I think many of us have slowly conformed to the mentality that having the latest shiny product that is shinier than all the other shiny new tools, gear or accessories means that it is somehow superior.
I will fully admit that I have fallen victim to the shiny mentality. I was a little apprehensive about the JKL Mobile Gun Vise after taking it out of the packaging; it appeared to be just a pile of delrin rod and milled aluminum.
After opening it, I started thinking about ways that I could avoid reviewing this product. Well I decided to put my shiny syndrome in the closet for a day and give it a try, forgetting my initial reaction. I have seen this thing posted up everywhere and I bet you’ve seen a picture or two of it posted around as well.
I needed to apply Frog Lube to my latest AR build and decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to try out the JKL Mobile Gun Vise. I took my AR apart and started cleaning it by hand like I do with my other guns. After finishing the first side, I started using the cleaning kit and I realized that my initial thoughts and reactions to this product were wrong. This is a great kit to have on a workbench, in your kitchen, bathroom, hell, even in the bedroom (although the misses might not agree with the latter). I finished cleaning in about 20 minutes – a record for a novice such as myself to have cleaned and Frog Lubed my AR for the first time.
While trying to capture the use of the barrel removal configuration I decided to leave that up to the owner of JKL. I would have put my triumphant attempt at removing the barrel on my Sig M400 but I didn’t feel that a 20 minute video of me swearing at Sig Sauer for putting the barrel on with 150 pounds of torque was something of interest. You can find the barrel removal video from JKL here.
All in all I think this is one of the more helpful setups I’ve reviewed. The JKL Mobile Gun Vise enables you to build an AR on your kitchen counter, and then make adjustments at the range if need be. It’s a new concept and it’s executed perfectly. It is functional, practical and above all else; something that hasn’t been done before. I will gracefully admit that I had judged a book by it’s cover and was completely surprised at how wrong I was.