Od green - not very close to magpul od green - IMI Defense M4 Double Heat Shield Polymer Hanguard

The handguard is made pretty well as far as M4 double heatshield handguards go. I purchased one because of positive things said about IMI's over at ARFCOM forums. The black inner heat shields basically pop into place with 4 tabs in the 4 corners that snap into their own slits above slits for the silver colored outer heat shields, and I imagine they will stay put.

The other brand of these I've seen, which I had seen good things said about, are Doublestar USA ones. I have to give the IMI ones a better review for how the metal heat shields are retained inside -- the black inner heat shields on the Doublestar double heatshield models are basically pushed onto plastic pin extensions from the handguard molding sticking down through both heat shields, but don't stay in place well. This is why I went looking for another brand.

Another comparison I'll make between the IMI Defense and Doublestar ones is the look/feel of the handguard itself. The (black) Doublestar ones -- at least if you get ones that aren't scratched/gouged up straight out of the bag -- are more of a uniform, matte black. One of the first ones I got ordering direct from Doublestar was apparently a demo or returned unit, it was scratched up and the scratched up places were shiny. (they replaced that one after seeing the pictures I sent them). The IMI Defense handguards, which I have black and OD ones now to speak from seeing/handling, are a more glossy type of polymer material. They're fine too, just more glossy than I really like.

Also, the... not sure what to call these but the "serration channels" you have at 6 and 12 o-clock - where the ventilation holes are -- there are differences here between the IMI Defense and Doublestar USA models. The height and "thickness" of the serrations are much more pronounced on the Doublestar ones. With the IMI Defense ones, they are more like a series of thin cosmetic lines in the molding, not raised deliberate triangles going down the length of the handguard at 6 and 12 o'clock. Again, to me, the Doublestar double heatshield M4 handguards are more impressive. I could be wrong but I could imagine the much heavier serrations of the Doublestar model lending greater flex rigidity to the installed handguards.

So I like the better heatshield retention mechanism of the IMI Defense handguards, but I prefer the look and feel of the Doublestar USA ones. It's a shame Doublestar USA doesn't make double heatshield models in OD Green. I believe some epoxy over the pins the heatshields push onto on the Doublestar ones will probably fix the loose fit of their heatshields and yield a better overall M4 double heatshield handguard solution.

Now to my last point, which is a dealbreaker for me. The OD Green color of the IMI Defense OD green handguards is really not very close to Magpul OD green or B5's OD Green CAR-1482 retro CAR15 buttstock. It's definitely OD Green -- but significantly lighter in color. Since I had in mind to use this IMI OD Green handguard with the B5 CAR-1482 on a retro A2 build, it's not going to work out and I'm not really interested in Cerakoting a handguard to get a color match. I may keep this IMI OD Green one, but chances are it'll be going back.

Just so happens B5 Systems is now manufacturing a 6-hole Carbine-length handguard, which is more accurate for A2 era, in OD Green. I bet its a color match too. Not double heat shield, but apparently double heat shields were/are an M4 thing, not A2.

So I would recommend this handguard, but only if you don't care about a color match to OD Green shades used by the rest of the planet.