There is no good way to secure a tape switch to a hand guard. Scratch that… There was no good way. Say goodbye to zip ties, glue, tape, and adhesive Velcro and say hello to the TAREINCO TSH (Tape Switch Holder).
Overview
The TSH is simple and I mean that as a compliment. It is just a heavy duty elastic cuff with 5 pockets sewn in that are used to secure tape switch pads and cords. You just slide it onto the hand guard wherever you want it and then route your tape switch through it.
Observations from Use
The biggest asset of the TSH is its ability to place a tape switch nearly anywhere on a hand guard. Previously, you were mostly limited to mounting on a rail via a rail cover, between rails with some sort of glue/Velcro/tape concoction, or on a vertical grip. The TSH can be positioned nearly anywhere on just about any rail. The switch can be placed anywhere on the circumference of the rail.
I have successfully stretched the TSH over the widest part of a collapsible buttstock so there is little doubt that it will fit just about any hand guard. I have tried it on LaRue Tactical rails, Daniel Defense Lite Rails, Daniel Defense M4 Rails, Magpul MOE Hand Guards, standard plastic hand guards, and Troy TRX Extreme Rails. It is stretchy enough to fit very tight even on small diameter rails like the Troy TRX Extreme and forgiving enough to stretch over the largest and most awkward parts like the fixed front sight base sticking up through a Daniel Defense M4 12.0 FSPM Rail.
In my time with the TSH, it never really moved, rolled, or bunched on me. I was actually expecting that it would but it held fast. It does have a bit of give due to the nature of the fabric but it just stretches a bit and then moves back into position. If you did have issues with movement, they would be relatively easy to fix. For instance, you could stipple your hand guards or rail covers under the TSH. This would create a hook and loop like effect that would absolutely lock down the TSH.
I will admit that I don’t really care for tape switches but that was due in large part to the previously untenable ways of affixing the pad and handling the wires. The TSH goes a long way toward taming my previous issues with these switches.
The one real issue that I found was that if you use a hand guard rail that has very deep voids between the rail sections, you may find that the TSH doesn’t work well for placing the switch between the rail sections. In this case the TSH will suspend the switch above the body of the hand guard instead of resting directly against it. You really need something rigid to push against when you are using a tape switch so having it suspending in air won’t work. However, this issue can be mitigated by either changing the switch position so it sits directly on a rail or with the use of certain rail covers that bridge this gap.
Wrap Up
The TSH is a simple, versatile, and surprisingly elegant solution to some of the issues that kept me from using tape switches – namely securing the tape switch pad and wire management. Every time I see some new clever thing from TAREINCO I can’t help but wonder what we will see next.
The TSH is available at TAREINCO.com. I should also mention that I have a few of these to give away so stay tuned.
Disclosure: The TSH was provided to me for review, free of charge, by TAREINCO.
