SureFire XC3 Weaponlight
SureFire’s XC3 is a compact handgun weapon light engineered to redefine duty-grade performance…
SureFire’s XC3 is a compact handgun weapon light engineered to redefine duty-grade performance…
The wait is finally over—UN12 Issue 22 is now on sale and hitting newsstands…
Designed to co-witness in the lower fifth of the optic window of a…
• Built for road trips and off-road use• Manual transmission equipped• Wrapped in MultiCam Arctic…
I designed the Button Man to give shooters a low-round-count, low-light-engagement drill that involved both…
The V Exercise was created for those who would like a continuous moving-and-shooting exercise that…
Steve Coulston Gives an Update on the Groundbreaking Avalanche Charging Handle.
A while back I had the opportunity to get my hands on a series of prototype charging handles designed and made by Rainier Arms. They named their new creation the Avalanche and I gave my first impressions in a past Guns & Tactics post. There was a lot of hype around this charging handle primarily as it gives the shooter the opportunity to swap out the wings giving a wide variety of customized looks, textures, shapes and color combinations. There is no other charging handle to my knowledge that does that.
Fast forward a few months and the production model is finally available. Currently it is only made for the AR15 however AR10 variants are in the works. The production version is very similar to the prototypes I used. It is still made from 7075 aircraft grade aluminum and continues to utilize the same beefy roll pins for the wings and latch. The latch has been changed some. The prototype had a stainless latch, however the production latch is made of aluminum and features "softer" edges. The aluminum latch gives a smoother, rearward "un-latching" and isn’t as rough on the aluminum upper. Lastly, the knurled wings on the prototype only had machine screws in the ends to secure the wings to the handle. The production version has added a blind pin to the underside of the wings for peace of mind the handle wont rotate off when you least expect it. It is still good practice to use a dab of blue Loctite or similar to keep the screws from backing out.


Another nice option is the Avalanche now comes in both a NiB "silver" version as well as a hard type III anodized "black" version. It can be bought as a stand-alone charging handle with a single set of wings or as a kit with two sets of wings. Wings can also be purchased separately. Currently the wings come in three different profiles: Octagonal, Knurled and a winged shaped version Rainier Arms calls the "Tac Latch". Wing colors currently available black and NiB silver for the knurled and Octagonal wings. The knurled version is also offered in Red anodized. Currently the Tac Latch is only offered in black. I have seen other colors in the works so stand by for more options in the future.



The Avalanche is offered directly through Rainier Arms and comes in at a variety of different price points depending on what version you buy. A complete list of Avalanche products can be found HERE.
For those AR aficionados who like options (don’t we all?) the Avalanche is definitely worth looking at.








* The views and opinions expressed on this web site are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Guns & Tactics Magazine,
the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.
Steve is a former United States Naval Special Warfare Combat Crewman (SWCC), NRA Life Member and has been a firearms enthusiast for over 30 years. Steve is a writer and photographer focusing on the testing and evaluation of new products and has a natural gift for breaking things. He resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and children enjoying the shooting sports and the great outdoors.
About MasterPiece Arms:
Magpul announces relocation to Texas and Wyoming in response to gun laws passed in Colorado restricting magazine capacity. As a clear sign of how knee-jerk legislation can affect…
[dcs_img_right framed=”black” w=”200″ h=”214″] http://gunsandtactics.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/olympicarms_logo.jpg [/dcs_img_right] When isn’t an AR just another AR? For the past few years I’ve been trying to warm up to the AR as…
We witnessed some fantastic technology at SHOT Show this year, and one of our favorites was Zistos Corporation. The folks at Zistos make a lot of super cool…
Jason from Grey Ghost Precision shows off their newest products, the industries first aftermarket slides for the Sig p320 platform.
We get our hands on what is possibly the nicest AR15 billet receiver set in all the land. Tolerances, precision, fit, finish, so far it has it all!…
© 2025 UN12 Magazine
© 2025 UN12 Magazine
Wait! Don’t forget to