The latest Blue Force Gear, Inc. Vickers sling I’ve picked up has some interesting little improvements from previous iterations, which is something I’ve noticed BFG do quite continuously. They never really publicise it as far I’ve seen, but if you buy something like a pouch from them at one point, then buy another one of exactly the same item 6 months later, you’ll be almost guaranteed to find changes and improvements.
In the case of the padded Vickers Combat sling seen here, they’ve changed the acetal adjustment piece with the webbing tab that allows quick changes to the length of the sling; switching between appropriate lengths for patrolling, shooting and carrying on your back. I found the previous version would slip slightly when the weapon was suspended on it over time, leaving your sling longer than you’d want it to be. Initial impressions are that this new piece will lock in the webbing better to alleviate this issue, but only time and testing will tell.
The question in my mind is whether I’ll buy any more of these now the padded Magpul MS1 is on the market. I’ve used a fair few of the Vickers’ slings for building my own customised versions over the years and they’ve served me so much better than anything I used before… but, the padded MS1 doesn’t have any bunching around the pad the way this does (not a noticeable problem on the BFg, but it does happen), seems to lock in the chosen length just as well with a lower profile adjustment system, is generally a lot less shiny and is constructed in a more up-to-date fashion. The Magpul product generally looks and feels higher quality and more advanced. Again, time and testing in usage will of course tell.
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