The guys at Maple Leaf Firearms sent me this 5x Glock 19 Slide for T&E and after having about 1500 rounds through the slide, it's time for a post comparing it to an OEM G19 Gen 5 slide.
Both slides have rear grooves but the 5x has more and they are aggressive in their design. This is a very noticeable feature when you are using the rear to rack the gun, pinch, or slingshot methods.
Macro shot, you can see the direction of the cuts, very much purposefully designed.
As you can see the aggressive slide serrations is also in the front area of the 5x. This is a great idea and allows you to use the front end of the slide to rack it without issue, even with gloves, and if your hands are wet or have dirt on them. Very grippy.
Another photo.
The top of the front slide section has the same serrations as the sides, it's a continuation so there is not any dead round space. I have racked this section off my shoes, tables, belt, and holster repeatedly and it works well without having to resort to hitting the optic on the surface to rack it.
Comparison of the two.
The barrel seating area is slightly round with purposeful cuts in places.
Speaking of more aggressive and purposeful cuts, the front end of the 5x has flat diagonal cuts.
For sights, I installed the Ameriglo CAP front and rear. This setup works as a low/unobstructed sight system for the Steiner MPS setup. It does not co-witness well, but it is not supposed to, these CAP sights are designed for standard iron sight setups not as a support for an RDS. I like the green squad setup of these because I can punch out and it will catch my eye if I miss the dot.
The 5x has a purposeful cut for the MPS, and Aimpoint ACRO P1/P2 does not fit.
Here you can see an ACRO P1 does not fit. The ACRO footprint is just a hair longer than the MPS, and precision matters so this 5x slide allows only for the MPS. Do not worry, you can get a 5x slide cut specifically to your requirements. If you have an ACRO P1 or P2 you can order one that is specifically designed for that optic. They offer cuts for any Trijicon and Holosun as well.
Photo of the MPS mounted. Very snug, very awesome.
The side profile with the MPS.
So who does the 5x slide appeal to? That's pretty easy. If you have a Gen 3 or a Gen 5, 19, or 17, and you want a purpose-built slide for your application. This particular slide, directly from Maple Leaf will run you around $550 with all internals other than the barrel and the recoil spring. So you can just directly swap it to your current gun and keep your old slide, in a box, while reusing your original barrel and recoil spring. If you do not want new internals it'll be around $490. You can get pretty wild with the setup too, but the price will go up as well.
I like the 5x because it allows you to choose the features you want, in a built-for-you set up within the parameters offered. That is pretty legit. Especially if you ever want to sell the slide, or the pistol itself, down the line you do not have to married to an OEM slide that milled.
Also just want to point out that Maple Leaf did an awesome just with the presentation and the design.
As you may know, I despise unboxing photos for firearms, but this one really stood out as an element of care that I wanted to share. This is a legit boxing setup that allows you to retain your OEM Glock slide and the box itself, for future use. Very thoughtful setup here.
You get a thank you card.
A little parts tin for future use.
As you can see a lot of thought went into this design. You do not just get a slide, you get a full-package product.
Yes, they test every slide to make sure it works, hence the test casing.
The detail on the finishing is amazing. I am probably going to get another one for my various other Glock setups. Direct mount optic slides should be your "go-to" for any RDS EDC CCW setup. There is simply no reason to get a MOS / Plate setup when these are available.
If you end up getting one, just add that you read this article, if you did. If you do not no worries, I an not affiliated with Maple Leaf and do not profit from any sales of these slides (or any other products they sell). I have a good amount of experience with their work, however, and they modified several of my slides, so I would recommend them without hesitation.