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Posted: 3/26/2009 5:39:24 AM EDT
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I was thinking about purchasing a polymer grip pod for the sole purpose of zeroing my AR's from the prone 25 yards. I don't want to use it a VFG because I have a Surefire M910A. What are your overall thoughts and experiences with the Grip Pod?
Thanks 
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Mako makes a nice alternative to the grip pod. It's a shaped foregrip that splits in two and has legs that extend out. I have used a grip pod before, albeit on an M249, and seen many used on M4s and M16s in the military. I am not impressed with it. The bipod legs aren't the sturdiest and the grip is too large around and too long for my liking as a foregrip. I like the look of the Mako grip, although I have never used one personally. I did see this model at $99 on one site, although I cannot remember where that was...
Check here- http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=885423 |
| I would like to answer a few concerns about the Grip Pod 1) The Military model Polymer 02 Grip Pod is one of the strongest bipods ever , Tested and adopted by the U S Army ,U S Marines ,U S National Guard ,British Army , FBI ,DEA and many other special ops groups . In other words it the largest adoption of any bipod in U S military service ever .I know of NO other bipod which will support the weight of a 250 lb man standing up on top of a m16 with the legs deployed , not even a bipod which weighs 4 times the 7 ounces the grip pod weighs 2) The mako pod was tested by some of the above military groups and found to be not strong , not easy to deploy , not military approved in other words No military adoption that I know of Thank you for your intersest hope this helps 23 skidoo G.P.S SYSTEMS |
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The Grip Pod was indeed tested and adopted by a wide range of federal and military departments and has seen wide use in the current conflicts.
Well sir, not to stir shit or anything... I saw the Grip Pod used extensively during 2006-2006 during the first legs of the 'Surge' in Iraq, and again in 2008-2009. The Grip Pod was used by a wide range of Soldiers from Paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne to Natioanl Guardsmen. I used one myself on my SAW for a time back in '06 when we had it kitted out as an urban-CQB weapon. The Grip Pod did well by some people- however I saw a great many that did not perform up to the promised standards as well. The legs on the GP tended to become loose, with one sliding out mre than the other or wiggling around a lot. The springs wore and some even broke so that the legs would not always pop out with the press of the button. Many of the soldiers that took one at the beginning of their deployments turned them in to their supply and did not ask for replacements. Whether it was due to design/manufactoring faults or personal preferance is somehting I cannot say. Sand and dust have issues with clogging the insides and gumming up the works a bit too, but that happens to pretty much anything with moving pieces. In my experience stating that it will hold up to a 250 pound person isn't quite how the item will operate most of the time. My personal thoughts on the GP was that it was too long and round for a comfortable fit as a foregrip- I prefer them shorter and smaller, or more ergonomically designed. Also, I did not like the legs on non-flat surfaces they were not adjustable to varying heights. Because it was so long, and lacked any means of folding, I did not like the grip for use in and out of vehicles. I am just stating personal observations from nearly two years field time with this item. I am NOT saying it is junk, because if it was then the GP would never have won government contract. I have not used the Mako grip and although I was interested in it, I ended up buying a GG&G bipod for my own M4 to use when I was in situations needing bipod support. 
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| First I thank you and many other soldiers for your service to your country .Second you mention that you used the Grip Pod on a SAW in 2006 .It was never designed for a saw until late 2007 when we were asked to design one for the 249 .All the contracts that were awarded to Grip Pod were for the M16 systems as we had to compete with all bipod designed in weight, strength ,durability ,and user feedback , One test of many was that the U S Army drop a fully loaded m16 wilth optics and 30 round mag at five feet onto concrete Bipod deployed .. We won as most other far heavier bipod designs broke ...To date we have won over all other designs many contracts except for designated sniper rifles which weight is not as important because most sniper rifles are far heavier and a pound or more is not as much of a problem .. Our feed back from the U S Marines is that they have out fitted one for every infantry Marine over 200,000 Grip Pods.. The U S Army is even better as the U S Army has purchased over 500,000 Grip Pods ..The National Guard has issued over 200,000 Grip Pods and The British Army also adopted the Grip Pods for their bullpup sa80 rifles for over 200 000 Grip Pods ... Again we thank all the above services for their service 23skidoo G.P.S |
