Ive ordered a 3.6-18 for my 5.56 mm AR and am wondering what you folks use for mounts on this or a similar 44 mm objective scope?

I want a 1.5 inch tall mount since I will probably clamp a thermal in front of it some day even though its probably higher than I would need otherwise.  A lighter weight mount would be appropriate since the rifle is fairly light (Lothar Walther barrel and magnesium forearm).

I have 30 mm tube LaRue and Leupold on other rifles but have never purchased a 35 mm tube before.

PS Why the big price difference between Leupold Mark AR and Mark IMS mounts??  

It appears some mounts for AR's extend farther forward than others.  The 5HD is fairly compact.  Advice appreciated.

Badger COMM has the best cantilever of all the 35mm mounts.

Spuhr SP-5616 has a pretty decent cantilever as well.

Badger C1 is just about ideal for an AR platform, plus they’re extremely solid.  It’s also going to have the widest selection of mount accessories in case you want to add stuff further on down the road.

To echo the previous responses, the Badger COMM is the easy answer.  

If you want something different, I have always been happy with Reptilia mounts and I believe they offer a 35mm option that would work. Geissele is another great mount, but their only 35mm mount is designed for large frame AR's and would probably result in an awkward eye relief on a small frame.

For QD options, Larue and ADM both offer 35mm rings for their mounts.

$522 for the Spuhr.

I have about 6 of the Badger C1’s, I vote C1.

My Two Cents.
I am not a Brand Snob. I do research, and determine what I think will work best for me for my application. Some Hunting, Possible Self Defense, and a lot of Range Shooting for my AR's.

An Example:
My 700 Remington 308 Sniper Rifle has the Badger 306-06-A3 USMC SA M40 A3/A5 Rail, 30 MOA Scope Base that goes in the Action Stripper Clip Slot. Built 20 some years ago. At that time I felt this was THE BEST Scope Base Made for a 700 Remington. I have not seen anything I thought was better to date. The Badger Base and Rings were pretty pricy at the time, and still are, but I thought they were worth the cost for what I was getting. The Best Product Made For The Application. This rifle has a Rock 5R Barrel, Accuracy International AICS 1.0 Stock, a Jewel Trigger, and the Badger Push Button Bolt Release done my GA at a later date. It still has the original Premier Reticle Leupold 30mm 6.5-20X Mil Dot Scope installed when the build was completed. The Badger Scope Base was in line with the quality of the rest of the build.

My Point is I will spend money on things that I see are superior in quality for my needs, "within reason".

Back to the AR15
All I require is a Quality AR15 Cantilever Scope Base to mount a Scope. I do not require all the Battle Rattle Attachment Points a Badger C1 provides. Marty has covered all the Bases on the C1. If I were building a Full Blown AR15 Sniper/Combat Rifle the Badger C1 would probably make the top of my list. However I do not require an Angle Cosine Indicator, Data Card Holder, Laser Attachment Point, or all sorts of Red Dot Mounting options. For a Combat AR the C1 would be a top choice, and probably as good as it gets.

Like I said above all that I require is a Quality Cantilever Scope Base to Mount a Scope. My only added accessory's would be an Anti Cant Device, and a Caldwell Brass Catcher Base. The Bubble Levels I use all attach to the scope tube, and work fine. The Brass Catcher Base's attaches to the Rail behind the Cantilever Scope Base.

I have FOUR Leupold MK AR 30mm Cantilever Bases at this time. My brother just asked what I might want for my Birthday. I told him a Leupold MK AR 30mm Cantilever Scope Base, and gave him the Midway Part Number. That one will be Number FIVE.  In my opinion this base is rock solid and a very good bargain for the price. You can spend more money on a Cantilever Base, but I am not sure that you could notice any improvement in accuracy or durability over the MK AR as a "Scope Mount".  For my money and uses this base is a winner.

MARK AR vs IMS Cantilever Mount:
Why the Big Difference in Price? Great Question with no good answer that I can determine. Both are made from Aluminum. Both have a 1.5" Scope Height from the Rail (35mm). The MARK AR has FIVE Attachment Bolts, the IMS has only Two. My Best Guess would be that Leupold decided that a much more  "AFFORDABLE" "QUALITY" Cantilever Scope Base would sell a lot more units and be a lot more popular than an expensive "same quality" base with it's main claim to fame being Leupold Marked on it.  I am a very good example of this. I have several MK AR Bases. I still have a couple non MK AR Cantilever Bases on AR's, that will be replaced shortly with Leupold MK AR's.  For $85 I find the MK AR to be the most Bang for my Buck's that I have seen in an AR15 Base designed to just mount a scope. However at $300 for the IMS I would be researching the field to see what Badger C1 "Same Price", Warne, Geissele, Seekins, and a few others had to offer for the money. If I had a choice between the MK AR and the IMS for $85 I would still stay with the MK AR Cantilever Base. For the $300 price of a IMS I would go with a Badger C1 at $303 over the Leupold without much thought.  This is probably the reason for bringing out the MK AR Series (Much Cheaper Cost) Cantilever Base. I would probably not spend $300 each on several Cantilever Scope Bases. I have no problem owning several of the same quality for $85 each.

If I were inclined and had a good reason to need more room between the rings, I would consider the BCM A/T Riser with a set of Appropriate Height Quality Rings as an alternative to a Cantilever Mount.

Bob R

You can also use a Riser Rail, and then utilize any 35mm Standard rings that give you the height you need.

For Example:

Badger Ordnance RISER RAIL - 22 MOA

PRi AR15 / M16 Top Rail Riser 2 Hole

They are both .45"-.50" high.

Add any quality 1" high or a bit higher 35mm rings and your good to go.....

I’m surprised no one mentioned Reptilia AUS mount.

I’ve owned both the Badger and the Reptilia, and I prefer the Reptilia.

I prefer Reptilia as well but they don’t offer any 35mm ROF accessories.

If you don’t need accessories you’re good, but that opens up a lot of other options as well.