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BRAIDED CARBON HANDGUARDS
BRIGAND ARMS LLC
TECHNICAL NOTES
Overview
Accessory Mounting
What does it take for an innovative idea to be forged into
We know that for some customers, light-weight handguards
a product worthy of the Brigand name? From raw material
are used to balance the
selection and manufacturing here in the Southeast USA, to
feel of a gun with fore-
testing on the range and in the bush - every step of our
end accessories such as
journey is focused on providing a high quality and unique
grips, bipods, and lights.
handguard solution. Some features of the Brigand handguard
The
you can be proud to own are the extremely low weight,
guards can be purchased
rigorous field testing, rapid heat rejection, and of course the
with full-length picatinny
matchless style of the braided structure.
rails,
Weight Budget
incorporated
into
the
handguard;
each
rail
We
know
components
the
for
frustration
your
of
weapon,
purchasing
only
to
lightweight
find
that
the
manufacturer’s weight claims are too optimistic or that
additional components will add weight not listed in the sales
brochure. For complete transparency, we provide the exact
weight of every component of the guards.
For mounting, we use the common free-float system
comprised of an externally threaded alloy aluminum barrel nut
and a steel jam nut. This combination allows fine adjustment in
EDGE
all
nine
inch
permanently
added weighs 1.51 oz. The newest ATLAS model (Summer
2015) features a revised forward cap with four rail sections
machined into the same aluminum billet as the cap for a
mean,
minimal
look
that
fits
most
common
fore-end
accessories. This option adds only 2.26 ounces to the weight
over a bare EDGE handguard.
Heat Rejection
Not only does the Brigand handguard withstand the heat
alignment but secure mounting. These components are the
same for all Brigand handguards; they weigh 2.66 oz. (Take
note that many manufacturers shrewdly neglect these
necessary components in their own weight budget!)
The EDGE handguard is offered in three lengths, to fit all
gas systems and all shooting styles. Because the carbon tube is
incredibly lightweight compared to the competition, longer
tubes mean the EDGE offers more and more weight savings.
BRAIDING is a time-honored process of
interlacing yarns together that is revolutionizing
the modern composites industry. Our braiding
requires large, specialized machines to handle
the high tension and precision required for
lattice structure tubes. We carefully inspect the
yarns and load the machine in the right patterns
– computers control the speeds and tensions to
ensure repeatable quality and dimensions.
BRIGAND ARMS LLC
of sustained firing, it also rejects barrel heat faster than most
handguards. Heat leaves a rifle barrel through convection (airflow past the barrel) and radiation (infrared ‘glow’). Brigand’s
open-architecture braid provides minimal resistance to airflow, allowing heat to be blown off quickly, and provides
excellent exposure to the open sky for radiated heat to
escape. Does this exposure mean your hand will get hot? The
open-architecture
guard
will
warm
up
to
operating
temperature faster: However, under sustained fire the barrel
will be cooler and the handguard will cool faster after firing
than with any enclosed guard. This improves barrel life and
Reliability & Strength
decreases heat signature duration.
We understand that lightweight weapons cannot sacrifice
any performance for weight-savings. After engineering to the
limit of performance, physical testing is a key part of validating
our designs. How strong is the handguard? We can hang 40
pound dumbbells from the
end of it and swing them
around with no signs of
bending. Under controlled
laboratory
Materials & Design
tests
the
handguards can support a
The Brigand Handguard concept is built on a platform of
force of 100 pounds in any
aerospace-proven materials and innovative mechanical
direction, and 400 pounds
design. A large component of this is the braided carbon tube;
along their length – more
technically called ‘Open-Architecture Composite Structure’ or
than even extreme users
O-ACS for short. The O-ACS geometry is designed in the
require. We field test every handguard configuration, firing
computer using proprietary software. It is braided from special
thousands of rounds in tortuous conditions, then bring them
composite yarns in a lattice that minimizes weight and
back to the lab and inspect there are no flaws nor slowly
maximizes stiffness and strength. Every yarn within the tube is
developing cracks. Dozens of iterations have led to the
formed from T700 carbon for strength and stiffness, shrouded
current braid that we use. The resulting high-strength design is
within a protective jacket for all-weather durability and
unique enough that it’s covered by a US patent! Of course,
abrasion resistance. This jacket prevents cracking (common in
we know it’s not fair to expect you only trust our testing: Give a
filament wound handguards) and splinters (common in roll-
Brigand handguard a try - we guarantee every handguard
wrapped handguards). Solid metal end-caps provide rock-
against manufacturing flaws and against reasonable failure in
solid mounting on the receiver, and protection from impact on
the field.
the fore end.
All metal components are 6061 aluminum, hard anodized to
provide a tough and durable finish.
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Brigand Arms LLC
214 Lake Providence Ln.
Leeds, AL 35094