SIG Sauer announced in 2020 their new line of 3D-printed suppressors, but now the do-it-all gun company is almost ready to start sending out the SLX and SLH cans to the masses.
We got a chance to check out the low backpressure SLX at this year’s Primary Arms Range Day, and we gotta say: we’re impressed!
SIG reps told us they designed the SLX line in part to meet the requirements of the U.S. military for a low backpressure, low toxicity suppressor. That cloud of smoke that emanates from a can looks cool, but it’s filled with hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur, and other chemicals that aren’t good for your health.
If you’re a weekend warrior popping off 200 rounds every Saturday, you’ll probably be fine. But if you’re a U.S. soldier in constant firefights or a competitive shooter sending thousands of rounds down range every month, you want to mitigate those gasses as much as possible.
SIG says their SLX suppressors are designed to produce less toxicity than an unsuppressed M4. In their testing, they confirmed that shooting an M4 without an SLX suppressor leaves more toxic particles in the air than shooting an M4 with the can on the end. The SLX boasts the lowest levels of toxicity of any suppressor on the market, according to SIG reps.
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How? They didn’t give us the secret sauce, but we can confirm that the SLX seems to produce noticeably less gas from the 5.56 NATO chambered Switchback rifle than other suppressors we’ve used. Of course, a few rounds at a range day doesn’t constitute a complete test, and we hope to get our hands dirty with a full SLX review in the coming weeks.
SIG also plans to release another line of suppressors dubbed the SLH. These suppressors are designed with hunters in mind and are optimized for maximum noise reduction, the reps told us. While they didn’t have a sample for us to test at the PA Range Day, we’re looking forward to taking the SLH line for a spin soon.
Both lines of cans should run in the $1,000 range. As with most SIG products, the SLX and SLH suppressors aren’t budget-friendly, but they also don’t use budget-quality materials. Both lines should be available with titanium and Inconel baffles. Inconel is more durable while titanium is lighter, so users should be able to select which materials they need for their intended applications.
The SLX and SLH should be available in 5.56 NATO and .30-caliber.
No word yet on precisely when these suppressors will be available (neither are listed on SIG’s website as of this writing), but their presence at PA Range Day is a good clue that they’ll be out soon.