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Charging Handle: FFT vs CarrierComp


stealle

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I've been hoping for a black charging handle from CarrierComp for about 6 months. Since it seems Kip is no longer very active on this forum, I'm starting to look at other options.

 

I'd like to hear from those who have the FFT charging handle. Does the finish match the M4? Also, I have concerns about the strength of the FFT's all titanium design. I remember reading something about Kip changing his original all titanium product to a titanium/steel hybrid. I think his original design had some failures. So, this leaves me wondering about the strength of the FFT charging handle. Anyone know how well they hold up? Any failures?

 

Also, anyone got an inside scoop from Carrier Comp? Does he have any intentions of adding a matching charging handle to his product line in the near future?

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Who is CarrierComp?

 

Lol, are you serious? I find it hard to believe that anyone who has been a member since June 2011 with 185 posts hasn't heard of Carrier Comp. However, Kip (owner of Carrier Comp) hasn't made a post on this forum since September of last year so I guess it's possible. I guess I am familiar with his products because I lurked this forum for about a year before I became a member and made my first post.

 

Short answer: www.carriercomp.com

 

Long answer: Kip from Carrier Comp is well know on this forum for making specific products for the M4. His has a meticulous attention to detail and quality control. For example, his "Parkerized Tone" Titanium Full Length Mag Tube is a perfect match for the M4 in both form and function. It looks better than the factory full length and is light weight and strong. Also, his mil-spec picatinny rail replaces the non-mil spec P-O-S factory picatinny rail. It's not a "tacticool" rail, it's just mil-spec, looks like the factory rail, and provides a better connection to attachments than the factory rail... which is what many people want. Further, he has also focused on products to make the M4 - 922® compliant. He has worked diligently with Geissele Automatics to produce a U.S. made hammer that is currently available. Geissele is also supposedly working on a full trigger group for the M4 as well.

 

Carrier Comp has become well know for high quality M4 products, but not necessarily the most speedy customer service. If I remember correctly, I believe Kip had an auto accident last year requiring multiple surgeries. Around the same time, a few people on this forum started to complain about slow or no response to e-mail inquiries and product availability. He seemed to became less active on the forum around the same time. carriercomp.com is still up and running and making the same awesome product, but customers are still left wondering (or have to e-mail inquire) when certain products will become available. For example, the picatinny rail says on his website "temporarily out of stock" and next batch available "mid-December". I think that means December of last year and his website hasn't been updated to reflect current info.

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When I inquired a couple weeks ago about the status of the rails, the answer was that they'd be back from the anodizer maybe by the end of February.

 

I don't think this info will have anything to do with the charging handle. The charging handle is made of titanium and steel which can not be anodized. Only aluminum can be anodized. Unless, perhaps the same company that does the anodizing does the type of finish that the charging handle requires.

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FFT website shows Titanium charging handles and they show steel charging handles. I didn't see a Titanium/steel charging handle.

 

That's correct. As I stated in my first post. The FFT charging handle is all titanium. The Carrier Comp charging handle is titanium and steel.

 

The 1st gen Carrier Comp charging handle was all titanium but would bend/fail with heavy use. The 2nd gen Carrier Comp charging handle is much stronger.

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I asked Kip about the black charging handle and was told that since you cannot parkerize or anodize titanium it would require some other method like a coating. When he attempted to source this out, he was told it would add something like $20 to the price of each one. He was looking for a better/cheaper solution. This is the last I heard on the subject.

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saym14 , what dose it match great ? CC dosen't make a charging handle the same color as the M4 . I have been asking them for one for over a year . So has many other people on here and from other places , but as far as I can tell there still isn't one available .

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Lol, are you serious?

 

 

Of course I was being facetious! There are just so many examples of a failure-to-communicate, if FFT ever gets their act together and manufactures a product without issues, Kip is in harms way. The picatinny Rail has been out of stock since June of 2011 and of course there were dates posted that it would be available. Yes, Mid-Dec of 2011 was the last update.

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I wonder if Kip would just sell the rails in the white? It wouldn't be very hard to send it off to have coated yourself. Pretty sure Ion Bonding would stick to the titanium bolt handles. The Design Concepts ones I have is titanium and is black and I don't think it was grown in the Elysian fields before being magicked down to Brownells for the gracious consumer (me) to purchase.

 

For the rails, there are a bunch of places that will do Type III anodizing.

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From the horse's mouth;

The problem with making the charging handles in black, was the muted ones were constantly absorbed by ongoing orders.

Swung by his shop a week and a half ago (about 90 miles from my home of record) and was shown a sample in black Tialn. Unlike painted variants... sandapaper wouldn't touch it (yes he showed me enthusiastically).

Apparently the $20 premium per was a "high" estimate which he sourced down to roughly half that in the end. Also stated he had slated a few dozen for prototype coating this month (Feb) in spite of demand in order to clear the hurdle.

 

I would order two but he won't take money in advance for items he has yet to evaluate. Ethics be danged!! No worries, he gave me the sample so I need only scrounge for one.

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I've been hoping for a black charging handle from CarrierComp for about 6 months. Since it seems Kip is no longer very active on this forum, I'm starting to look at other options.

 

I'd like to hear from those who have the FFT charging handle. Does the finish match the M4? Also, I have concerns about the strength of the FFT's all titanium design. I remember reading something about Kip changing his original all titanium product to a titanium/steel hybrid. I think his original design had some failures. So, this leaves me wondering about the strength of the FFT charging handle. Anyone know how well they hold up? Any failures?

 

Also, anyone got an inside scoop from Carrier Comp? Does he have any intentions of adding a matching charging handle to his product line in the near future?

 

I have tried both, I would try VERY hard to get one that Kip made.

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That's really true. I would rather have my GG&G bolt release than an oversized charging handle.

 

The carriercomp charging handle works fine with the GG&G bolt release. I've had no issues at all.

 

Btw, IMHO the gray colored Carriercomp charging handle looks great on the M4 :)

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