Excellent value... the other reviews don't do it justice. - Dark Hour Defense Darklite Magnesium MLOK AR15 Handguard

This truly is an amazing value.

If youre trying to build an ultralight AR on a budget, this is the only handguard south of $300 that you can bet life or limb on, and I say this with minimal hyperbole.

After having tried two Fostech and one Trybe Defense magnesium alloy handguards, I was bummed and about to resort to an Aero S1. The trybe had too much flex, the Fostechs couldnt be secured to the barrel nuts. The trybe was supplied with an out of spec paperweight of a barrel nut, while nothing from Fostech would STAY on the barrel nut.

Luckily the Trybe hg fit the Fostech nut, and worked well enough... but the cheap, two bolt clamp that failed on two previous magnesium handguards just couldnt convince me it would hold.

On a whim I googled "magnesium handguard" and I came across an article where the fine folks of V Seven were being interviewed about their new budget lineup under the Dark Hour Defense name. Needless to say, I was excited when I found a lightweight alloy handguard with solid attachment at a $200 price tag.

Others have said it's "impossible" to install. It is tricky, but I managed. Even bought a shim pack on their recommendation and didn't end up needing it. Nut torque spec is 35-80 ft lbs, and the goal is to hit that with one of the threaded holes perfectly straight up and down. Took me a good half dozen tries to get it right.

Another reviewer commented on the coating: that person is wrong. Not sure if his is justngrtting scuffed on his wall paint, but the coating on my 11" is absolutely beautiful. Its a dark, satin black, completely flat, and nearly indistinguishabe from the high end annodizing on my buffer tube. Unlike the Fostech and Trybe hg's, of which I could hear the coating crinkle and crack as i tightened my mlok acessories, flexing the alloy. Not so with the DHD 11.

Handguard is thick and sturdy, but still lighter than the Trybe handguard by almost an ounce. Some extrustion lines can be seen, but the machining is flawless.

To further emphasize the value, the hg arrived in a plain, brown carboard tube with the ends folded in. Included their own crow foot wrench to aid in the install. Nothing extra spend or charged to sell me fancy packaging I'm just going to throw away.

An absolute win, and the last part to my sub $1,500.00, sub five pound rifle. Dont listen to the other guys, this is it. None of the cheaper competition comes close... they're a waste of time and money, and may potentially fail you.

Just a couple small gripes, aside from clocking the nut being challenging, I wish it had slots at 10:30/2:30 for light mounting, otherwise i really cant find a flaw, and I dont really expect to discover any down the road. It's really that good.