Over the years, Picatinny’s modularity made it ubiquitous in the firearms world. With all the free-rail-love going on, the cheese-grater-style aluminum strips started to appear on everything from handguards to buttstocks and everything in between. RELATED STORY: 5 Elite KeyMod UpGrades From Bravo CompanyĪs great as a Picatinny rail is, a big drawback to the system is the added weight. Rifle handguards got longer, and every inch of additional rail packed on more poundage than an all-Cinnabon diet.

At one point, shooters began to question whether they really needed all that Picatinny and looked to shed the excess weight. We had the opportunity to talk to the man who conceived and developed the lighter-weight alternative that’s taken the firearm world by storm: the KeyMod system. Eric Kincel, KeyMod inventor and research and development director for Bravo Company Manufacturing, gave us a fascinating look into the behind-the-scenes story of KeyMod’s development. He also addressed our suspicions about whether or not this groundbreaking system was based on warehouse racks (you know you’re thinking the same thing!). Kincel first had the idea for KeyMod back in 2008, when he was working for Vltor.

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