Update_falls apart, never change barrel - Brigand Arms ATLAS M-Lock Handguard

Ok, so it looks great, and doesn't weigh much which I thought was phenomenal...initially. I noticed that after a few range trips the epoxy which holds the rails to the carbon fiber, had split as I used my lower rail for a vertical grip. Maybe that should be a recommendation of what not to do. The epoxy is not strong enough to hold the lower picatinny rail to the carbon fiber. So, I decided that I would make a change of the upper and this is where it got really bad. Apparently, this is not a very high temperature epoxy, as I had to utilize some heat to remove the Loctite. Instead of the metal part coming loose from the barrel after already loosening the jam nut (probably not enough heat), the entire carbon fiber portion of the handguard came apart from the metal.

At this point I attempted a strap wrench to remove the metal part from the barrel nut, yet to no avail. Finally, I had to drill a hole through the metal and used a pin and hammer to release the barrel nut all together. After the great deal of money spent, I would have expected two things. A higher strength epoxy and given that it is in direct relationship with the barrel, a high temp epoxy. I gave it two stars though, because if you're careful enough, it is pretty cool looking.

In the future I would have gone with their other model then the Atlas as the epoxy seems to be a big weak point, and it's the only thing that holds the picatinny rails on. With all of the parts finally off of my upper and in the trash (where it belongs) I decided to move on. I actually ended up going with an Aero Precision S-one with one of their adjustable gas blocks and now my SBR is rock solid and surprisingly enough, weighs less. Good thing I can always count on Aero.