Very unhappy customer. i do not recommend this product. - Guntec USA 4in Ultra Lightweight Thin M-LOK System Handguard w/ Monolithic Top Rail

This is for the GT-16.5-MLK product, but it could be for any of this line.

The idea is great, and the product COULD BE. I read the reviews before I purchased and I was aware there is no anti-rotation system on this handguard, but I can live with that. I wanted a long one because I had a 20" barrel and I don't like the gas block sticking out.

One of the reviews said it came with a steel barrel nut, which is a plus! I checked the Guntec website for this model, and sure enough, it said it came with a steel barrel nut. So I bought.

I should have first looked at the time to ship though. 6 weeks!

It arrived today... and I am not happy. At all.

It arrived in a big box, padded almost ridiculously well, and the box was undamaged. OpticsPlanet had done a good job of packing and shipping.

BUT when I opened it up, I saw that the handguard had several NOTICEABLE dings in it. Small but real dings, with the finish damaged enough you could see the silvery aluminum underneath. Since it was packed so well to ship to me, the damage had to have been done between the time it was manufactured, and the time it was shipped to me. It comes in a clear plastic bag, so you'd think someone would have noticed...

Second (and this is a big one) the barrel nut was not steel, but aluminum. I went back to the Guntec website, and NOW it says "Proprietary Aluminum" barrel nut for this product. Not a mistake on my part: I double-checked it before ordering. It changed between the time I ordered and the time I received the product.

That's bad, and I feel like I've been had. But wait, there's more!

The barrel nut is VERY proprietary. As you might expect, it is not the mil-spec variety but one made for this handguard. It does not have the regular flange for a barrel wrench on it, but 4 flats. And here's the next big gotcha: the flats are made for a 31mm wrench (my micrometer says it's 30.86mm).

Try to find a 31mm wrench. Standard metric wrenches are 30mm (too small) and 32mm (too big). And it's not SAE, either: 1 1/8" is too small, 1 1/4" is too big. I checked them all.

But EVEN IF you could find a 31mm wrench, or 1 3/16" or whatever, it wouldn't fit, because standard wrenches that large are TOO THICK to fit the narrow flats of the barrel nut.

So now I am left with only 2 options:

1) Use a crescent wrench on it, which means (A) I'd probably damage it, because it's ALUMINUM, and (B) there's no way to torque it properly. Or...

2) Order a special wrench from Guntec for $17.95 (probably plus shipping) and wait for that to get here.

Summary: I am NOT happy with this product. At all.