Full Length VS. Partial Tri-Top: Any discernible difference with regard to slide longevity when shooting 9mm Major?

[kamber]

I'm curious as to whether anyone can speak from experience as to whether a full tri-top that runs the length of the slide has any discernible impact on slide longevity versus a partial tri-top or flat-top only?

 

Partial tri-tops and flat-tops make sense as being cautious options, but I'm interested to hear if anyone here has had a reputable brand slide fully tri-topped and ran it for multiple tens of thousands of rounds. Have you had any issues with slide longevity or cracking near the lug area?

Edited April 21, 2020 by kamber

[CalTeacher]

I had this exact thought when I started my current open build.  I'm

having a top end built right now with the tri top ending just before the upper lugs.  The rest of the slide will be flat topped to the rear.
 

I've seen slides of all configurations crack around the ejection port, so I don’t know if my decision will work out, but it made sense to me.

[Posvar]

I think it also depends on the depth of the internal cuts as I have seen full length tri topped slides crack and the manufacturer warrantied them due to the issue of the cuts inside being too deep. Most guns I’ve seen are tri topped partially to help prevent cracking but they will all crack at some point?

[kamber]

Thanks for the insight fellas. Yeah, I guess there really isn't any way I'm going to find a concrete answer to this are there are just too many variables out there. I'm going to go with a full length tri-top and just see what happens myself. At the end of the day, slides are a consumable part over the long run and that's just part of the game.

[zzt]

On 4/22/2020 at 12:26 AM, CalTeacher said:

I'm

having a top end built right now with the tri top ending just before the upper lugs.  The rest of the slide will be flat topped to the rear.

If you also leave full metal at the front of the slide and the hood area, you will be better off.  Here is how I had my slide machined.  It went from 13 oz. to 10.5" and has full metal in all those locations, except for slight topping so it would fit under the frame mount.

[Hiroshi]

I'm curious as to whether anyone can speak from experience as to whether a full tri-top that runs the length of the slide has any discernible impact on slide longevity versus a partial tri-top or flat-top only?
 
Partial tri-tops and flat-tops make sense as being cautious options, but I'm interested to hear if anyone here has had a reputable brand slide fully tri-topped and ran it for multiple tens of thousands of rounds. Have you had any issues with slide longevity or cracking near the lug area?

I like the full length Tri-Top cut, because i like the way how fast the slide cycles..

[Silverscooby27]

Atlas Chaos are full tri top, I’m sure there’s probably plenty of people who have run tens of thousands of rounds through them. I figure if there was a big problem, Atlas would stop it with the full length tri top. That being said, I have 3 guns being built right now with partial tri tops

[aandabooks]

My Carne is a partial tri-top.  Leaves all the meat in the lugs and around ejection port.  The gun was built using a bald Atlas slide and comp.  

[Silverscooby27]

Carne Asada?