NOTE: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS COPYRIGHT 2010 BY James Bell Jr.
ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED.
Critical Dimensions PS90TR Extended Side Rails
Critical Dimensions LLC
P.O.Box 4243
South Bend, IN 46634-4243
Contact Ken @ Critical Dinensions ( criticaldimensions@sbcglobal.net )
The Triple Rail version of the PS90 is an ideal platform for home defense. It is designed to be operated close in to the body and to be easily maneuvered in tight spaces. The factory did it right, with one small exception - the side rails.
The factory side rail on the PS90 TR
As you can see, the factory side rails are not quite ideal. They work fine enough if you are mounting an accessory that only requires one slot/valley - things like the Streamlight TLR-1 or TLR-2. But if you are looking at accessories like the LaserLyte K-15 or other accessories that require using two slots, you are out of luck. In addition, accessories that have a mounting screw that ends up on top (toward the top rail) won't work - the side rails are close enough to the top rail that they will most often interfere.
The factory side rails are also made of plastic. That isn't necessarily bad in and of itself, but it would be nice to have something a little stronger there.
I had heard rumors about a company making a set of metal rails that were much longer than the factory rails, and that have standard-sized ridges and valleys. A number of folks said they were out of business. I did a ton of research and managed to track them down. The company is called Critical Dimensions, and they are still around and still making their extended side rails. We obtained a set, and I'm really glad we did.
Changing the rails out requires only a few minutes of time, and is a quickly reversable operation.
The original rails are attached via a single screw each. Bear in mind that they are gripped very tightly by the metal ears that they fit into. Remove the screw and rock the rail slightly to remove it.
PS90 Factory Rail and Factory Screw when removed
The Critical Dimensions rails are siginificanty longer (5 standard slots each). This allows you to use virtually ANY picatinny-mount accessory.
You will note that the mounting hole is offset from the centerline. This lets you position the side rails "more up" or "more down" - just find the way that works best with your accessories.
They also include their own screws for mounting them since they also stick out farther than the factory rails. This lets you use the entire length of the top rail and still keep the side rails usable.
Once you have mounted the new side rails, you have plenty of rail space, and rails that are even more functionally useful than the factory rails.
The installed Critical Dimensions rail
FNH did a great job on the PS90, but if I could make one recommendation to the folks at the factory, it would be to use the Critical Dimensions 5-slot rail as the standard on the PS90TR.
Once we had these rails installed, we were able to start testing a wider variety of lasers and lights, and find the best options for the PS90TR. You will NOT regret installing these, and can quickly go back to the factory rails if you ever really need to.
- James Bell, Jr. -JeepGunner / ATVGunner / HondaGunner