Points to consider:
1) RE: The CAL bipods will not lock the tilt feature solidly.
The very first production of the CAL was with the tilt feature of ALL of them locking up solid and tight. Tons of internet customers complained that they preferred a slight amount of softness or give to the locking tilt feature so that the user could force a little english/tweak into the sight picture without having to reach up and unlock, re-level and lock again.
B&T responded by giving the market a change that allowed just that. This disenchanted the slice of the market that wanted a solid lock.
The disenchanted portion of the market is verbalizing in this thread and others.
B&T was responsive to (some of) the market.
It is impossible to make everybody happy and it is probably not a smart move to have two completely different SKUs in inventory.
Anyone can go back to the old threads that surrounded the first 6 months of the CAL product rollout and see the uproar of unpleased users because the cant feature locked too solidly.
I do not envy B&T or any other company in that lane. Even with stellar products, you cannot please the entire market.
**I am not trying to speak for B&T. This is solely my own opinion and take on the background leading up to the current CAL threads. I'm sure they can address this on their own far better than I can.
2) RE: The Pod-Loc kit was produced for the LEO market.
Indeed the LEO niche is where 90% of KMW rifles go and ton of Pod-Locs are in use there but it was LE
was not the catalyst for the origin of it.
The KMW Pod-Loc kit was initially built and produced in response to seeing SS Marines tearing up their new Harris S-model bipods with Leathermans, SOG pliers and other tools in an attempt to lock and un-lock the tilt feature during the week long NASC championship in 1999.
The USMC was in the process of finalizing the kit specs for the M40-A3. The Pod-Loc kits were tested, added to the kit specs and issued an NSN by 2000.
The complete history of the Pod-Loc kit can be read here:
https://www.kmwlrs.com/pod-loc
3) RE: The Pod-Loc does not produce a solid lock for the tilt feature of the CAL.
The Pod-Loc does only one job. It allows a reasonable amount of torque to be imparted to the center pivot rod component of the CAL and Harris S bipods. The actual result of whether the bipod achieves a solid lock of the tilt feature is not dependent on the Pod-Loc. It is dependent on the design and materials used in the mechanical clutch/lock feature of the bipod itself.
This is proven by the fact that the very first CALs produced a solid tilt/lock which a ton of people complained about. B&T responded by modifying the tilt/lock components to allow a soft lock which is what you see today. No changes were made to the Pod-Loc during the product evolution and transition.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I am going to copy and paste this post to the other thread as well in an attempt to explain things better and perhaps allow a better resolution to both camps (I want my lockup tight vs I want my lockup soft).
Hope this helps.
T
.