We were asked about the old Slipstream Artic oil we were working on. We wanted to do something special because extreme cold plays hell with machines… and a firearm is indeed a machine. In fact, when it gets really cold, lubrication becomes critical just like when it gets really hot. A lot of oils don’t offer good enough protection… some of them popular weapons lubricants. I’ll explain why here in a moment. So we looked at doing a cold weather formula for Slipstream.
Pretty much we don’t need it. Why? Because Slipstream works to almost Minus 60 degrees. I tested it on a Mossberg 930SPX by burying it in a snow bank for 3 weeks. Flawless. The gun cycled, reloaded, fully functional. The Lubricant worked.
The Grease, not so much. Greases are oils with additives that thicken it up. These things don’t react as well to severe cold. The oil gets thicker, stiffer, and it doesn’t move. It’s fine once it warms back up… Just like any other grease. I’ve tested other greases and when it gets really cold… they just don’t work. Oil, since it doesn’t contain the thickeners, keeps fluid, stays slick, and doesn’t lose its ability to provide lubrication. Slipstream STYX also works well in very cold conditions. Better yet, the Anti-Corrosion properties in STYX works even better because when cold metal warms up, you can get condensation building up – inside and outside. Unprotected, that condensation can lead to corrosion… inside the frame, main springs, under grip panels. You’ve seen it happen. STYX stops that.
Regular Slipstream oil is great… if you are running that you are fine. No worries. If you go from Cold to Warm frequently…. say… in and out of a hot Patrol Car, you might want to upgrade your Slipstream to STYX. Normal activities, you are going to be just fine. But what about Slipstream’s Nano Particles? They remain completely unaffected by temperature. Extreme hot. Extreme cold. Not bothered. What can cause problems though is water droplets inside, freezing and forming a physical barrier to movement, blocking things from working. The great thing about Slipstream is that it reduces the ability of those frozen condensation droplets of moisture from sticking to the metal and blocking it up.
It gets really cold out here in the High Desert country here in Utah. Very cold. It gets colder here than it does in a lot of places in Alaska. I know there are places colder… North Dakota… Northern Alaska… And we’ve got people there using Slipstream, and they have reported great satisfaction with Slipstream.
We recommend building a fire, putting your feet up, and staying warm when it gets below sixty out there… but if you really need an advanced Lubricant for temperatures below minus 60 degrees… Let us know. We’ll work something up.
I’m honestly excited about trying the new stuff.. I use Slipstream lube and grease on all my firearms and it truly makes a huge difference. If the new stuff helps out with corrosion protection, I’ll be buying a crate of it!
Oh, it does. Works very well on any metal.
Ordered for the 1st time tonight- STYX will work it in to my guns then off to the range
PS I’m waiting for my P220 SAS Genll compact in two tone that is currently on layaway – so the sooner the STYX gets here the better Woo Hoo!
Thank’s guys!
PS Mr Ogre it was your comments on the P220 that helped me pull the trigger so to speak lol and I didn’t have to sell or trade any of my 1911’s only problem is the wife doesn’t know about the SIG yet – I’ll have to watch the YouTube video you posted about that aspect of breaking the news lol!
Nice! Gotta be careful though… Digs can be addicting like crack.
I have my Styx and love it. Out of curiosity, what happens after -60*? does it freeze up or is that just the coldest you were able to test at with your equipment?
Yeah, I couldn’t get it any colder.
Honestly, if you encounter temps below -60F, you need to hunker down with a warm fire. You’re getting into special territory there. Your ammo is going to change. Parts will shrink, changing fit and performance. Even if your lubrication holds up, material properties get screwy – polymers pass glass-transition temperatures and become brittle, metals lose ductility, etc.
Note the name – missiles that are designed for extended exposure to high altitude temperatures are only certified to -65F. The USAF has found that drones at extreme altitude can achieve even lower temperatures. They inquired about extending that certification to -75F. No go – rubbers in propellants micro-crack. You can’t see them…..but they make a nice boom when you test them.
I used to use Tetra Gun Grease. Here in WA it doesn’t get that cold, but during the winter I started getting light primer strikes out of my stock P239.
I asked around and someone mentioned that the grease could be the problem.
I was skeptical, but I flushed the gun out and lubed it up with some CLP instead. It ran great.
When I got my Slipstream Kit, I was telling the guys at the range about it. (You know boys and their lubes)
One guy said, “yeah it seems good, but how will it work when it gets cold?”
I was apprehensive about this also. I like the product, but I’m not a fan boy, it has to perform.
So I put my Sig, in zip-lock, into a cooler and let it get cold. OK not very scientific, but…
Long story short, in my experience, Slipstream works when it’s cold.
What is the difference between Styx and regular Slipstream?
Styx is more corrosion resistant. Slipstream is good, Styx is a lot better. But it’s more money. You only need it if you live near the coast.
There is anecdotal info out there about M1’s that refused to work the first winter in Korea because the milspec grease issued was designed to stay on when wet and nothing was ever considered for cold weather (and it gets COLD in the Korean mountains in winter!!)…troops got smart real quick and either moved to more solvent oils that would not freeze as thick or just ran their Garands bone dry until it warmed up….
Any thought to offering SS as a dry lubricant a la graphite?
Seriously, its flat out too messy. The particles are so fine, a sneeze would lose it all.