I was thinking of trying out some of those Rubber Decal Grip Stickers on my Glock 22, but then I noticed that Rubber Slip-On Grips more or less accomplish the same thing. Because of this, I decided to try one out instead.
'Slip-On Grip Choices'
When it comes to these rubber slip-on grips, there are basically only two major brands for it: Hogue, and Pachmayr. I chose the Pachmayr over the Hogue mainly because of the type of rubber used. These two manufacturers use different types of rubber raw materials and/or blends, and their grips end up with slightly different properties.
Hogue has this sort of "wet" type of rubber that tends to stick into your hands better, but feels a bit messy or "juicy" to me. I got to handle one a lot before on my father's 1911, and I didn't like it very much. Pachmayr, on the other hand, uses a "drier" type of rubber that doesn't stick to your hand as much, which for me is better.
I got the Pachmayr Tactical Grip Glove that fit full-sized Glocks like my Glock 22 because it looked better than other Pachmayr grips that I saw. The grips look thin, and look great because of those lightening holes on the sides, and also holes in the front that allow you to use the Glock's natural finger grooves.
'Grip and Feel'
Fitting the grip to the Glock was easier than I thought. I just made sure that both the grip and the Glock's grip were lubricated with water, and then just slip the grip over the Glock's grip, and sort of slowly push it into position. The effort in stretching and fitting that grip was a lot less than I originally anticipated.
Although it looks thin, when you fit it in it does contribute a lot in terms fattening the overall grip of the Glock, actually much more than I expected. It is almost uncomfortably fat at first, but after awhile, I started to get used to it. The trick is not to grip it tightly, something which you tend to do the first time you try it since it feels a bit squishy under your hand. You sort of just need to grip it lightly or naturally as much as possible.
I consider my hand to be just medium sized, so if you find that you have a hard time wrapping your hands around a full-sized Glock, then perhaps you might want to skip getting this one.
One disadvantage I see, is that you will lose the finger grooves on the Glock's frame. The grip only covers the areas between the finger grooves, and this means the top of the finger grooves end up at level with the surface of the grip. It wasn't something that I expected.
'Advantages'
The Grip's biggest contribution to the Glock for me, though, is first, it makes the grip a lot less slippery. This allows you to have a more positive grip of the frame than you would otherwise have.
Another good thing about the Grip is that it is easier to wipe off it than with the Polymer frame. My hands are a bit sweaty, and after spending some time gripping the gun, I sometimes have this wet, sticky feeling of the surface of the grip. With the Polymer frame, I used Alcohol to remove that stickiness, but the clean surface doesn't last very long, it becomes sticky again after just a couple of days.
With the Grip, I just use squares of toilet paper to wrap it around the grip, and then press or handle it for awhile. When I remove and throw out the toilet paper, the stickiness is gone, and it seems to stay "clean" for a longer while compared to the Polymer frame.
In terms of recoil, I feel the Grip also lessens the battering on my hand during shooting sessions, thanks to its recoil-absorbing properties. Just none of the slight jarring or tingling feeling on my hand after shooting a hundred or so rounds.
'Parting Shot'
The Grip does add some bulk to the frame, but it is something I got used to eventually after a couple of months of use. So much so, that I feel don't feel comfortable anymore when I grip my Glock's frame without it. The frame feels slippery, hard, and the protrusions sharp to the feel without it.
With it, the frame feels firmer, and my hands won't slide off as much. And it also feels "cleaner" overall, not much of the dirty, sticky feeling I get with the bare frame after awhile. And I do feel a bit more comfort on my hands after long shooting sessions. I think I will be using this Grip on my Glock for some time to come.
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