Cold Steel Tactical, a small veteran-owned company located in Michigan started out with just a few ideas and concepts for slings. From there, they have continued to build and improve their slings based on feedback from veterans, active military personnel and law enforcement officers to deliver the product that they offer today. Their products are widely used among the various military and LEO communities and are valued for their comfort and practicality. The survivor sling is their flagship product. It comes in a variety of versions depending on the weapon and use. We reviewed the Master Gunner version.

Design:

The design of this sling is meticulous and at the same time, it’s easy to see, even without knowing it, that each and every one of these slings is handmade and assembled by hand. No two slings are the same. The overall vibe this sling gives off, the second you grab it is “TOUGH”. It’s hefty while being flexible and built like a tank. The main body of the sling is a tri-strand bungee inner core surrounded by military-grade woven paracord interlaced over it. It’s really well made and even after extensive use operationally in the field, there is no damage to be seen, On the front end of the sling, you have the Cold Steel Tactical pulley system to tighten and loosen the sling length on demand. This can be used to pull in the sling while shouldering the rifle and to hug your body while moving. While these are becoming quite standard on many slings, this is one of the smoothest systems I’ve used. On many slings they require tugs in specific directions while pulling. Not with this. The pulley pulls smoothly in either direction, allowing for smooth unfocused operation. I didn’t measure it but the site says it has 34-53 inches (86-135cm) adjustment range On the front side of the sling there’s a tough steel buckle which allows for that 2 to 1 point sling conversion which is so sought after today. This is made from thick steel and looks like it could survive a nuclear blast (almost). Both on the front and back end you have cobra buckles that connect directly to your extension of choice, whether it be QD connectors or snap clips. This allows for use on a variety of rifles without ever detaching connectors from the rifle. Just detach the sling and attach it effortlessly to your other weapon. Both the QD connectors and snap clips can be smoothly attached to the aforementioned steel buckle to convert the sling to 1 point. All these allow for very smooth operation and excellent versatility in the field.

“Used this sling in various MOD operations both in the field and during long car rides and it couldn’t be more comfortable and easier to operate -Sergeant First Class Y.”

Material:

As mentioned before, all materials used in the making of this sling are top grade, feel robust and qualitative. It is handmade and assembled by hand guaranteeing no machine faults. The weaving of the paracord around the triple stranded inner bungee cord is smartly done and super flexible. When first handling it, the sling does feel slightly heavier than most. The weight is about 1.1 ibs (500 grams) which isn’t light but this sling uses way more material than most which is reflected in weight. The center piece with paracord is more than a cm thick and it would take me a good few minutes to cut through it so you can count on it holding up. While there is some light fraying on material edges after extended use, it’s nothing a touch of a lighter can’t fix and the stitching is very solid so no need to worry there. The only real pain point is the paint on the metal parts. They do tend to wear off on the edges quite fast but that’s definitely not a deal-breaker. Nothing but praise on everything else.

Comfort:

I’ll be honest: when I first looked at the sling, I was skeptical. I thought there’s no way these strands of paracord will be comfortable while worn for hours and days around my neck. Well, color me surprised. It’s possibly one of the most comfortable slings I’ve worked with. The paracord works excellent as padding and even when using this rifle for days at a time it was very comfortable while using with a plate carrier and rifle. Its thickness works in its favor and is extremely comfortable especially when against the neck where other slings might cut into your skin after prolonged use or chafe.
The sling is available in a multitude of colors: Black, Coyote, tactical green, USMC bloodline, thin blue, red and grey line as well as multicam.

Storage:

While the sling is obviously thicker than most and less foldable than thinner alternatives, it still rolls up quite small. It does not have an internal pouch for ear pieces.

Versatility:

The sling is built to work with literally any weapon platform, even including crossbows according to the website. The fact that you can switch from snap clips to QD connectors within a matter of seconds is a huge plus which allows for quick transfer between weapons and would also make replacement parts very easy to install. The insane feature this sling has, is that you can cut away the outer paracord in order to use it in an emergency and the sling will still work fine because of the inner bungee cords!

“I work with multiple weapon systems in the field and this sling allows me to smoothly transition between weapon systems without having to mess around with any mounting system -Sergeant First Class Y.”

Price:

The slings come at a flat rate of $99.99 which is quite a decent price for quality slings and you get more than enough of that with this sling. If you buy any of the thin line slings, part of your purchase will go toward supporting vets and their families.

In conclusion, if you’re looking to get a whole lot of bang for your buck, you really can’t go wrong with the survivor sling. Highly recommend you try this out. They offer lifetime warranty on any sling, no proof of purchase needed, so you’re really not taking a whole lot of risk. They offer high quality of customer service are friendly and easy to work with.

You can go check them out at https://coldsteeltactical.com