rat.bastard.reviews: WELLSMADE COMPANY (WMC)
Disclosure: Back at it again, no contracts no masters. Today we start in a familiar fashion with thanking Wellsmade Company (WMC) for sponsoring this review, of course it is my moral obligation to inform all readers that WMC has donated to us 2 of their Two point quick adjust sling's free of charge in exchange for an honest review. If you are a regular here you know I don't shill, I don't simp, I don't promote, sell, or make money off of any items reviewed here. These reviews are for the bastards by the bastard, If I think the item is shit I tell you and that's the simplest way I can communicate that; Lets lay it down.
Initial Impression: Wellsmade was great to talk with online, very kind and courteous, willing to take a chance on the bastard with nearly nothing to go off of except a promise and a faceless Instagram account; Much appreciated fellas. The slings were received quickly and seemed to be great quality out of the box, the colors were vibrant and the stitching was precise. I noticed almost immediately that the quick adjust slide clamp was partially plastic which I'm not crazy about but it performed flawlessly all the same, and I'd imagine that switching to all steel would not only be a headache for WMC but also increase the price on these bad boys quite a bit.
Breakdown: The slings sent to me are in the Gopnik pattern and Solid-Green, but WMC has pretty much explored every corner of the gun personality spectrum to include Rhodesian Brushstroke, multiple Aloha themes for the boog-boy's and a few others you might want to go check out even.....Beans? which believe it or not seems to be pretty well received overall. I like it, It's fun and enjoyable to be able to drop the adopted façade of your favorite tacti-cool Youtuber and pick up something just because you like it. Its important to remember that 97.863% of us are not (99Z) Tactical Ninja's and don't need to be. You should train, you should become proficient but why are all of your clothes and gear Multicam and Coyote brown when you have never served and work 28hrs a week at the local carwash? WMC gets this, and has offered us a pretty damn solid sling for a middle of the road price with a selection of fun patterns. I think that's a win for consumers, and I know that's why WMC is going to continue to grow for as long as this is what they want to do.
For as long as I've been running the AK, I have heard that there are really only 2 options when it comes to purchasing a good reliable AK sling 1) Surplus especially (NOS) and 2) The Blue Force Gear Vickers Sling. Now I'm not going to deny that the Vickers sling is incredible and I probably wouldn't argue with you if you said you thought it was the best modern AK sling on the market, but its expensive for my taste and thus I have always used Surplus Combloc slings. WMC has stepped in and filled the void offering a modern sling made with modern materials for a lower price then the BFG Vickers, and you can get fucking BEANS on it; Suck it!
All beans aside, I did do a small testing portion for these WMC slings. All testing was done on a Romanian M10 AKM w/lightweight polymer furniture and on a Chinese Lynx 12 with heavy wooden Romanian RPK furniture. The testing consisted of a 1.5hr hike on rugged terrain in Central FL, 15 minute jog in sand-scrub terrain in Central FL, and some quick adjustment drills in my underoo's to see just how seamless the transition actually is.
The first firearm I tested was the Lynx 12 which is substantially heavier then the M10, my clubfoot sling loop broke so as you can see in the photos below I had to go old-school. We still rode it hard, no issues, no sling breakage, sling adjusted as it should (Quickly). I had a slight amount of stress on the shoulder after our hike, its a heavy gun so what I'm fine and didn't quit. The jog sucked, it turned into the Airborne shuffle 20ft in; did I mention how heavy this Lynx 12 is? The drills were clunky at first but started to smooth out and speed up after about 10 minutes of practicing running the Lynx from relaxed to low ready to a series of comfortable firing positions.
The M10, was tested 3 days later and was much lighter and much smoother, I would definitely prefer these slings for a rifle over a shotty but hey now we know! The hike was fine just hot and humid after a rain, the jog still sucked but not nearly as bad as with that cannon of a Saiga 12 clone on my shoulder. The drills were fine after reminding myself exactly how to maneuver the sling between cycling positions. You could easily carry your rifle in a more traditional "relaxed" position with sufficient slack in the sling to toggle back and fourth but I enjoyed playing around and testing the adjustment capabilities. I think that this sling would be really cool for an AK Platform Pistol if you were able to use a two point system on yours, then I would highly recommend this configuration for a SHTF vehicle gun or maybe to take camping or for someone who rides the ATV around a big chunk of property and wants more then a pistol for wildlife or uninvited guests.
Special Mentions: WMC was actually one of the first companies I had approached in wanting to do a review with and I hadn't been able to initiate my testing process because when I talked to the WMC rep I forgot to ask if they came with the HK style sling hook, and so I received my slings with no way of using them due to my oversight and had to reach back out to make contact and wait for the sling hooks to be dropped off via USPS before starting my testing. I know My USPS driver is getting suspicious about all these packages addressed to RAT BASTARD, but I don't care she's the worst.
Final Thoughts: Id like to wrap this up in the most honest and upfront way possible. Do I think this is a good product? Yes, and I believe its success is limited only by the size of the company. I'm sure you would hear a lot more about these if Wellsmade Company (WMC) had the same level of exposure as other "Tactical brands". Would I recommend you purchase one? That depends, If you are already purchasing a high quality modern sling like the Vickers sling then money likely isn't an issue for you and you're not going to get anything out of the WMC Two point quick adjust sling that you're not already getting from the sling you are used to running and training with other then a fun design. However, If you are running a cheaper sling or a dated sling and are looking to upgrade then the WMC Two point quick adjust sling is a fantastic choice, that I'm certain you wont regret; The money you save could easily be put towards anything else. We all have other things going on in life and can't always afford the top-echelon gear, Its nice to have companies like WMC who offer great gear at a price point below top competitors.
-Rat Bastard
