The 7 Best Two-Point Slings for an AR-15

The best two-point sling for an AR-15 depends on three practical questions: how much cushioning do you want, what attachments does your rifle already have, and what does the complete package cost?

In a perfect world, a two-point sling keeps the rifle on you, and then gets out of the way when you need it in your shoulder. A 2-inch pad helps on a heavy gun and a long walk, but it also adds bulk. A QD swivel only helps if your rifle already has QD attachment points, and a sling that ships without them might seem cheaper, until you pick those QD sling swivels up and add them to your total cost.

There isn’t a universal best two-point sling. The right one will match most of your needs and work with the mounting system your rifle already has. This comparison looks at our top seven two-point slings.

• Magpul MS4 Dual QD Sling Gen 2
• Blue Force Gear Padded Vickers Sling
• Edgar Sherman Design ESD Sling
• Magpul MS1 QDM Sling
• Magpul MS3 Sling Gen 2
• GrovTec QS 2-Point Sentinel Sling
• GatMonkey Quick Adjust 1” Lightweight Rifle Sling

1. Magpul MS4 Dual QD Sling GEN2

Our Verdict: A useful starting point for an unpadded sling with QD swivels included.

The MS4 Dual QD Gen 2 is the sling for a rifle that already has QD sockets and a shooter who still wants a single-point option. Both ends ship with heavy-duty push-button QD swivels. A steel D-ring on the sling body is the conversion point. Leave both swivels in the rifle and it is a two-point. Pull the front swivel and park it in the ring and it is a one-point.

Magpul replaced the old thumb-loop adjuster with the MS1 slider, which shortens and lengthens with one hand and holds tension without a dangling tail. Webbing is 1.25-inch nylon, overall length runs about 48 to 60 inches, and the slider itself covers about 10 inches of that. Colored webbing is NIR-treated. Magpul builds it in the USA to Berry Amendment standards. A listed weight on the Dual QD Gen 2 is about 9.4 ounces, most of that in the two swivels and the steel ring.

The common “it won’t lock” complaint is usually the cup, not the swivel. A polymer socket with too much material around the face keeps the balls from engaging, preventing lock up. Our best advice here is to file or swap the mount before you blame the sling. And if you already know you will never run a one-point, you’re paying for a D-ring you’re probably never going to use. The MS1 QDM is the cleaner dedicated two-point in that case, but more on that later.

2. Blue Force Gear Padded Vickers Sling

Our Verdict: A comfort-focused candidate for buyers who want a defined padded section.

The Padded Vickers is the long-carry two-point. Same patented pull-tab adjuster as the unpadded Vickers, with a 2-inch closed-cell foam pad sewn in line so it does not slide and does not soak up water. Webbing is 1.25-inch solution-dyed Cordura. BFG lists the padded length at 57 to 67 inches, against 54 to 64 on the unpadded, and weight at 140 grams. Hardware is either glass-reinforced Zytel or a metal adjuster with phosphate triglides.

What you’re buying is the pad and the adjuster. What you’re not buying are sling swivels, so make sure you’re prepared to pick an extra set up. The Vickers was built with Larry Vickers around standard sling swivels and loops, which is why it still ships without QD hardware. Marines validated it in Afghanistan in 2011 as the issue sling for the M27 IAR, the Corps authorized it for the M4, M4A1, and M16. On a heavy rifle or a long walk, the pad earns its keep. On a light range gun, you can probably get away with skipping the padding and saving some weight.

Two limits show up often enough to plan for. The sling ships long, and the tail gets cut only after you have lived with the fit. Some people report hardware creep when the sling is cinched hard. If the rifle you’re putting this on has no loops and you don’t want to buy swivels, the MS4 or the Sentinel already has them in the box, or you can find an affordable set from UTG Pro as a last-ditch add on.

3. Edgar Sherman Design ESD Sling

Our Verdict: A narrow, unpadded option for buyers who prioritize a compact strap.

The ESD is the sling you notice by what it does not have. No pad, no swivels in the bag, no tail flopping off the stock. Edgar Sherman Design built it on 1-inch webbing and stopped there. Listed weight is about 3 ounces.

The pull tab works in both directions, which is a favorite from former Vickers sling users who have side-graded. Cinched hard, it has a reputation for staying put when a Vickers adjuster can tend to creep over time. An elastic regulator eats the leftover webbing, and the sling can fold back on itself if you are stuffing the rifle in a case or a truck. The rear section gives you more than 20 inches to set the base length which covers shooters up to 7 feet tall.

That 1-inch strap is also the exit we see in a lot of reviews on this version. On a light carbine at the range it disappears and works just fine. Hang a heavier rifle on it for half an hour or while you’re out in the tree line all day and it’s going to remind you about every other attachment on the rifle. Edgar Sherman Design will sell you a padded ESD if that’s something you know you’re going to deal with though, so no worries on that point.

Oh, and you’re going to have to be prepared to come up with your own attachment system.

4. Magpul MS1 QDM Sling

Our Verdict: Worth considering if you specifically want Magpul’s QDM connectors.

The MS1 QDM is the MS4, but without the party tricks. Same 1.25-inch webbing, same MS1 slider, same 48-to-60-inch length and 10-inch slider travel, same USA build and Berry compliance. Both ends are QDMs instead of standard push-button swivels, and there is no steel D-ring to park one in. You put it on and leave it a two-point.

The QDM is the reason to pick this one over a plain MS1. Magpul’s swivel is steel with a QPQ nitride finish, a low profile, and a rotating bale that keeps the webbing from rolling over on itself. You squeeze both tabs to release it. Retail price sits just above the Dual QD Gen 2, because you are paying for those sling swivels, not for convertibility.

