Description
The handguard is the most visible and most handled part of a rifle: the one you choose will define the style, weight, ergonomics, and performance of your AR-10 or AR-15 firearm. Ultra-lightweight is only the starting point for what our NOAX handguards offer. Aerospace carbon fiber make this guard stronger than aluminum at below half the weight. The lattice structure provides a solid and repeatable grip and allows versatile accessory mounting at almost any angle. It insulates your forehand and provides airflow ensures superior barrel cooling rates for accuracy even in sustained fire. For precision shooting, our free-floating barrel nut puts no pressure on the barrel and will never change your point of impact. We know that’s a lot to promise, that’s why we back these claims with our industry leading warranty. We offer the NOAX handguard in lengths from 7” to 15” to match your shooting style and rifle setup. The carbon lattice material is complemented by our deep-black hard-anodized aluminum end-caps which allow easy mounting to your upper receiver and protect the leading edge from impact.
The EDGE, BLADE, and ATLAS models are all built with our precision NOAX material and vary only in the forward end-cap. EDGE provides a flat cut for classic style or to align with a silencer. BLADE provides an angular cut to help exhibit your barrel or for compensator and front sight clearance. While M-LOK and Picatinny can be mounted anywhere along the handguard with our backing plates, ATLAS provides a quad Picatinny rail and a sling stud for users who expect to always run accessories.
What’s in the box? All Brigand Arms handguard orders include our lightweight barrel nut which replaces your existing barrel nut. We always recommend you talk to a gunsmith about installation, but we have tutorials for both AR-10 and AR-15 installation. If you’re frequently working on your AR build, we recommend our ultra-compact BAAR armorer’s wrench. Like most free-floating handguards, all Brigand Arms guards require a low-profile gas block. We recommend Faxon for a simple lightweight gas block and Aero Precision for adjustable gas blocks.
If you have followed Brigand Arms for a while, you might be thinking “This material looks different than the last time I saw it…” You’re right! In 2021 our fabrication process was re-designed to give our team complete control over the manufacturing process. We call our new material “NOAX” (pronounced “NO-axe”) to differentiate from the former braided “OACS” or “O-ACS” material. Every NOAX handguard is built in Birmingham, Alabama by specialized machines developed for that purpose. This new material is stronger than ever, enables more precise accessory mounting, and now has a sleek dark graphite appearance and smoother texture. All orders placed after December 1, 2021 are built with this new material.
To get the most out of your O-ACS handguard purchase, consider adding our Picatinny or MLOK accessory mounts.
Specs:
- ID = 1.75 in. | OD = 2.00 in.
- Tube: Patented T700 carbon fiber NOAX
- Caps: Aluminum 6061 Hard Anodized
- Barrel nut (included): Aluminum 7075 Hard Anodized
Weight
| LENGTH: | EDGE | BLADE | ATLAS |
| 7″ | 3.7 oz | 3.7 oz | 5.8 oz |
| 9″ | 4.1 oz | 4.1 oz | 6.2 oz |
| 12.375″ | 4.7 oz | 4.7 oz | 6.7 oz |
| 15″ | 5.1 oz | 5.1 oz | 7.1 oz |
*All weights INCLUDE barrel nut. Add 1.2oz for AR-10 model
- Barrel Nut: Free-float barrel nut system (externally threaded alloy aluminum barrel nut and a steel jam nut).
- Threads: Standard Yankee Hill thread count.
- Torque: Recommended torque is 30-40 ft-lbs, as with any aluminum barrel nut. A small spot of moly grease (e.g. aeroshell 64/33ms) is recommended, but not required. If you get to full torque and the gas port is not quite aligned, simply loosen and re-tighten the nut until it creeps into place.
- Lengths: Measured from tip of end cap to end of jam nut (i.e. fully-installed length).
- AR-10 Barrel Nut Installation: Check out the install video for guidance.
Gary (verified owner) –
Pretty impressed with this. Sturdy, looks great, and it assembles with ease. I have this over my BSF Carbon .223 Wylde Barrel. Its a thick .936″ so with the gas block just barely rubs on the handguard. Not sure if that’s going to be an issue later down the road but I hope its fine. It looks great though. Wish I could attach photos. Extremely glad I went with this guard. Only thing I was disappointed with is the shipping. It was supposed to be 2 day but they use USPS which is the least reliable option possible. So I received it after 7 days instead.
Sparta (NV) (verified owner) –
Ultralight handguard
by Sparta, Verified Owner from NV, United States Written on November 11, 2017
I have used many handguards from Geissele, fortis, jp, f1-firearms, BCM, and I can tell you by far this is the lightest handguard I have ever owned. Thank you for producing an amazing product Brigand Arms.
Verified Owner (PA) (verified owner) –
Strong & Light
by TBD, Verified Owner from PA, United States Written on March 25, 2021
Extremely light and rigid. Worth the cost if you’re looking to save weight. I was worried it would be awkward to hold due to the webbed design, but that’s not the case at all. Feels nice to hold and has virtually no flex at all when squeezed.
Taylor (CA) (verified owner) –
Awesome light wieght
by Taylor, from CA, United States Written on December 20, 2019
Great product very light weight and durable use it in my three gun match can definitely tell the difference.the grip in your hand feels secure it’s not slippery. Fun to use And the carbon fibers strong
Best (TN) (verified owner) –
Surprising
by Best handguard, from TN, United States Written on September 4, 2019
So besides this thing being stupid lightweight it is surprisingly great in the following ways. 1) Super rigid braids to the point where you can’t squeeze and feel the it cave in like some aluminum lightweight rails. 2) Easy to attach rail segments to. 3) Doesn’t heat up at all! I mag dumped 3 mags of wolf polyformance and then 1 mag of some Winchester pdx defensive ammo after using 3 mags of slow but consistent fire of tulammo to tune gas block and sight in an rds. After the fun dumps the hand guard itself was the ambient air temperature. I could DC feel the heat radiating off barrel, block, and the gas tube but it wasn’t even uncomfortable. I will say the barrel nut and jam nut did heat up but wasn’t burning me. All of this was using a pencil barrel so the heat was as bad as it could’ve possibly been. This should’ve been a huge selling point for them but they seemed to have missed this for whatever reason. I did have to contact them for a replacement right after getting I TV from usps because the braids were twisted and it annoyed me, it wouldn’t have been a deal breaker with the edge model. Customer service was awesome and the issue was resolved within the week I shipped it back to them. I guess it goes without saying that, yes I like the handguard. Well worth the money and I will continue to buy their handguards.
Greg (VA) (verified owner) –
Awesome Form, Awesome Look, Awesome Function
by Greg, Verified Owner from VA, United States Written on March 31, 2018
I purchased the 12″ length Brigand blade handguard for an ATI Omni Hybrid AR-15 .410ga Shotgun. With its stainless Gunkote barrel, this handguard provided the look, the function (it is super durable), and the color contrast (black over silver) I was looking for. Once you determine this is the right handguard for your use, then the price becomes secondary. The Brigand handguard was easy to install, and the strength of the handguard is second to none. I was also surprised at how comfortable the handguard is to grasp. With the optional rail attachment, it was easy to install a Crimson Trace laser to the handguard. Great form, great function, and a great look. This is a unique one-of-a-kind handguard, and well worth the investment!