i recomend teh Don's Guide Rod. The "stock" piece is a hollow metal cylinder with a spring on teh outside, and a rod and spring on the inside and its all held together by a threaded fixture. More parts equals more things to break in my book, and in my case, it happened. This problem seems to affect teh .40cal though, as I haven't heard of teh captive guide rod system fragging in a 9mm yet. Another plu for teh Don's guide rod is that you can use different springs to adjust how stiff or free the slide moves.