The most advanced, mechanically intelligent and ideal optic mount ever devised is launching here on Soldier Systems. You don’t have to believe this claim by Kinetic Development Group. You can listen to the reasons why and try it for yourself or simply watch the Internet for the positive reviews. The guys at KDG have developed a mounting system called the SIDELOK™. What’s the big deal? Where do we start?
Prior to discussing the SIDELOK™, lets rap about why Kinetic thought they should develop a mounting system for Optics.
The first reason is repeatability. Generally optics mounts have two attachment points with separate levers. Some are adjustable so you can tighten or loosen them for the particular tolerance picatinny rail you may be mounting to. One may be tighter, one slightly looser. This is recipe for disaster in the repeatability department when installing or removing an optical accessory. The other problem is you may like you optic so tight you actually damage the pic rail. That is why the Government Issue XXX mounts for the Aimpoint actually limit the torque you can apply to the installation knob.
There is a religion when it comes to military members about putting on an optic, zeroing it, and leaving it there for fear they may lose zero between missions, and for good reason. Lets say you wanted to remove your long-range optic and put on your red dot. You would be absolutely incompetent if you did not confirm zero. Why? There are so many variables between installing, removing and reinstalling an optic you NEED to reconfirm, even if you reinstall in the same slots on the picatinny rail.
Now here comes the SIDELOK™. The SIDELOK™ takes the incompetence out of mounting optics. What do we mean by that? You have no input as a human being on how your optic mounts to your pic rail. What do we mean? You can’t screw it up!
With SIDELOK™, simply roll the optic (attached to your SIDELOK™ mount) to your picatinny railed weapon and “click!!” the mount automatically deploys the locking bars to the 45-degree angles of the picatinny rail (which hold the tightest tolerance concerning the picatinny rail specification). The locking bars snap in at the exact same time making the mounting completely repeatable. The spring cams apply the exact same amount of pressure between the two bars. The system works on spring pressure with a cam that supplies exponentially more mechanical advantage than the button that is used to release it from the weapon.
Removal and installation is extremely fast. Does that make you nervous? The only way this is coming off is if it is deliberate and by the user (YOU!). Not a sling hung up in the works. Not being jammed up on gear. Not being dropped from a first story roof in Iraq onto concrete. Yet, you can peel it off sooner than you can open your Copenhagen. The reason is there is a safety lock. You have to push the button with a human fingertip. That releases recessed “Glock like” secondary safety lock that allows the user to overcome the mechanical advantage of the cam lock and roll off the weapon. Firing a weapon with a heavy optic? The SIDELOK™ gets tighter if it needs to. This is pure mechanics; not a photographer’s quick detaching clamp like the other offerings on the market. The SIDELOK™ is also one of the slimmest mounts on the market. There is nothing in the way to snag on you, or interfere with your charging handle on a side-charging weapon platform.
This may not mean much to you if you are a user with 4 uppers for various mission profiles or uses. However, many of us and even many local LE agencies do not have the budget for mission specific uppers set up to go. With the SIDELOK™, you literally can pick and choose your mission, install your accessory in less than a second, and if installed in the same place it was zeroed, it will be on the mark.
- The first of the SIDELOK™ to be released is the SIDELOK™ specifically for the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic (PRO); which is also compatible with the Aimpoint Comp M4 and the C3 models. The second is the universal picatinny SIDELOK™ Scope Riser. Don’t worry, the Aimpoint T1, T2, H1, and H2 model SIDELOK™ is on the way soon…. Stay tuned.
Please visit kineticdg.com for more information or email info@kineticdg.com for questions.
Got a chance to examine these at SOFIC. VERY clever design and feels rock solid installed. I’ve got the universal picatinny SIDELOK™ Scope Riser now and will put some miles on it to see if it performs as advertised.
That’s some pretty nifty looking stuff right there. Never been a big fan of “throw levers” , well, except for the old A.R.M.S. stuff. Will definitely be keeping an eye on this.
Good idea, but I suspect that half or more of the problem may be crappy, out-of-spec manufacture of “Picatinny” rails. I’m no expert (so a KNOWLEDGEABLE response would be appreciated), but I recall reading that there were/are only TWELVE (12) certified gauges manufactured and in service in the entire firearms industry for determining go/no-go compliance with M-1913 “Picatinny Rail” standards. The implication was that anything not at least lot-sample gauged is suspect.
