Way too many inconsistencies - Superlative Arms AR15 Bolt Carrier, Direct Impingement

Everyone else wants to rant and rave because the product looks cool - let’s be adults for a single minute and realize Superlative is a hype beast company riding on “piston” AR’s that were cool 15 years ago.

Stop it. I ordered 4 of these now, and 3 are out of spec. When I got the first two I emailed Superlative about it and they had 3 separate representatives email back with different requests. One was “well we have combat vets that work here” and another was literally just “well are you going to send it back or not.” Another said they would check specs but after 4 emails asking WHO’S specs they stopped responding. TDP specification on critical dimensions are now the same as “Superlative Specs.” They did subsequently change their marketing to include their “sealant” they claim is spec - Permatex #3 - which has never been spec. Don’t worry, I have the original technical manuals and the M16A1 and A2 TDP… the Permatex part numbers listed are for a gasket shellac, NOT aviation gasket that didn’t exist in the 1960’s.

All three of the out-of-spec carriers had poorly staked keys, and loose key screws (broke loose under 20 in/lbs). Two of the 3 forward bites were in-spec on all, one was not at all. All 4 failed the “carrier to magazine interaction” test the USMC and Army specifically outline is a failure and after sending Superlative their manuals they still denied it was real.

Don’t buy it. They jumped on the DLC train BCM and Geissele did and failed - their QC is trash, and one I got was in a package re-sealed by Optics Planet. Superlative is not a good company. Optics Planet re-sells returned items as new.

To a layman that shoots 20 rounds a year and calls it good that might be okay, but then again anything would work there. To anyone serious, even remotely, this product so far has only been legitimate 1 out of 4 times - so let’s put into perspective if your kid failed 3/4 tests in school, would you be okay with it? Would you be okay if your car had a 3/4 chance of breaking down on the highway every time you turned it on? Would you be okay buying a house with a 3/4 chance of catching on fire?

Didn’t think so. Buy somewhere else. Superlative will attempt to berate you or pretend you’re less “because they have combat vets” who by the way don’t even remotely compare to my own combat experience, or my technical knowledge on the AR. How would I know about the latter? Because I talked to one of their pretended engineers. The moment I bought up specific dimensions (.249-.253” bolt tail bore that were out of spec by a full .004”) they had no idea what I was talking about. Even a $40 nitride garbage bin carrier is better than that, and at least Toolcraft explains it. Superlative believes they are better than you. Smarter than you. More than you.

Oh… they use hydraulic staking too, which even the military went away from in the 1980’s with the M16A2 program and the M16A2 Carbine that became the M4 (Colt 723 post 1992). They don’t use MOACKS, either.

A bottom of the barrel company pretending to be issuing parts to the best of the best. They’re not. These carriers suck. Unless you’re the 1/4 that get a good one.