VISM G5+ Glock Tool: A Must Have For Glock Owners

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U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- It isn’t often that I come across a tool that is as simple as the VISM G5+ Glock Tool that is as invaluable as it has been. When I was at NRAAM 2018, I thought that my friend (and unofficial non-biological father) Steve Fisher of Sentinel Concepts was on some potent drugs when he told me that I had to swing by the NcSTAR booth to check it out.

Spoiler: It turns out that Papa Fisher wasn’t on drugs and had stumbled onto the greatest all in one Glock tool that either of us had seen to date. While this is a bit of a spoiler, I like it enough to have purchased a couple and often give them as gifts.

The VISM G5+ Glock Tool features five distinct tools in one with a bonus bottle opener built-in. Over the last couple of years, I have owned one; it has become a staple in my range bags as well as my tool kit.

VISM G5+ Glock Tool

Takedown Punch

The Glock punch is one of the most used tools in my kit due to the sheer volume of shooting I do with my range guns. When it comes time to do a deep clean every couple thousand rounds, the pistol gets stripped to a completely bare frame.

Part of the reason for this is the internals need to be cleaned exceptionally well. The other purpose is I want to remove as much metal as possible so I can use a toothbrush and dish soap to scrub the hell out of the stippled frames. You wouldn’t believe the amount of dead skin some of my more aggressive frames collect over time.

I do rather like the fact that the tool body has a place to rest your thumb so you can get a great grip on it should you have some stubborn pins.

While there are a bunch of punches out there that will do the job, the 3/32″ hardened steel punch has a nice chamfer on the tip to make sure that you don’t gouge the polymer should your aim not be dead on as the pin is pushed through.

Not only is the hardened steel 3/32″ punch the right diameter, but unlike other all-in-one Glock tools, it is also the right length as well.

One of the most significant failings with other punches on the market is they aren’t long enough to drive the pin out of the frame entirely. Thankfully this isn’t a problem with the VISM G5+ Glock Tool with its 1 7/16″ long punch. Nothing is more annoying than being forced to pull a pin out the rest of the way with your fingers when it should just drop into your parts tray.

Glock Pin Centering Tool

There has been some confusion about the reason that the factory Glock tool has a square handle with rounded corners. Some seem to think that it is because Glock is cheap; others believe that it was designed to prevent the tool from rolling off a workbench.

Regardless of frame mods or generation of your pistol, the G5+ tool has two radiuses that will seat the pin to the right depth with ease.

It turns out that its real purpose is to help you center the pins in the frame during reassembly. The VISM G5+ tool has two different radiuses that allow you to quickly seat the pins to just the right depth for your gun.

Striker Takedown Tool

During the Glock Armorer’s course, they teach you to use the slide to take apart the striker assembly for service. While it is nice to have the tool essentially built into the gun, it isn’t as stable as I would like when working on several pistols in a row or doing something like trying different combinations of trigger bars, connectors, and strikers to fine tune trigger feel.

The striker disassembly tool is one of the more clever features on the VISM G5+ Glock Tool.

I rather like the additional stability that the VISM G5+ tool provides and have pretty much stopped using the striker channel as Glock teaches in the armorer’s course when maintaining pistols.

Glock Floorplate Tool

While all the other tools built into the VISM G5+ tool are helpful, none of them are as awesome as the MagPopper. If you have ever taken the baseplate off a Glock magazine, you know exactly how much of a pain in the butt it can be.

The magazine baseplate tool is the best part of the VISM G5+ in my opinion.

The Glock armorer’s manual teaches you to insert a Glock punch into the baseplate fully until it is held captive by the floorplate retainer, then to use your thumb to push the baseplate past the two retaining tabs. Let me tell you… it isn’t a smooth operation.

The simplicity of the MagPopper is what makes it so dang good.

With the G5+ tool’s MagPopper, what used to be a giant pain is a simple operation. Funny how the right tool can make a difficult task a cinch.

Once you slide the hook into the baseplate hole, you only need to squeeze the tool and magazine body together and the baseplate pops right off.

All you need to do is insert the hook into the baseplate hole and squeeze the mag body and tool together. As the name implies, there is a satisfying pop as the baseplate slides right off.

I have to say, the MagPopper is hugely superior to how Glock teaches magazine disassembly in their armorer’s course.

Glock Front Sight Tool

The front sight tool on the VISM G5+ tool is yet another tool that is significantly better than other tools I have used in the past. To get the front sight tool out of the handle, you need to push the button to release it. Once the tool is in the open position, it locks in place with the same button.

The folding front sight screw tool is well thought out.

Once the front sight tool is extended, NcSTAR added a magnet inside the nut driver so that you no longer have to do gymnastics with your sight post, the screw, your slide, and the tool.

No more weird hand yoga to make sure that the screw doesn’t fall into oblivion.

One of the things that many other front sight tools get wrong is the nut driver is just too thick. For example, the Strike Industries All-In-One Glock Tool has a nut driver that is too thick and prevents you from removing the front sight on roughly 1 out of every four pistols I have tried it on over the years.

Bonus Tool: Bottle Opener

I don’t much like the idea of consuming alcohol and handling firearms but do understand it happens when cleaning guns after a long range trip. I don’t drink much myself, so I resorted to some delicious Jarritos sodas, which the G5+ opened like a champ.

I can’t recommend using the bottle opener while handling firearms, it is there, and I am sure that some will appreciate the heck out of it.

I guess there isn’t much reason not to include the bottle opener since the MagPopper fulcrum needs to be there anyhow, just be responsible when handling firearms.

Should You Buy A VISM G5 Glock Tool?

If you own a Glock, yes. There isn’t anything else on the market that is a better tool to include the tools that Glock offers to its certified armorers. It is well designed and made from pretty stout materials, so it should last quite a while.

After using the hell out of mine for a few years on my personal guns that get reconfigured often as well as servicing rental guns at the range I instruct at, I am impressed at how well it has held up after being my primary Glock armorer’s tool.

Aside from some slight finish wear and a bit of rust from leaving it in the bed of my truck, the VISM G5+ Glock Tool looks pretty dang good for a tool that has serviced several hundred pistols.

The VISM G5+ Glock Tool carries an MSRP of $27.99 but can be found for a street price of less than $20 should you shop around some. Learn more about the VISM G5+ Glock Tool on the NcSTAR website.

About Patrick R.

Patrick is a firearms enthusiast that values the quest for not only the best possible gear setup but also pragmatic ways to improve his shooting skills across a wide range of disciplines. He values truthful, honest information above all else and had committed to cutting through marketing fluff to deliver the truth. You can find the rest of his work on FirearmRack.com as well as on the YouTube channel Firearm Rack or Instagram at @thepatrickroberts.

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August 18, 2020 at 02:37PM