OVERVIEW
I am pleasantly surprised by this lower. The quality of it is just amazing. It almost feels like a aluminum lower when it comes to strength. I was a skeptic about polymer lowers. I needed a lower that wouldn't get scratched up.. and I wouldnt care what happened to it if it got beat up. This lower is NOT my primary lower.. It's mainly to be able to have 2 ARs if needed or a place holder to an upper.
QUALITY - LOWER
The quality of the actual lower is excellent. It's thick.. Sturdy.. and VERY well made. When placed on the upper it was a very tight fit. (I actually had to force it on.) There isn't much to say about this because a lower is a lower.
QUALITY - LOWER PARTS
This is the only part of the lower I was turned off by and will be replacing. EVERYTHING is polymer except the buffer assembly. Let's start from the front to the back of my opinions on each part.
Pivot Pens - These things are wobbly. They seem to be good quality and I would trust with the weight of my upper but I wouldnt trust them for too long. I will be replacing it with a metal set.
Bolt Catch - This part is polymer as well but after testing it I concluded it does not need replacement.
Mag Release - The entire assembly is polymer. It seems to be sturdy and get a lot of use out of it. I will not be replacing this part.
Trigger Assembly - The trigger assembly needs to be replaced with a metal assembly IMHO. The hammer is lightweight polymer that almost feels hollow. The trigger itself seems to be decent quality but by replacing the hammer you may need a metal trigger and disconnect. I wouldnt try mismatching.
Safety/Pistol Grip - The pistol grip is a standard A2 grip. No need to replace by I prefer MOE. The safety is a bit concerning. It almost feels like if you put a little too much pressure on it.. it will break. I will be replacing this part as well.
Stock/Buffer Assembly - The buffer assembly is Commercial, this is not a problem because all my stocks are commercial. The stock is a New Frontier stock.. It's wobbly and ugly. It's different from the standard M4 style stock. I had a RRA M4 stock laying around. Once replaced the stock had almost no wiggle.
CONCLUSION
This lower is perfect for 2 types of people.. First time AR BUILDERs who wants the experience of building an AR without worrying about scratching up a receiver.. or a guy like me who wants a lightweight stock and has a lot of parts ready to replace the polymer components. If I were you.. I would buy this lower stripped and get a milspec lower parts kit. I'm replacing too many polymer components to even need the complete build.
I am pleasantly surprised by this lower. The quality of it is just amazing. It almost feels like a aluminum lower when it comes to strength. I was a skeptic about polymer lowers. I needed a lower that wouldn't get scratched up.. and I wouldnt care what happened to it if it got beat up. This lower is NOT my primary lower.. It's mainly to be able to have 2 ARs if needed or a place holder to an upper.
QUALITY - LOWER
The quality of the actual lower is excellent. It's thick.. Sturdy.. and VERY well made. When placed on the upper it was a very tight fit. (I actually had to force it on.) There isn't much to say about this because a lower is a lower.
QUALITY - LOWER PARTS
This is the only part of the lower I was turned off by and will be replacing. EVERYTHING is polymer except the buffer assembly. Let's start from the front to the back of my opinions on each part.
Pivot Pens - These things are wobbly. They seem to be good quality and I would trust with the weight of my upper but I wouldnt trust them for too long. I will be replacing it with a metal set.
Bolt Catch - This part is polymer as well but after testing it I concluded it does not need replacement.
Mag Release - The entire assembly is polymer. It seems to be sturdy and get a lot of use out of it. I will not be replacing this part.
Trigger Assembly - The trigger assembly needs to be replaced with a metal assembly IMHO. The hammer is lightweight polymer that almost feels hollow. The trigger itself seems to be decent quality but by replacing the hammer you may need a metal trigger and disconnect. I wouldnt try mismatching.
Safety/Pistol Grip - The pistol grip is a standard A2 grip. No need to replace by I prefer MOE. The safety is a bit concerning. It almost feels like if you put a little too much pressure on it.. it will break. I will be replacing this part as well.
Stock/Buffer Assembly - The buffer assembly is Commercial, this is not a problem because all my stocks are commercial. The stock is a New Frontier stock.. It's wobbly and ugly. It's different from the standard M4 style stock. I had a RRA M4 stock laying around. Once replaced the stock had almost no wiggle.
CONCLUSION
This lower is perfect for 2 types of people.. First time AR BUILDERs who wants the experience of building an AR without worrying about scratching up a receiver.. or a guy like me who wants a lightweight stock and has a lot of parts ready to replace the polymer components. If I were you.. I would buy this lower stripped and get a milspec lower parts kit. I'm replacing too many polymer components to even need the complete build.
