Anyone have opinions on their gear?  I met a guy that had the M33S handguards.  He had a Samco vertical grip installed and a light (both on the bottom).  And he had the top covered.  Although I did like the vertical grip (I always like the K.A. or GG&G style but the Samco has the finger grooves that felt good) I was not sure how well their handguards are made.

Opinions?

From what I hear, they are pretty decent.  Although the handguards are not rigid enough to mount optics or lasers, they seem to work fine for grips and lights.

Just picked up some M44L 4-rail handguards.

They are very nice, strong, and sturdy. They install very tight and don't move.

I'm not sure if I would trust them with mounting optics, but they are solid enough that I would experiment with it.

But I really have no desire to mount optics to it anyway.

I got them for $105 shipped. I think they are a pretty good deal.

What these guys said.

Well I did purchase the M33s for my Colt m-4.  Although I do like how "slim" they are I HATED INSTALLING THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My delta ring is scratched to hell.  I don't know -the samcos seem a bit too tight.  The bottom part went in "ok" but man...the top part took me hours to get in there!  

I really wanted to buy the Knights RAS but in all reality I will not be mounting that much stuff.  The only thing I wanted was a Knights VG mounted.  *Maybe* a light on the bottom but I don't have a need for one yet.  

The only thing that concerns me is if the Samcos can take the heat.  They are constructed real strong but...  some people told me that the heat shields in the samcos are junk.  They suggested that I stick to the M4 oversized handguards w/double head shields and buy a GGG bottom picatinny rail OR bite the bullet and buy a KA.  Yes the KA looks real cool but I can not justify spending $300+ for a handguard.  I'd rather invest that money in ammo....

You could spend $400 for a SIR [:D]

I have the QD light mount and the QD bipod mount. Both are rock solid.

I'll chime in and agree with most of what has been posted.  I bought a single M33 handguard and it matches up will with an original carbine type handguard half on the top.  Since a) they aren't suitable for mounting optics and b) I can't think of anything else you could mount on top, I only bought half of the system.  I really wish they had made them to M4 dimensions as I like the larger handguard.

With respects to the heatshield, come on now.  Aluminum is aluminum.  They are just as good as any other single shield handguard, which is everything but the M4.  I've heard a lot of stories that under heavy fire, the double heat shielding of the M4 guards is actually a problem as it retains the barrel heat and can cause overheating.  I can't say I've experienced that with any handguard as I don't have the $ to waste that much ammo in semi-auto and I don't have the $$$$ for an M-16.

The fobus/samco handguards seem to be quite adequate for vertical grips and flashlights.  They fit very tightly and modern plastics are tough enough to take a lot of stress.  I've not handled the M44 4-sided handguards but they will probably work well for anything but optics.  From the pics, they look pretty ugly, but at 1/3 the cost of a RAS, I'm sure they will fit many a budget.

the whole heatshield deal is overrated...ever shoot an AR without heatshields in it?  believe me, your hand won't burst into flames...

I've got a set of the 44L on an Armalite M15 and they work great for Aimpoint, light, grip etc.. I can't comment on scopes or other heavier items as I haven't tried that but for what I do they work fine.

I got a pair of the m-44's for my carbine just the other day and after spending a couple hours tweeking them they feel as solid as a rock and  drastically change the uppers appearance , the rail appears to be mil-spec at seems to be able to support anything installed , but i am only using the under rail for a grip and an m3 the unit seems real stable when my carbine is shouldered will go to the range this weekend.So if you hear loud scream outta the blue this weekend you know they broke !!