Putting an End to the Argument, M-LOK vs. KeyMod

These arguments come up all the time, and they are typically Ford vs. Chevy, or American vs. foreign-made, but in this case, there is indeed a decisive winner, decided by the Department of Defense and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division. They conducted extensive testing of both platforms from three manufactures recently, and the results are sure to cause some butt-hurt for fanatical fans of the KeyMod system.

The actual test results can be found here, but the end result: M-LOK won by a landslide.

Now, before you go running off to rip your KeyMod foregrip off your little black rifle, let’s look at a little context. The first test performed by the Navy included rough handling for attachment security, and both systems performed excellently. Right on par with a picatinny rail. As you probably already know, they’ll keep your VortexOptic on target, and they hold up well to normal wear and tear.

There are still a bunch of people out there who prefer the looks of the KeyModhand guards, and while this is a personal thing, there’s no reason to dump the platform. It’s important to remember that despite the loss, the platform did go above and beyond for the standard rough-handling tests. And if you like the looks, there’s no shame in putting a nice Cerakote job on the rail.

There are also numerous cross-platform conversions to make KeyMod accessories work with an M-LOK system and vice versa, so don’t think that you are suck with proprietary accessories.

While this puts an end to the debate of which is “better,” the competition was tough, and the testing performed involved abuse that you should never put your poor rifle through. That said, if you are looking to upgrade, M-LOK is the way to go.