You just bought a Glock, and let’s face it, those plastic factory Glock sights are flat out embarrassing. Plastic sights on a metal slide just don’t make a whole lot of sense, and they are definitely nothing to write home about. When it comes time to upgrade those sights there are two things you may want to consider: Suppressors and Red Dot Sights (RDS).

Glock Upgrades

Adding a threaded barrel to your Glock is easily one of the quickest upgrades you’ll ever do.  There are loads of aftermarket Glock barrels that can be shipped right to your door and installed in a matter of minutes.  

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

Now, unless you’ve managed to snag a small diameter silencer (such as the Dead Air Odessa-9), you will more than likely end up staring into the rear end cap of your pistol silencer.  Not really the best sight picture to have.

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

Battery powered red dot sights present their own set of problems.  You are either forced to co-witness a pair of raised height sights and sacrifice an already small sight window or run smaller out-of-view factory sights (that really only serve as decorations).  That is unless you are willing to risk drawing a gun and looking through an empty window.

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

To this end, the KNS SwitchSight addresses both issues perfectly.  You can fold them up to easily clear a silencer, or use them as a set of backup iron sights on your RDS-equipped pistol.  

Choose Your Weapon

To thoroughly test the KNS SwitchSight, I thought it best to test them on two entirely different ends of the Glock spectrum.  

The first would be on a Glock 17 Gen 4.  This 9mm striker fired classic needs no introduction and is popularly used by military and law enforcement agencies around the world.  Because of this, it has a slew of available aftermarket parts available.

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

For the second gun, I chose a Glock 40 MOS chambered in the massive 10mm.  With double the energy at the muzzle, and a massive sight radius this monster of a Glock would test to the durability and precision of these sights.  

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

I also wanted to see how well the KNS sights acted as back up iron sights.  A Leupold DeltaPoint was added, thanks to Glock’s handy Modular Optics System mount.  Leupold’s DeltaPoint is also one of the larger bodied RDS available. If these sights would clear the DeltaPoint, I’m confident they’ll clear any other RDS.  

Sight Installation

Installing sights on a Glock is a breeze, and there are plenty of YouTube videos available on how to do so.  You’ll need a handgun sight pusher tool or you can always take your gun to a local gunsmith if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself.  

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

To remove the rear sight, you will need to push it out using a handgun sight pusher tool, and similarly, repeat the process to install the new KNS rear sight.  In order to remove the front sight, remove the slide and unscrew the connecting screw from inside the slide. When installing the new screw, I recommend a dab of blue thread locker to make sure the front sight won’t work its way loose in the future.  

Functionality At The Range

If you are familiar with factory Glock sights, then the KNS sights folded down will feel right at home.  They provide an almost identical sight picture, albeit without the rear Glock sight underline.

When folded up, the KNS SwitchSight will clear whatever pistol can you decide to use.  

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

Adjusting how you shoot does take a minute with the SwitchSight.  Folding the sights up for suppressor or RDS use does require some re-training.  If you rapidly try to acquire targets from a draw or low ready, you’ll find it takes just a moment longer to line everything up.  You will need to adjust your draw as the sights are both taller, and more narrow in this configuration. Even with this change, it only took me a matter of minutes to feel comfortable with this new sight picture.  

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

When it comes to using the SwitchSights are backup sights, I’ll be the first to admit, they’re not my favorite (especially with large RDS like the Leupold DeltaPoint).  However, the fact that they’ll even clear this monster of a sight is a feat in and of itself. You are still able to make out all three dots, although they are at the very bottom of the sight picture.  Still, having accidentally killed the batteries on many RDS, they’re a welcome addition. During my testing, I did notice the rear sight does protrude out from the rear of the slide. While it may be a visual eye-soar, I didn’t find it bothersome.  

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

The Verdict

Between multiple trips to the range, and hundreds an hundreds of rounds downrange, I can’t find much to criticize these sights on.  Yes, these sights do mean the addition of moving parts to a firearm, which means there are additional points of failure. With that said, I’m willing to bet the same amount of force it would take to break these sights, would easily break or damage any plastic factory Glock sight.  

It’s also worth noting that because the sights fold rearward, if you were to forget to fold the sights down and holster your firearm, the sights would simply fold themselves down.  No harm done.

TFB REVIEW: KNS SwitchSight Glock Sights

I’ll admit, I was skeptical that these sights would hold true after the heavy use I put them through.  I must have folded the sights up and down a couple hundred times, shot them with heavy duty Hornady XTP Ammo, and they still feel as sturdy as the day they were installed.  They snap into place and in no way feel flimsy when folded up or down. All of that aside, they’re not idiot proof, and I’m sure someone will find a way to break them. Still, I don’t think you could manufacture a multi-role sight that could fill both roles and be any more durable.  Whether it be suppressor use or piece of mind with an RDS equipped pistol, I think the KNS SwitchSight is a brilliant solution to a simple problem.