Home
TOP
America’s fighting men and women can carry only so much gear. Whether in the Al Anbar desert of western Iraq or at 12,000 feet on the slopes of the Hindu Kush, every ounce of battle rattle must serve a legitimate function. Unlike some equipment issued to troops at home or on deployment, the now-prevalent Grip Pod is not only useful, it’s proven to be a trusted ally.
The brainchild of business partners Joe Moody and Joe Gaddini of Jacksonville, Fla., the first all-aluminum vertical foregrip/bipod prototypes were presented at a military command conference at Fort Benning, Ga., for consideration as a new piece of gear for American forces in 2003. Top brass took notice, and by 2005 Grip Pod Systems won its first sole-source contract. Army and Marine units in Iraq and Afghanistan began adopting the grips later that year.
The 7-ounce grip attaches to a Picatinny rail, tightens with a wing nut, and features a spring-loaded bipod extending and unfolding from the base at the push of a button. The newest versions have proprietary polymer legs with stainless inserts that provide strong support for M4s, M249s and other arms currently used by the U.S. and its allies. In fact, the British recently modified many of their SA80 rifles with Daniel Defense-supplied rail systems and have bought about 100,000 Grip Pods for combat use.
To date the company has manufactured nearly a million units, with hundreds of thousands in use at home and abroad by troops in all branches of the military, in addition to personnel from the FBI, DEA and other government agencies. They are entirely made and assembled in America, and the company continues to receive contracts. It claims that the Grip Pod is now the only standard-issue vertical foregrip/bipod in the U.S. military. The same grips are also available for civilians.
There are a number of cheap, foreign knock-offs of which buyers should beware. Genuine Grip Pods have non-removable wing nuts and the words “Grip Pod” molded into the sides.