Israel Weapon Industries, or IWI, made its name with well-known arms like the Galil and the Tavor bullpup, and the company continues to offer modernized variants of these guns, as well as modern variants of its longtime sidearm: the Jericho. Built on both steel and polymer frames and using a hammer-fired operating system, the Jericho was IWI’s go-to handgun for decades, but the release of the Masada in late 2017 offered a striker-fired handgun to consumers that was built for durability and offered ambidextrous controls. Taking it one step further, IWI debuted its Masada Slim in 2022, bringing yet another duty-ready option to the marketplace of defensive handguns. Watch the video above to see the IWI Masada Slim in use on the NRA Tech Range.
IWI's Masada Slim is a trimmed-down variant of the company’s striker-fired duty pistol. In terms of height, length, width and weight, the Slim holds true to its name, giving today’s handgunners an easily carried defensive arm offered by one of the world’s most famous firearm companies. The gun weighs just over 20 ozs., unloaded, and has a capacity of 13 rounds in 9 mm Luger. While the capacity, chambering and name of the Masada Slim might suggest that it’s yet another of the many micro-compacts we’ve seen, it’s actually more of a traditional subcompact than anything else.
One of the other benefits of the Masada Slim is its inclusion of a milled slide to accommodate a red-dot optic sized for the Shield RMS footprint, which opens up a number of popular options for owners. Factory dovetailed sights are included, however, the Slim is not equipped with suppressor-height sights for true co-witnessing. The rear sight does have a flat face on the front for one-handed racking. Another beneficial feature of the Slim is its modular, serialized trigger housing, which makes cleaning and maintenance easy.
On the range, the IWI Masada Slim performed admirably for a dedicated defensive gun. The flat-faced trigger with its built-in safety blade is a nice touch. Unlike on the original Masada, there is no thumb safety available on the Slim. Another nice touch is the beveled frame and slide at the front of the gun, which aids in reholstering, always a welcome feature on any dedicated CCW gun. The Masada Slim is a bit larger than many of today's CCW introductions, but for some, this is a great benefit, because the size and ergonomics of the Slim make it a better fit for their hands, and the first priority for any personal-defense gun is that it can be shot well. For a duty-grade, easily carried personal defense gun, it’s hard to go wrong with a dedicated option from one of the world’s foremost makers of fighting guns.
Specifications:
Importer: IWI US, Inc.
Model: Masada Slim
Action Type: recoil-operated, semi-automatic, centerfire pistol
Chambering: 9 mm Luger
Frame: black polymer
Slide: steel; black finish
Barrel: 3.4" stainless steel
Sights: dovetailed three-dot; Shield RMS optic footprint
Trigger: striker-fired
Magazine: 13-round detachable box
Overall Length: 6.2"
Height: 4.9"
Width: 1.28"
MSRP: $450