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First I thank you and many other soldiers for your service to your country .Second you mention that you used the Grip Pod on a SAW in 2006 .It was never designed for a saw until late 2007 when we were asked to design one for the 249 .All the contracts that were awarded to Grip Pod were for the M16 systems as we had to compete with all bipod designed in weight, strength ,durability ,and user feedback , One test of many was that the U S Army drop a fully loaded m16 wilth optics and 30 round mag at five feet onto concrete Bipod deployed .. We won as most other far heavier bipod designs broke ...To date we have won over all other designs many contracts except for designated sniper rifles which weight is not as important because most sniper rifles are far heavier and a pound or more is not as much of a problem .. Our feed back from the U S Marines is that they have out fitted one for every infantry Marine over 200,000 Grip Pods.. The U S Army is even better as the U S Army has purchased over 500,000 Grip Pods ..The National Guard has issued over 200,000 Grip Pods and The British Army also adopted the Grip Pods for their bullpup sa80 rifles for over 200 000 Grip Pods ... Again we thank all the above services for their service 23skidoo G.P.S 23skidoo its great that you have a military contract and have supplied that many Grip Pods to the Military. What you fail to realize Is that a substantial amount of those Grip Pods are sitting in boxes in Arms/Supply rooms. They are not being used by people who kick in doors for a living. Of the two infantry and one scout platoons in my company I had approximately ten soldiers who favored the issued Grip Pod over the issued KAC. I personally ran/run a cut down KAC and have zero desire to run the current Grip Pod other than if I am going to the range to zero. I do not know when you plan on revising the Grip Pod, but think it has the potential to be a decent attachment with some changes. Things I would like to see in the future include a shorter length while the legs are stowed, a better transition from the round grip portion to the squared off mounting portion, redesign of the wing nut to a bolt, or possibly a quick release. If I think of any thing else, I'll let you know. |
| Mr grapenuts I will try to answer some concern you have ...you want the grip pod shorter, its currently very close in length to the very popular surfire m900 light /vertical grip which has no bipod and weighs two to three times more than the Grip Pod . The fact that the military contracts need the grip Pod to hold a m16 wilth a 30 round mag and not touch the ground means that we cannot shorten it because it would monopod as the U S Army does not issue 20 round mags ..Furthermore you like the kac grip the Army told us they had a problem with them breaking off at the raill interface ...which we believe ours is much stronger We have extendable leg models and other new models but the polyemer gps02 Grip Pod military model is a very popular 7 ounce very strong vertical forgrip and a very fast deploying , very strong ,,mllspec bipod thank you for your interest 23 skidoo G.P.S |
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Mr grapenuts I will try to answer some concern you have ...you want the grip pod shorter, its currently very close in length to the very popular surfire m900 light /vertical grip which has no bipod and weighs two to three times more than the Grip Pod . The fact that the military contracts need the grip Pod to hold a m16 wilth a 30 round mag and not touch the ground means that we cannot shorten it because it would monopod as the U S Army does not issue 20 round mags ..Furthermore you like the kac grip the Army told us they had a problem with them breaking off at the raill interface ...which we believe ours is much stronger We have extendable leg models and other new models but the polyemer gps02 Grip Pod military model is a very popular 7 ounce very strong vertical forgrip and a very fast deploying , very strong ,,mllspec bipod thank you for your interest 23 skidoo G.P.S And the Grip Pod doesn't have a light on it, how does that have any bearing on the situation? I can think of options that would shorten the undeployed length while allowing the deployed length to still allow the use of a 30 round magazine, but its not my job to tell you how to screw the chicken, I'm just pointing out that there is a chicken the needs to be screwed. In my seven years of serving in Active Duty Infantry Companies I have never once personally seen a broken KAC VFG, I'm sure it has happened and have seen pictures of it on the web but never in person. My issue with your posts are that you tell people that you have sold hundreds of thousands of units to the Military and expect the people here to think that it makes your product great. You seem to fail to understand that most of those Grip Pods sold to the Military are sitting in boxes on shelves and are not being used, or they are being pilfered and sold on this site. I think your product has merit, but that it is poorly executed at this time. MSTN I'm sure you can some how tos for cutting down a KAC by searching this site. The first one I did while deployed to Iraq and only used a Leatherman multi tool to accomplish the task. My last one I used a dremel and it went much faster, but there aren't any real outside differences. I'll take some picture when I get home if any body needs them |
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In my seven years of serving in Active Duty Infantry Companies I have never once personally seen a broken KAC VFG, I'm sure it has happened and have seen pictures of it on the web but never in person.
