?

Magic.  Or maybe helium pumped into the handguards...  Super light metal from mars?  

Nah, I'm going with Larue magic on this one.  

-X

I'm going with "Larue Voodoo".  It rhymes.

Did Larue come out with something new recently? I always thought DD was the lightest.

I think DD's comparable rails are still slightly lighter.  One reason is the aluminum barrel nut.  LaRue uses steel.  I managed to bend one my DD barrel nuts when the wrench slipped the other day.  That's the bad thing about the aluminum nuts.  The good thing is, like LaRue, Daniel Defense has awesome customer service and they sent me a new nut for free.  

I have both LT and DD handguards.  I honestly can't say I like one better than the other.  I do not have the newer DD (lite) rails that have the locking system, that's the one thing I like in my LT rail.

from what I got on the interweb I have lerue 12.0 at 11.2 oz and the DD lite rail 12.0 at 14 ....ETA: I see the original DD12 is 13 'with hardware' is teh larue 11.2 tube only?

Quoted: Did Larue come out with something new recently? I always thought DD was the lightest.

Yes, I believe they did.  For as long as I can remember, the LT handguards were a between 11.5 and 16.5 ozs (depending on weight EDIT: length): ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=12&t=172238&page=1.

I suppose they made a dramatic change in the design recently.

guess my number was tube only.  so DD std rails are lighter?

Don't tell anyone but I heard that the LaRue rails were made of some strange metal that Mark recovered when an alien spacecraft crash landed in his back yard...

Quoted: from what I got on the interweb I have lerue 12.0 at 11.2 oz and the DD lite rail 12.0 at 14 ....ETA: I see the original DD12 is 13 'with hardware' is teh larue 11.2 tube only?

I don't have a scale to measure, and my LT 12.0 hg's are going to be heavier than my DD 9.5 FSP just by virtue of being longer, but the DD's don't have the integral QD swivel attachment points or the steel barrel nut.  The LT's are not heavy by any measure, just not quite as light.  I honestly prefer the steel barrel nut.  I should have asked DD to send me one off their AMU model.

If you add the QD mount to the D that the Larue has integrally then the weight difference in the DD and Larue disappears.

Quoted: If you add the QD mount to the D that the Larue has integrally then the weight difference in the DD and Larue disappears.

+1, i brought that up in the last LT v DD thread.
however if you aren't using a 2pt sling that is negligible.

the 2oz weight difference is negligible since most of that weight is carried by the upper not out by the muzzle which keeps a decent balance

Quoted: from what I got on the interweb I have lerue 12.0 at 11.2 oz and the DD lite rail 12.0 at 14 ....ETA: I see the original DD12 is 13 'with hardware' is teh larue 11.2 tube only?

If you look at the LaRue website again, ALL of their rails are listed as weighing 11.2oz.  I believe 11.2oz is actually for the LaRue 7.0.  Compare that with the DD 7.0 at 8.5oz and you'll see it's not really a huge difference, but the DD is lighter at all lengths by a few ounces.

According to Forest's table, the LaRue 12.0 weighs 17oz, while the DD is 13.5.  You can look at the front view of a DD and LaRue and see that the LaRue is thicker, especially inside the rails (curved cutout for LaRue, square for DD)

Ultimately though, I doubt you could really tell a difference between the two in your hand since the barrel nut is adding a couple ounces right there at the receiver, and any additional weight would still be under your support hand.

The only time two or three ounces makes a difference in the feel of a rifle is when it's on the END of the barrel.

I just got done with the digital scale:

Rails assemblies minus barrel nut:

7.0 Rail is 8.8oz
9.0 Rail is 10.8oz
10.0 Rail is 11.6oz
11.0 Gooseneck is 11.5oz
12.0 is 13.6oz
13.2 is 14.8oz

17-4 Stainless barrel nut is 3oz

There ya'll are, straight from us at LaRue.

Quoted: ....... the LT handguards were a between 11.5 and 16.5 ozs (depending on weight) : I suppose .......

I'm sorry... That's too funny to let go.

Quoted: I just got done with the digital scale: Rails assemblies minus barrel nut: 7.0 Rail is 8.8oz 9.0 Rail is 10.8oz 10.0 Rail is 11.6oz 11.0 Gooseneck is 11.5oz 12.0 is 13.6oz 13.2 is 14.8oz 17-4 Stainless barrel nut is 3oz There ya'll are, straight from us at LaRue.

Thanks.  Last I checked, the web site was a bit off.

Quoted: Quoted: ....... the LT handguards were a between 11.5 and 16.5 ozs (depending on weight) : I suppose ....... I'm sorry... That's too funny to let go.

Damn it.