Reviews & Ratings for Icon Defense Forged Stripped Upper Receiver — 5 reviews — Page 1

I spent most of my work life in aerospace machining and fabrication facilities, performing various Quality Assurance roles. About 40 years or so. Quality isn't a catch phrase, it's the lifeblood of the industry and the people who work there. Now... obviously I haven't seen or touched every upper receiver out there, but I have given this ICON Defense a super critical eye. The metal finishing is absolutely spectacular. Aerospace critical parts quality. The type 3 anodized finish was so smooth it had me back at the description because it sure feels like a Teflon coating. It's that smooth, consistent and professionally done. I slid my NiB WMD polished BCG into this receiver and again just unbelievably perfect in every way. I'm still waiting on a couple more parts before I can assemble my 24" match grade Vamint barrel, but I have no doubt whatsoever the results ahead using these super high quality components. Yes. I can without any constraints recommend this ICON Defense to meet quality expectations.

Mated this upper with a Icon lower receiver, and the fit is tight with no rattling. So tight, in fact, that I had to file off a little of the surface on each side of the rear takedown lug in order for it to open/close without force. I also had to open up the rear takedown hole a hair to get a mil-spec takedown pin to fit through it smoothly, otherwise I was having to hammer it in and punch it out. The barrel extension also had to be thermal fit, but that applies to many uppers these days.

It is a very well-machined upper, however I think the surface finish might be a bit too thick which caused the binding issues I encountered. This only stacked with the similar lower receiver tolerances. This being said, I would much rather have to remove material than have too little from the factory, as one is fixable and the other is not. For the money this upper costs, I believe the finish thickness could be improved so that this issue does not persist, especially when used with other Icon parts. It doesn't do anything that a lower-budget upper doesn't, but has a nice finish and shouldn't have any issues with wear for the foreseeable future.

Amazing product amazing fit. The thermal fit barrel is another plus

After a Lantac upper let me down with an oversized barrel mount hole, resulting in sloppy fit for the barrel extension, I tried this instead of the usually BCM (which always has a tight "thermo fit" for the barrel).
I was pleasantly surprised with the fit and finish on this upper. It has a great tight fit with the barrel, so yes it needs to be heated up to install the barrel. Just like my great BCM uppers.
This upper has great tolerances and is definitely a top tier upper. Don't hesitate to build with this for a tight fit, and an accurate AR. This is good to go.