Monolithic, Semi-Monolithic, Monoforged, Enhnaced, etc. Uppers

[Vynz]

There are so many different names for these uppers but the common shared feature is these do not have the standard external threading for a barrel nut upon which a handguard would attach. In the LMT case the upper and handguard are one piece; for the others the front of the receiver extrudes forward where the barrel and barrel nut fits inside the upper while the handguard attaches to the outside of the upper receiver itself. I‘ve read some of the justifications for these designs: better hand-guard rigidity for holding zero, decreased handguard leverage induced POI shift, and others I don’t understand enough to even parrot. I’ve also read opposing points of view: loss of handguard compatibility, POI reduction insignificant, proprietary barrel extensions in some cases. I’m not really looking to be convinced or dissuaded from getting one of these uppers - for better or worse I want a rifle with this design. However I’m also not the best at choosing between very similar options, so if you all were considering a rifle with this upper design which of poll choices would you choose and why? Currently I’m sitting between the LWRCI IC-DI and LMT MRP-L MLOK and making no headway.

 

[Jsp556]

The old Mega Monolithic uppers are nice if you can find someone willing to sell one. The new ones aren’t too bad either.

 

[rpoL98]

Aero M5E1 Enhanced because:
- lesser amount of proprietary crap, IMHO.
- I've already standardized all my AR-308 lowers around the Aero M5 pattern, including my non-Aero AR-308 lowers (modified to accept Aero M5 uppers).
- all my uppers are built on Aero M5 upper receivers.

I'm ok with the handguard limited selection, meh. The Aero M5 "Enhanced Gen 2" handguard won't ever win a beauty contest, or win on sex appeal, it ain't purdy, but it's robust and functional, it easily clears even the SLR Sentry-9 clamp-on 0.936" adj gas block, it does the job. I'm waiting for the 16.6" versions to become available, better aesthetics for my 20", 24", 26" barrels.

I try pretty hard to get the BLEM's when they're available, FWIW.

 

[TangoSierra916]

If your stuck between Lmt and LWRC I think one big question is do you plan to swap barrels often and when you do, do you need the functionality Lmt offers? Lmt offers a wide selection of mrp-l barrels but they must use the proprietary design, although some aftermarket shops can make them now. I’d personally go Lmt as they hold value, are great shooters and the quick change barrel system is very nice imo.

The LWRC spiral fluted barrel though

 

[Vynz]

Hi @TangoSierra916, thanks for the reply!

Do I plan to swap barrels often... honestly, probably not. I have an MCX where I swapped barrels between 16” 556 and 9” 300blk (and handguards, and the optic) about twice before I said fuck it and bought another MCX upper. The fastest barrel/caliber change for me is popping two pins and placing a new upper with the right handguard, zero’d optic and accessories. What I like about the LMT is how their monolithic upper represents the logical endpoint of a handguard that holds zero for attachments; the barrel swap is just a side effect of figuring out how to barrel a monolithic upper IMHO. The proprietary nature of the barrel extension/mount system is a bit of a negative but unlike the MCX the D. Wilson serves as an escape route so I’m not just stuck with only vendor barrel options.

My hesitation with the LWRC is — Well shit, just like that, with one question from TangoSierra I guess I have clarity. I still want to see what people think overall about these choices just out of curiosity.

 

[n2ishun]

I've got an older Mega "megalythic" (or however they spelled it) and have a newer Aero M5e1 enhanced.
The Mega is lighter and it's factory ambi everything.
The Aero is also rock solid and I've had zero issues with it.
They don't make the Mega anymore, too bad, was some lawsuit thing that stopped it.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Aero enhanced setup, for what it is, and how much it cost, it's a swingin deal.

 

[UpSideDown]

If you are running night vision or a IR laser on your handguard, then it needs to be very rigid. Otherwise there’s a lot of really squared away handguards on the market now. I personally like the Knights Mlok rail because it doesn’t use a barrel but; the handguard itself is threaded and replaces the barrel nut so it’s very light and rigid. I also like the BCM stuff. You really only need the rail/nut to be replaceable if your upper is starting out with a trashy one that you need to upgrade, but if the gun itself already has a quality handguard of the appropriate length it doesn’t matter. Now if you buy an LMT with a long handguard and barrel and then want to run a really short barrel on it maybe that gets weird, but I doubt that’ll be any issue. The LMT stuff is top tier but heavy. The LWRCi stuff is also excellent.

My favorite assembly right now is a Mega regular style receiver with the Knights mlok handguard, but lots of good picks out there. If I wanted a factory rifle to trust my life to I’d grab an LMT, and if I couldn’t find one I’d grab an LWRCi or a BCM.