It’s also the part that generates the complaints, unfortunately. Some QDMs will not seat in a socket that a normal push-button swivel locks into. An MFT Minimalist stock is the best example that keeps coming up according to our customer service guy. Thick polymer around the cup face is the usual cause, same as the MS4, but the QDM is less forgiving about it. If your sockets are standard and you already know one-point is off the table, none of that matters. If you still want the option for a one-point sling though, go back to the MS4.

5. Magpul MS3 Sling GEN2

Our Verdict: A practical candidate for rifles with compatible clip attachment loops.

Look, here’s the deal. The MS3 Gen 2 is the sling people tend to order by accident. The name sits next to the MS4, the webbing looks the same, and then the rifle has two QD sockets and nothing for this sling to grab.

A Paraclip is a hook with a locking lever, not a push-button swivel. It needs a loop. Magpul’s own mounts for it are the RSA up front, the MSA, and an ASAP plate on the receiver. A plain sling loop works if the opening is at least 3/8 inch, and 9/16 inch if you want the clip to swing instead of bind. If you don’t have a loop, this sling is going in the bin next to all those wrong holsters you keep buying.

For two-point, leave the front Paraclip on the handguard and the rear clip on the stock. For one-point, pull the front clip off the handguard and hook it to the polymer ring on the sling body. The rifle then hangs from the rear mount. Gen 2 added a cross-bolt on each lever, so you can pin the clip shut once it is clipped where you want it.

Past those clips, it is the same sling body as the other Magpul slings on this list: 1.25-inch webbing, the MS1 slider, and about 48 to 60 inches of length. It costs less than the MS4 because the steel swivels are not in the bag.

Get this one if the rifle has loops and you still want to collapse to a single mount. If the sockets are already installed, the MS4 or the MS1 QDM are what you’re probably looking for.

6. GrovTec QS 2-Point Sentinel Sling

Our Verdict: A padded-package value candidate, pending a direct comfort comparison.

Here’s a no non-sense sling that shows up in the bag ready to go. One-inch webbing, a 2-inch pad already on it, and heavy-duty push-button swivels are even included! It has a standard quick-slide adjuster that you pull forward to let out, and pull back to cinch it tight against your body.

The pad is the sticking point. It is stitched in place, so it can’t slide to where the rifle actually sits on your shoulder. On a heavy patrol rifle that is the whole reason you bought the padding, and a fixed pad only helps if GrovTec guessed your carry right. The plastic emergency-release buckle is the other piece you don’t really get a vote on. It sits in the run of the strap as a second way off the rifle. The push-button swivels already do that job. If you want the exit, it’s there. If you don’t, it’s still there anyways, and it’s plastic in a spot where the rest of the sling is webbing and steel hardware.

The overall length is adjustable, even if the keeper sits under the pad, behind the elastic that holds the webbing. Taller shooters usually find it on the second look, and once it’s set, the sling fits a patrol rifle without a tail hanging off the stock making you look like an amateur. The pad and the push-button swivels show up in the same box, the Quick Slide cinches with a pull, and you can put it on the rifle the day it arrives. The Vickers makes you shop for hardware. This one sets you up for success immediately.

7. GatMonkey Quick-Adjust 1″ Lightweight Rifle Sling

Our Verdict: A narrow-webbing alternative with steel adjustment hardware and distinctive patterns.

This is the most fun and least tacticool sling on our list today, which is why we have it at the end. Splatter, tiger stripe, a pink and blue donut print, you name it and GatMonkey probably does it. Under the pattern it’s 1-inch polyester, not nylon like other options we’ve already discussed. GatMonkey says polyester stays more flexible and holds color better, and trust me when I say you want this sling to hold the color for a long time.

They’re works of art.

But, they still need to function as a sling. GatMonkey built the adjustment around a steel cam and steel adjusters, with a 550-cord pull tab you yank to let the rifle out or cinch it back in. The cam is there so the length stays when the gun bounces. The ends are left so that you can pick your own attachments instead of inheriting the cheapest ones they could throw in the bag without blowing up the price, but we recommend tossing some QD swivels on the sling as a quick fix.

This one’s your range sling. It’s for a fun gun you take out to show off with the friends, and it functions as intended without breaking the bank or slotting in a host of extra features.

Buying considerations

Start with whatever actually bugs you while the rifle’s hanging on you. Shoulder pressure is a pad problem, and that’s the Vickers or the Sentinel. Both are 2-inch cushions on a 1-inch or 1.25-inch strap, and neither pad slides, so clothing and where the rifle rides matter as much as the foam. If you want the strap narrow and unpadded, you’re looking at the other five options here, or maybe something we skipped.

Webbing width and pad width aren’t the same number. Nylon, polyester, and Cordura also don’t tell you how thick the weave is, how stiff the edge is, or whether it saws at your neck. The published length gets you in the right size, but it won’t tell you if you like it or not.

Hardware is where the listings get slippery. A slider or a tri-glide only manages webbing. A swivel clicks into a socket. A Paraclip needs a loop. QDM is Magpul’s swivel, not a generic word for quick detach. Also, “hardware included” sometimes means the adjuster and nothing you can attach to the rifle, so be cognizant of that and check reviews.

Last, and probably most important of all, price the whole package out. Sling, missing connectors, a mount if the rifle doesn’t have one, shipping, taxes. One missing rifle-side mount is enough to push a “cheaper” sling past the one that showed up finished, so keep that in mind when you’re looking at your cheaper made budget slings.