When it comes to rifle slings, there are only so many ways you can stretch a piece of webbing between two points. Occasionally you come across something new though. Case in point, the Contour Sling by Lunar Concepts.
I initially saw the Contour Sling in September of 2018 at the Tactical Games in North Carolina. Another competitor was running one on his rifle. And as it turned out the owner of Lunar Concepts, Chris Moon, was there as well. I spoke to them briefly about the sling. Fast forward a number of months and I got to finally try one out.
So what is it? It is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A sling with a contour to it. I’ll be honest though, if it ended there, I would be pretty underwhelmed. As it stands though, there is a lot of good things going for it.
First off, there is indeed the contour from which it draws its name. The way the sling is shaped, it allows the sling to comfortably drape across the shooter’s shoulder, supporting their rifle when not firing. While this may seem trivial on the surface, how much time do you spend at the range or in a shooting course with your weapon slung versus up in your shoulder shooting? That contour is really comfortable.
The contour section of the sling is made of a 500D nylon that is padded with EVA foam and backed with a spacer mesh. The rest of it is made of 1” webbing. With the adjustment tab made from stitched webbing and small tri-glide (a piece of plastic used for routing webbing). Everything is well stitched, clean and durable.
One of the most important parts of a sling for me is the adjustment method. Personally I’m not a fan of a sling with any type of cam mechanism that needs to be defeated in order to loosen or tighten the sling. Fortunately, the Contour Sling doesn’t have anything like that. In fact, it can move easily in either direction. Once you are done adjusting the sling however, it doesn’t move. It is pretty awesome how well it works.
This allows the user to quickly tighten their sling and weapon against their body if they need to engage in some task that may require the use of both hands. Or just as easily, you can loosen the sling in order to have the room to manipulate your weapon more or even remove it. The sling can lock uptight though. So if you want to build a solid shooting position, you can sink down into the sling to create tension and assist in creating a stable position.
Of course, being a Contour Sling, it isn’t ambidextrous. The contour is ordered for either a right-handed or left-handed shooter. Does that matter? Not for me, it doesn’t. I don’t see my dominant hand changing anytime soon. As far as moving the rifle across my body to take shots off of my support shoulder, it is doable. Due to the shape, you just have to give yourself a little extra room when you run the adjustment tab out.
And speaking of adjustment, there is plenty for everyone. Unlike some slings which come with a rather small adjustment range, the Contour Sling has a ton. It actually ships with loose ends and tri-glides. This allows the user to try out and adjust the sling. When they figure out how long they want it, you simply cut the loose ends and burn the webbing. Done.
Another nice thing about the use of tri-glides, there is nothing sewn in. Meaning you can use any attachment method you’d like to attach the sling. For example, if you want to put a QD attachment on one end and just run the webbing through the stock on the other, easy day. Not to mention the ability to change it up down the road as well.
So what has my experience been with the Contour Sling… I first ran the Contour Sling at the Tactical Games down in Texas 2019, and then again for the 2019 Shooter Symposium. Through those two events and a number of other days on the range training, I’ve logged a lot of hours with the Contour Sling. Overall of it, it has treated me great.
During the Tactical Games, I had to do a number of physical activities that required me to have my hands free, whether I was climbing a rope or dragging a sled. The Contour Sling did a great job securing my weapon and keeping it out of the way until needed. Then it was just a matter of grabbing the adjustment tab and loosening it up to get into a shooting position.
Another event in the Tactical Games involved a 3 mile run in full gear with your weapons. I’ll tell you right now, running with a rifle isn’t fun, period. But 3 miles into it, the sling was still going good. Mind you, it wasn’t comfortable, but the reason is that I was running in full kit with a rifle, not because of the sling I was using. It actually did a much better job than many would do since it distributes the weight better.
At the Shooter Symposium, it served me well also. Running it in a number of different Carbine Courses over the course of 3 days. From training with Dan Brokos of Lead Faucet Tactical to Chuck Pressburg’s Night Fighting course.
Overall I think it is a great sling and fairly priced at $47.00. If you are looking for a new sling, give them a look. They come in about every color you can imagine, with just about all the Multicam patterns and a number of Kryptek patterns as well. They can be ordered directly through Wise Men Company.
You can see my video review of the Contour Sling here:
Ivan, this is the second review of yours that I have viewed. Like the first one, it is very complete, objective, and useful–certainly one of the very best. I await your next review!
This concept is not new but it is new for rifles. Photographers have been using this same set up for years on cameras.
Saying that a comfortable cross body sling is a secure way to carry a rifle and with a contoured pad its a lot more comfortable than doing it with an old style sling.