Short answer: The Glock 43X has no removable grip panels, so a grip upgrade means adding something to the frame: an adhesive grip, a slip-on sleeve, or stippling. For most people who carry a 43X concealed, the best buy is a thin adhesive grip with a non-abrasive surface. It costs about $19 to $30, adds about half a millimeter, and peels off.
Disclosure: we make one of the grips on this list, Terragrip™ silicone, so we have a side. We did not run a side-by-side test for this guide. Every price and spec below was read from the maker's own page on October 12, 2026, and where nobody has measured something, we say so. Everything here also applies to the Glock 48, 43X MOS and 48 MOS, which share the 43X frame.
| Grip | What it is | Price | Stated thickness | Returns and guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TALON Grips for Glock 43X and 48 | Adhesive grip in Rubber, Granulate or PRO texture | $24.99 to $29.99 | "less than .5mm" on the product page, "about .4 mm" in the FAQ | 30-day money-back guarantee (terms apply), 90-day warranty |
| Handleitgrips kit for Glock 43X and 48 | Adhesive grip in Textured Rubber, Sandpaper, Extreme or Edge texture | $19.99 | Not stated | 30-day return, replacement or exchange. Buyer pays return shipping |
| Hogue Wrapter for Glock 43X and 48 | Adhesive grip in Rubber (block or grain texture) or Heavy Grit | $18.95 | Heavy Grit page: "30% thinner than a standard credit card" | Not stated on the product page |
| Combat Textiles CTX grip kit | Adhesive wrap cut from Cordura 1000D fabric | $23.99 | Not stated | 30-day returns, free exchanges, 1-year warranty |
| Five Point Grips Terragrip™ | Adhesive silicone grip, no grit | $29.99 | 0.5 mm | 60-day money back, installed or not |
| Hogue HandALL Beavertail Grip Sleeve | Slip-on sleeve, no adhesive | $18.95 | Not stated | Not stated on the product page |
| Stippling | Permanent texture melted into the frame | $125 to $350 at five shops we checked on October 10, 2026 | Adds nothing | Cannot be undone |
We read each maker's product page and FAQ on October 12, 2026 and wrote down the price, the surface, the stated thickness and the return terms. We did not shoot these grips side by side, measure friction, run a wear test, or try other makers' grips in holsters.
So the picks below are not test results. They follow from the published specs and from what each maker says about its own textures.
Most of these brands sell more than one surface for the 43X, and the surface decides how the gun carries. Here is how the makers describe their own textures.
| Surface | Sold as | What the maker says |
|---|---|---|
| Grit (sandpaper style) | TALON Granulate, Handleitgrips Sandpaper, Hogue Wrapter Heavy Grit | TALON: "We recommend this for open holster carry only, but some users can carry concealed with the proper setup." Handleitgrips: "not recommended for conceal carry." |
| Textured rubber | TALON Rubber, Handleitgrips Textured Rubber, Hogue Wrapter Rubber | TALON: "our most popular and versatile material." Handleitgrips: "our most versatile grip material." |
| Hybrid | TALON PRO, Handleitgrips Extreme and Edge | TALON: PRO is "comfortable enough for most people to carry against the skin." Handleitgrips: Edge has "the aggressive feel of a sandpaper grip without the harsh abrasiveness." |
| Fabric | Combat Textiles CTX | "Laser-cut Cordura 1000D grip wrap." |
| Silicone | Five Point Grips Terragrip™ | Our own: a custom-formulated silicone elastomer, 0.5 mm thick, with no abrasive grit. |
Quotes are from each maker's Glock 43X and 48 product page, read October 12, 2026. Handleitgrips prints its descriptions in capitals. We lowered the case.
A carry gun spends most of its life against your side, not in your hand. Anything sharp enough to bite into your palm can also rub skin and wear on a cover garment. For concealed carry, the short list is the non-abrasive surfaces.
Here is the case for ours. Silicone conforms to the hand, so more of the surface is in contact with your palm. It cushions and damps recoil, which matters on a light, slim gun. It is naturally high in friction without any grit, so nothing abrasive sits against your shirt or your skin. It is 0.5 mm thick, it peels off by hand without residue, and the guarantee is 60 days, money back, installed or not. The reasoning behind the material is on our Terragrip™ page.
If you want the most bite, and the gun rides in an open holster or lives at the range, buy grit. TALON calls Granulate "our most aggressive texture." Handleitgrips calls its Sandpaper texture "perfect for competition or range shooting." Hogue's Wrapter Heavy Grit is the lowest-priced of the three at $18.95. These are the stick-on equivalent of a coarse stipple job.
