The name RailScales has become synonymous in the firearms industry with high-end AR-15 rail products that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing, while also being made in the U.S. However, when the idea for their namesake product originated, there were very few AR-15 MLOK Rail Covers available on the market. In 2014, when RailScales got its start, a shift was happening in the firearms industry to have slimmer, lighter rails manufactured with a uniform specification of attachment method that any accessory manufacturer could design products for. The unforeseen consequence of these much thinner AR-15 rail sections was that heat transfer from the barrel caused the handguard to become hot and uncomfortable to handle. RailScales saw a need for hardware-mounted, textured grip panels that could be directly attached to the handguard, and using a material only commonly seen in the knife-grip circle called FR4 (G10), they created their first AR-15 rail panels to overcome the heat issue. Now, almost a decade later, RailScales has expanded its offering to include a number of new styles, materials, and color options that can be the finishing touch on any weapon build.
A Multitude Of Patented Textured Grip Panels
Although its first run of AR-15 grip panels were cut by hand with a smooth, grooved grip surface that was the predecessor to their Dune texture, RailScales quickly migrated to manufacturing panels en masse using CNC machines. This, in turn, led to advancements in engineering and design that would give way to additional products and textures, culminating in the current RailScales lineup of Dragon, Honeycomb, Matrix, and Minidot. Each of these unique, patented textures offers different advantages to the end-user. Where Dragon and Matrix tend to be aggressive underhand, the Dragon texture offers a unique directional design allowing the pattern to be run in either a push or pull configuration for maximum grip. Minidot is commonly seen as the least aggressive texture, however the negative space of its design allows for unmatched heat dispersion from the AR-15 barrel. Honeycomb rounds out the texture lineup as the most balanced texture throughout, giving reliable grip purchase without being overly aggressive. This demonstration video from RailScales website gives a quick look at each texture as mounted.
Premium & Economical AR-15 Rail Accessories
In addition to its more premium G10 AR-15 rail panels in MLOK, RailScales supplements its product lineup with the more economical HTP Scales. By adding its same patented textures to these grip panels composed of injection-molded polymer, they provide an option for end-users to get similar grip and heat protection at a fraction of the cost. Another advantage of the HTP Scales is that unlike the G10 products, they are offered in a number of popular industry colors in addition to the standard Black: Flat Dark Earth, Sniper Grey, and Olive Drab Green. Something that users may find lacking in comparison to the machined version RailScales is that the HTP panels are only offered in one length, whereas G10 has a variety of length options available.
Upgraded AR-15 Rail Panels: XOS Scales
One of the later additions to the RailScales lineup of AR-15 rail panels are its 3 sided XOS Scales. An expansion on the traditional version, these were designed with maximum rail coverage and grip purchase in mind. Composed of the same FR4 material as its RailScales panels, by adding a 135º wing coming off of each side of the mounting flat, RailScales engineered a panel that effectively doubles the surface area of coverage inside the same mounting footprint. Most recently, RailScales began to add its TerraCore option, an FDE-colored version of its namesake AR-15 rail panels, to its already abundant product lineup. With the substantial variety of engineering design, materials, and color schemes available, RailScales gives customers no shortage of options to make any AR-15 custom fit to them.
