I had a chance to fondle one of Rutilate's pistols recently on which he had installed an Arachnigrip Slide Spider. Rutilate teaches a
women's basic handgun class, and he was trying out the Slide Spider as an aid for folks who have trouble racking the slide.
He had it on a 9mm M&P, and I was pretty impressed with how easy it was to rack the slide. Basically, it's really gritty skateboard tape (like sandpaper) that attaches to the slide, so when you grip the slide to retract it you don't need to squeeze as hard to prevent the slide from slipping out of your grasp.
I came home and told my girlfriend about it, and we decided to order some for her Glock 17 and her LCP II. These come two in a package, in theory so you have a replacement if one wears out or comes off, but for my purposes that just enables me to outfit two guns with one purchase.
So here's our lineup, her G17, my G19, and then our LCP II pistols:
They have different color and logo choices; we went with basic black for the Glocks and red for the LCP IIs.
I can rack a slide easily enough that I don't feel like I need these, but for someone that struggles with the slide I think they would make a real difference. Yeah, they get a little rough on your hands after you rack it a bunch (think sandpaper on hands), but of course if you have weak hands then racking the slide will make your hands hurt anyhow.
Something to consider if you or someone you know has difficulty racking a slide . . . .
https://www.arachnigrip.comI'll bring my two guns to tomorrow's women's class, and we'll see what the ladies have to say.