IN MY TIME AT MID-SOUTH SHOOTING (WWW.WEAPONSTRAINING.COM), I'VE SEEN SEALS BREAK A FEW KAC VERTICAL GRIPS PRACTICING MUZZLE STRIKES, NOT TO MENTION SPRING COUNTLESS FOREND HANDGUARD CAPS TO THE POINT THE BOTTOM RAIL OF KAC RIS/RAS WOULD FOREVER BE LOOSE. THAT'S WHEN SOME STARTED INSTALLING THE RIS/RAS UPSIDE DOWN. You seem to fail to understand that most of those Grip Pods sold to the Military are sitting in boxes on shelves and are not being used, or they are being pilfered and sold on this site.
PROBABLY WOULD NOT BE THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED, BUT I WONDER HOW THE OWNER OF THE WEBSITE WOULD FEEL ABOUT THAT? OR ARMY C.I.D.? MSTN I'm sure you can some how tos for cutting down a KAC by searching this site. The first one I did while deployed to Iraq and only used a Leatherman multi tool to accomplish the task. My last one I used a dremel and it went much faster, but there aren't any real outside differences. I'll take some picture when I get home if any body needs them
THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING. HOW MUCH WERE YOU ABLE TO SHORTEN IT? |
| Mr Grapenutz It is obvious that you have slammed an item that ALL forces of the U S Military have tested and adopted service wide.. I would be interested in you confirming your accusations ..SO just print your name and rank what branch of the miitary you belong.. so we can verifiy your credibility to look into this Matter... I am further confused that the U S Army, at Picitinny arsenal , The U S Marines ,The National Guard ,The British Army , FBI,,, DEA,, and many other spec ops groups Seem to have no knowledge of your rantings I also believe that you should JUST call them and tell the above forces that you should have been consulted 23skidoo G.P.S I NDUSTRY PARTNER |
OOps, didn't expect this thread to turn into a flame war! 
On that note, I will post some positive comments to go with my negative comments from before. The GP does fill a role that many soldiers find the need for. I see many of our issued GPs out come zeroing day. When commenting on reliability vs a standard bipod, we must remember that this item does have moving parts and is subject to similar problems as out magazines- that the spring inside can gum up or wear out. This is NOT a slam against the product- just a fact that comes along with ANY spring-loaded device. For civilian use the GP is an excellent gap-filler. I do know many soldiers that dislike it, but there are just as many that DO like it so this is more personal preferance. It has been widely accepted by many, many departments and services and makes a fine addition to an M16 with ACOG for units where SDMs with special weapons are not available. Also, many oldiers use these on static positions such as gate and tower guards to keep their weapons ready and steady shots. Again a true bipod has some things it does better such as varying leg lengths between the two legs, but a bipod cannot also act as a reliable foregrip. Overall, for someone that wants to use this on a range to get nice and zeroed, then pick the weapon up and move around, it is a good one-piece unit. I am glad to hear there have been refinements to the design since I last used one. Without looking at one right now I don't know if they can come apart to be cleaned, but perhaps this might be something to think about? One suggestion, perhaps, would be to contour the exterior of the grip so it fits better in the palm of a hand. If the body can be made a little smaller then I think that would work perfectly. All in all decent product. People that sling firearms for business all have many different preferances, and though myself and Mr. Grapenutz might prefer other opions that does not mean that this is a bad product. So, I will end this hopefully without fueling any fires...  Cav Out.
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| Mr cavpara again I thank you for your service to your country .I hope to answer a few more concerns that you have 1)Your concern that only a true bipod has extendable legs ..The fnfal rifle with factory bipod does not have extendable legs ...The sig 550 assault rifle with factory bipod does not have extendable legs.. The H K factory G3SG1 sniper rifle with factory bipod does not have extendable legs ..The 240 machine gun with fn factory bipod you guys use does not have extendable legs .. But we want to answer your needs so we DO have a new grip pod with extendable legs ... 2)You asked a very valid question about the Grip Pod disassembly ,,it is very easy as all you do deploy the legs first, and unscrew the ring at the bottom of the grip with your hands or a pair of pliers.. out will come the leggs and piston in one group and spring ,,clean the dirt off with water and reassemble as it will only go back together one way so you can not put it together wrong I hope this helps 23 skidoo g.p.s |
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Mr Grapenutz It is obvious that you have slammed an item that ALL forces of the U S Military have tested and adopted service wide.. I would be interested in you confirming your accusations ..SO just print your name and rank what branch of the miitary you belong.. so we can verifiy your credibility to look into this Matter... I am further confused that the U S Army, at Picitinny arsenal , The U S Marines ,The National Guard ,The British Army , FBI,,, DEA,, and many other spec ops groups Seem to have no knowledge of your rantings I also believe that you should JUST call them and tell the above forces that you should have been consulted 23skidoo G.P.S I NDUSTRY PARTNER Again you fail to grasp the concept that your grip is not being used by Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, or Seamen for its intended purpose. If anyone here would like to check my Military credentials send me your .mil email address and we can talk offline about the Grip Pods shortcomings. For the interested, here are cut down KAC lengths, from left to right, Grip Pod, Standard KAC, 1st mod job, second mod job, all mounted on a 9 DD Lite Rail. The length of the first mod job looks the best, and I can not tell a difference between the two modded ones when they are being used. It would be possible to cut the shortest one slightly shorter, but there is not a whole lot of threads left on the inside. I wish KAC would over a VFG this size/shorter from the factory. The two modded KACs have also been cut to take up the same amount of rail space as a Magpul XTM rail cover. 