Working at a major manufacturer of 1913 accessories, I can assure you this is a problem. We have the aforementioned gauges (although I have no idea how many others there are) and we have found that many rails are undersized. Generally not enough to make a difference but some are so under the spec that they can barely be called “M1913.”
There are certain handguards out there that are everyone’s favorite prom date right now; 90% of them are so jacked up dimensionally that you could consistently stand back 5 yards and toss through a min-spec gauge like a dart and never touch metal.
Caveat emperor.
Totally squares with a recent experience I had simply moving a SureFire light from a sorta sketchy rail to one from a manufacturer proven to be “obsessive” about specs (and proven with calipers). Surefire is definitely biased toward undersized rails, so much so that the in-spec rail wouldn’t even accept it.
Did some research on the web on a fix and found enough differences of opinion to just take it to a ‘smith I trust.
Cool stuff. Should give LaRue mounts a solid competitor.
Website link (https://kineticdg.com/) currently broken and can’t access it. Any word on whether they’ll do anything for the ACOG?
https://kineticdg.com/ works fine for me, and I’m even on a .gov computer.
Link is down for me too.
Thats the beauty of this. We designed it with the full range of picatinny tolerance. We have tested it with out of spec rails on both ends and it locks like a bank vault. It was designed to do that. Now, the stuff coming out of China? We didn’t bother with that, so as long as it is domestic. Sidelok will lock up like a chastity belt.
Any plans to expand the line up in the near future?
Yes Sir as fast as we can. And that is pretty fast!
I wish there was some kinda safety or secondary (aside from tie downs) to keep that sucker from hitting a branch or kit. Yes, they say it can’t come off that way but don’t explain how, and the video shows if you hit a button it just pops off. That doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. At least my LaRue’s require the levers unlatched then swung open.
If you actually read the post instead of just watching the pretty moving pictures, then you would understand that there is a secondary safety built in to the button.
This appears to raise the height of the optic by using a ‘rail-on-a-rail’ and the EOtech is designed to sit at a fixed height on the regular rail. Is co-witness a problem there?
Do you deliver the Comp M3 version to Sweden? (i.e. are these restricted?)
There is a secondary safety. You have to deliberately take it off with the tip of your finger in a recessed hole.
They are ITAR, but that does not mean we can’t export them through D-TRADE.
Or lower the price for foreign countries 😉
get some sand into that gizmo and see what happens. no thanks.
Get sand in any gizmo no thanks.
There is a problem with co-witness with the EOTECH on the rail on a rail. We would not suggest it for a rifle, but works great on MG’s.
Thanks for the reply! It’s nice to see guys stand by a product like this and respond to comments. That goes a long way to inspiring confidence in a product. Keep up the good work!
Clever indeed….
limited clamping force by relying on spring pressure, coupled with dumping on other manufacturers mounts that have proven themselves in the GWOT. ya, take my money. no.
Does not rely on spring pressure. It is a cam system. Kinda like the one that locks your ar bolt on 55,000 PSI of pressure. Your funny!
i’m funny. you need to read the write up again bro. “the system works on spring pressure….” you’re not funny and dumping on LaRue, ADM…along with potential customers isn’t cool. let’s see how it stands up. you say it’s rock solid? prove it.
Your mouth runs on air pressure but I’m sure it works as well as a larue mount or any others you mention. Go elsewhere troll.
all in on improvements but seeing a new company dump on rock solid battle proven systems with marketing hype like bank vault and chastity belts is reason enough for me to say put your money where your mouth is and not through the old boy network handing it off to a writer/buddy so he pimps it to the gullible masses without running it through the crucible. so sack up, and let’s see it dropped in mud sand dirt and whip it like a rented russian mule and hold zero
Darren popped one of these casually out of his pocket to show me the pre-production mount at SHOT, and hands-down I thought right there this was the slickest thing I saw at the show.
Looking forward to trying one out: I swap ACOGs and longer-range Leupold scopes on my Hodge rifle a lot, and this looks like a great solution. I like to see good, original approaches.
Is there a reason not to flip the mount and run the release lever to the rear?
Looks awesome. I’m sick of the aimpoint comp m2 mounts being so huge and getting in my way. That leads me to my question, do they work on the old Aimpoint Comp M2’s?