At the request of military personnel, War Sport Inc. has put together a rail cover for cold weather operations. Its purpose is simple, to keep the cold from transferring from a weapon into the fingers and wrist, especially from aluminum rails, which don’t shed cold well. WSI’s specialty is actually thermal cloaking (such as with their Barrel Sock, also originally built at the request of a specific organization, and the Suppressor Sock). They used their thermal material and expertise to make such a rail cover work a little better, basically inverting it so the thermal cloth is pointed upward, guarded by a rugged but lightweight 330 Cordura wrap. It reflects heat back into the hand, though not enough to create much of a signature and does reduce the visibility of rail temperature.
The rail cover is not specifically designed to mitigate the weapon’s thermal signature, though it will do so by virtue of its construction. Initial evaluations showed it reduces measured rail temperature by approximately 20 degrees. Obviously, it can be used in conjunction with the Suppressor and Barrel Socks to reduce overall signature.
The rail cover is available with and without MOLLE points, and in the latter case will be available in vertical strips, lateral strips or a mix of the two. (The MOLLE points were added as an option for those who might want to run brush or natural camo through them, or perhaps to throw a small pouch on there if they’re going to be lying prone for a long period of time. It’s obviously not to hang modular pouches off of while you’re busting brush, or running CQB/MOUT operations—don’t read more into it than there is.)
They’ll have it in ATACS UA, the new ATACS FG, Woodland, Coyote, Black, etc. The most likely market for these will be cold weather shooters, hunters and similar commercial applications, though LEOs and military personnel may like it as well.
The thermal rail cover with MOLLE weighs in at 3.9 oz., the one without MOLLE just under 3. Contact War Sport on their website or on Facebook for more information.
-DR