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I'm glad the representative of the company was able to find some pictures of the Grip Pod in action. I looked through 14 months worth of pictures to including the unit we ripped with and the unit who ripped with us and could not find any soldiers who had one mounted. I don't know about the other units but I know my company was issued a little over 100 of them from RFI. I then figured maybe things have changed in the 14 months since I left command and Soldiers had really decided to start using the product. So I looked through the random Army Times, Soldiers Magazine, Armor Magazine, FA Journal, Infantry Magazine that I have laying around the house and finally after my thorough research I was able to find one picture on the US Army homepage of a SPC medic using the Grip Pod. So I am sorry to everyone who I misled when I commented that all of the US Militaries Grip Pods were sitting in supply rooms.
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| Those are some goods pics from the thread in AR discussion located here. Whats telling is the thread is 39 pages long and these are all the images of Grip Pods you can find, and quite a few of the pictures are of the same individuals. 23skidoo I wish you and Grip Pod all the best. Hopefully one day you will understand that I think you have a great concept that is currently poorly executed. Maybe you will realize that your product has some serious shortcomings in the weight and length departments and you will evolve the product, that even others within this thread have said is best utilized on the range, into a really great one, that will be on the other 35 pages of people posting their weapons in combat. I highly doubt it with the current attitude displayed by you in this post, that since you have a government contract your product is the best thing since slice bread, but time will tell and since I have at least another 8 years left in the Army I'll keep my eye out and we both shall both see Grip Pod will evolve or stagnate. |
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Those are some goods pics from the thread in AR discussion located here. Whats telling is the thread is 39 pages long and these are all the images of Grip Pods you can find, and quite a few of the pictures are of the same individuals. 23skidoo I wish you and Grip Pod all the best. Hopefully one day you will understand that I think you have a great concept that is currently poorly executed. Maybe you will realize that your product has some serious shortcomings in the weight and length departments and you will evolve the product, that even others within this thread have said is best utilized on the range, into a really great one, that will be on the other 35 pages of people posting their weapons in combat. I highly doubt it with the current attitude displayed by you in this post, that since you have a government contract your product is the best thing since slice bread, but time will tell and since I have at least another 8 years left in the Army I'll keep my eye out and we both shall both see Grip Pod will evolve or stagnate. Dear Mr. grapenutsrobot, I am one of the owners of Grip Pod Systems... I had refained from chiming-in to this discussion until now. I do not like on-line discussions as they tend to be more debate than good info. While everyone has an opinion, and that's what makes us all individuals...I see no reason for our product to be dissimulated due to personal preferences. While you state that very few soldiers like them...I, being the guy who answers the company emails and fields most of the inbound calls, beg to differ. I have received many hundreds of communications from those folks in the field who love the item. I have had the pleasure to speak with many soldiers and OGA's personel who have praised the Grippod's strength and utility. I have spoken to warfighters who called just to say thanks for making an item that saved their ass in a firefight. Your statement about the Grippods being held mostly in storage is puzzling to me, considering the fact that the military is still buying the Grippod in very large numbers.....Perhaps they make good tent stakes and or sling shots. :) All kidding aside, I believe that you are correct in asserting that some trigger pullers and fast movers may prefer something other than the Grippod; just as some prefer Eotechs to ACOGs. Please keep in mind that when you say that the weight, length and other physical properties of the Grippod are not appealing, think about this; The U.S Army tested the Grippod in two seperate and open competitve bids....Our product was chosen both times. 7 ounces for a vertical grip and bipod combo is certainly not reason for complaint. So, as I have said many times...The Grippod is what it is and does what it does. As my business partner has said: thank you for your service to our country. Thank you for your opinion. With Kindest Regards, Joe Gaddini / Grip Pod Systems, LLC |
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