Grit is also the honest answer if wet or sweaty hands are your main problem. An aggressive mechanical texture is what shooters usually reach for there. We make no wet-performance claim for silicone.
Hogue Wrapter at $18.95 and Handleitgrips at $19.99 are the lowest prices we found. About $11 separates the cheapest adhesive grip here from the most expensive.
With a gap that small, read the terms before you sort by price. TALON lists free standard shipping on all orders. Handleitgrips says it does not pay for return shipping. The Hogue product pages we read did not state return terms.
Hogue's HandALL Beavertail Grip Sleeve for the 43X and 48 is $18.95. It is a slip-on sleeve made from what Hogue describes as a durable thermoplastic elastomer, with its Cobblestone texture, and Hogue says 43X MOS models fit the same as non-MOS models. There is no adhesive. As the name says, it also adds a beavertail, so it changes the shape of the grip as well as the surface.
The trade is bulk. A sleeve covers the grip in a molded layer, so expect it to add more girth than a half-millimeter adhesive panel. Hogue's page does not give a thickness and we have not measured one. If you chose the 43X for its slim grip, or your holster is molded close to the frame, check the fit first.
Stippling melts texture into the frame itself. It lasts as long as the frame does, and a gunsmith can reshape the grip at the same time. It is also the only option here that you cannot undo.
At the five shops we checked on October 10, 2026, published prices ran from $125 to $350 before shipping, and Glock's warranty lists modification among the conditions that void coverage. The shop-by-shop prices and the sources are in our guide to grip tape vs stippling. Our advice: carry a reversible grip first, and stipple once you are sure about the gun and the texture.
For a 43X, a pre-cut kit is easier because the cutting is done. A sheet makes sense for a patch where a kit does not reach, or for a gun nobody cuts a kit for.
TALON sells 5 x 7 inch DIY material sheets for $13.99 to $15.99. Our Cut-to-Fit Terragrip™ sheet is 4.5 x 5.5 inches for $19.99. TALON's sheet is larger and costs less. Ours is the one to buy if silicone is what you want.
Buy a different grip if any of these describes you.
If it has come down to TALON or ours, we put the two side by side, with the case for each, on one page: Looking For An Alternative To TALON Grips?
If you carry a Glock 43X or 48 and want traction with nothing abrasive against your side, that is what we built the Glock 43X and 48 grip kit for. It is $29.99, precision-cut for the 43X and 48 frame, and comes with an alcohol prep pad. Clean, align, wrap, press: about ten minutes, then 24 hours for the full bond. The steps are in the installation guide. If you do not like it, send it back within 60 days for a refund, installed or not.
Not the way you can on a pistol with screw-on grip panels. The 43X grip is part of the polymer frame and the backstrap is fixed. You change the surface by adding an adhesive grip or a sleeve, or by stippling the frame.
Yes. The 43X and 48 share a frame. TALON, Combat Textiles and Five Point Grips each list one kit for the 43X, 43X MOS, 48 and 48 MOS, and Hogue lists its sleeve and Wrapter grips for the 43X and 48.
No. The Glock 43 has a different, shorter frame and needs its own kit. Ours is the Glock 43 grip, and the rest of the range is in the Glock grips collection.
Usually not. TALON states about 0.4 mm and ours is 0.5 mm, and most Kydex holsters retain on the trigger guard, not the grip. A holster molded very tightly to the bare frame may feel firmer at first. We have not measured holster clearance beyond the thickness figure, so try your own rig before you carry.
A non-abrasive one. TALON recommends its Granulate texture for open holster carry only, and Handleitgrips says its Sandpaper texture is not recommended for concealed carry. Rubber, fabric and silicone are the usual carry choices.
They are wear items. TALON says to expect "1 to 3 or more years" and backs its grips with a 90-day warranty. Combat Textiles lists a 2-year typical life and a 1-year warranty. We do not publish a lifespan figure for Terragrip™ because we have not measured one we would stand behind. What we offer is 60 days to carry it and send it back for a refund.
Five Point Grips is not affiliated with or endorsed by Glock, any firearm manufacturer, or any company named in this guide. Prices, specs and policies were read from each maker's own site on October 12, 2026 (stippling prices on October 10, 2026) and can change.
In almost every case, yes. A stick-on grip adds about 0.5 mm per side and a Kydex holster retains on the trigger guard, not the grip. Here is where a grip can touch a holster, the arithmetic, and a two-minute check for your own rig.
Stippling is permanent and cost $125 to $350 at the shops we checked in October 2026. Stick-on grips cost about $20 to $30 and peel off. Here is how they compare on cost, traction, carry comfort, durability and resale.
