Unity Tactical’s Monkey Bar is one seriously clever widget. It turns any Magpul MBUS Pro front sight into a Fusion hub capable of mounting a wide variety of lights, rails, and other accessories and manages to do that with just 0.2 ounces of additional weight versus the MBUS Pro front sight alone.
The Monkey Bar is a simple 6061-T6 replacement for the small steel rail clamp that is included on the MBUS Pro front sight. It is compatible with Unity Tactical’s Fusion system which means it can serve as a hub for attaching items like rail sections or flashlight rings while also accepting Surefire Scout lights directly (no adapter required). It is essentially Unity Tactical’s most compact and lightweight Fusion Hub.
I have been using the Monkey Bar for almost a year with a Surefire M600 Scout Light and I like it quite a bit. Its benefits are tied directly to its form. It is EXTREMELY lightweight because it is essentially integral to your front sight and it positions the light very well because of its proximity to both the front sight and rail.
I don’t know of a lighter weight solution for mounting a Surefire Scout light unless you don’t need a rail mounted front sight for your particular rifle. The MBUS Pro with the Monkey Bar installed weighs just 1.7 ounces. To put that in perspective, the regular polymer MBUS front sight weighs 1.2 ounces and has no ability to the mount a light. You could search far and wide for the lightest front sight and lightest Scout Light mount and their combined weight would still probably double the weight of an MBUS Pro with installed Monkey Bar.
In addition to the lighter weight that comes with the integral design, it would be hard to reproduce the positioning and space saving qualities of the Monkey Bar with any other mount set up. Because the Monkey Bar replaces the MBUS Pro’s rail clamp it tucks the light very close to the rail and very close to the front sight itself. This reduces snagging and takes up much less space on your rail than a separate front sight and light mount would.
Much like the original Fusion Hub, the Monkey Bar really shines on modern, slick-side rails. Many of these rails have an integral top rail which, with the Monkey Bar, is all you need to mount your front sight and light. If you look at a rail like the ALG EMR V2, you can really start to see the potential. Even with the EMR V2’s short integral rail, you have more than enough space to mount your light and front sight. The EMR V2 and many other rails also have integral sling mounts which means you may not need any other equipment to complete the foreend of your rifle. That save weight, space, and cash.
Bottom Line
The Unity Tactical Monkey Bar is extremely versatile as a hub for Fusion accessories or direct mount for the Surefire Scout lights. It is likely the lightest option for those who need both a rail mounted fight sight and a light mount. It saves weight, space, and money. What’s not to like?
Check out the Monkey Bar at Unity Tactical.
How would you rate this compared to the Rosch SL1 you’ve previously used for the sub 6 with a twist build?
This looks considerably better, with much more versatility, and cheaper? Is there any reason NOT to get this over the other option, for ANY reason?
Its hard to compare the two since they are so different. The SL1 is only 3 ounces total (light, sight, everything). The Monkey Bar/Scout Light/MBUS Pro weighs considerably more than that when you include the weight of the light (the weight listed, is before you add the light). The SL1 places the light at 12 o’clock. The Monkey Bar places it at 10:30-11 o’clock.
You may want to consider the SL1 if…
– You have to have the lightest option available.
– You prefer fixed sights.
– You prefer 12 o’clock lights.
You may want to consider the Monkey Bar/MBUS Pro if…
– You already have the MBUS Pro or Scout Light.
– You prefer offset lights.
– You need the flexibility of the Fusion mount system.
Excellent response. Didn’t realise that the SL1 weight included the light and all. Makes more sense why you picked it for the Sub6w/Twist! Thanks for the explanation and the (not always so obvious) differences.