An honest review of the mdt lss-xl gen2 chassis - OpticsPlanet Exclusive MDT LSS-XL Gen2 Chassis System, Carbine Interface

I bought this chassis directly from MDT's website since it is out of stock here at Optics Planet, but for those who find it in stock in the future, I will leave a review here.

I was looking around for a chassis system to replace the Hogue stock on a Howa 1500 LA a few months ago, and I came across the LSS-XL Gen2. After waiting for a few weeks for it to come back in stock on Opticsplanet, I decided that I was done waiting and went directly to the MDT website to purchase mine, which is in a carbine stock interface.

When I received my chassis after a week and a half, upon opening the package I noticed one thing immediately. It is a solidly built chassis made with aircraft-grade aluminum. While it does not come with a stock, you can install just about any AR15 stock and mil-spec buffer tube on the chassis with minimal tools. Pairing it with an MDT SCS stock that I purchased here on Optics Planet also worked wonders for the ergonomics of my rifle (look out for a review on that as well!). the chassis was easy to install, high-quality, and intuitive. assembly took a mere 5 minutes and only required two Alan keys and a castle nut wrench. you do not need a gun vise to install or any other additional gunsmithing work. the MDT tutorial on YouTube speaks for itself and tells you all you need to know for installation.

The LSS-XL has a V-block aluminum bedding as opposed to pillar bedding for your barreled action which leaves the barrel to free-float. This adds to accuracy and the machine screws used to secure your action into the chassis bedding are sufficient to ensure it does not move.

You can use just about any AR15 grip with this chassis, however, I opted for an MDT Elite grip, also ordered on Optics Planet.

The adjustable nature of MDT's chassis systems really shines here. It seems that the chassis system will fit just about any shooter. Additionally, using this chassis adds some weight to better absorb recoil, which makes it a good pick for long-range shooters. Especially PRS or bench-rest competition. It is rather comfortable to shoot my rifle now thanks to this chassis system.

However, the chassis, stock, and grip add a considerable amount of weight to an 8 lb rifle. all said and done my setup gained a bit of weight. This is not an issue as I am not bothered by the extra heft. It also helps to absorb the recoil of the rifle when fired. Compared to other chassis systems, however, this is relatively lightweight and allows for a bit of overhead to install things like bigger, heavier optics, muzzle devices, slings, et cetera.

Speaking of accessorizing, the MLOK rails allow you to add things like bipods, foregrips, rangefinders, QD cups for slings, and other accessories to the rifle. MLOK is, in my personal opinion, superior to Keymod and Picatinny as a mounting system and it is now used by military forces on their standard-issue rifles, the selection of attachments is broad and you can use Picatinny rails with MLOK.

Overall, I rate this chassis a 4.5/10 - while it adds some weight to a rifle, it also allows some modern features that are unavailable on fixed stock rifles, like adding accessories and modularity with AR15 components. MDT also made sure to leave this chassis plenty of options for accessories and upgrades, such as their folding stock adapter and other items.