not installing this front top section of GridLok Modular Part. The bottom front section of the GridLok Modular Part provides a Strike Industries RaiLok section that is a hybrid of Picatinny rail and M-LOK.

Color options of the GridLok Modular Part

The Strike Industries GRIDLOK handguards are CNC machined out of 6061 aluminum and come with a semi-matte anodized finish. The barrel nut, which is included in the package, is made of 7250 aluminum and is also anodized. The internal diameter of the handguard is 1.6″ which will accommodate most of the suppressors as well as large-diameter linear muzzle brakes or blast diverters/shields such as the Strike Industries Oppressor.

The folding back up iron sight is built into the front top section of GridLok Modular Part

The assembly of the GRIDLOK handguard requires installing the GridLok Modular Part components into the Handguard Rail Body. It is done via provided set screws. The company also provides tools to make the assembly easier. You can watch the assembly process in the below-embedded video.

The GridLok Modular Part is available in four color options – Black, FDE, Red or Titan. The black color is available as complete units and will cost you $15 less than the rails of comparable size but with other colors of the modular part. Here is the list of prices of different versions of GRIDLOK rails.

Images from www.strikeindustries.com