Otis Elite Pistol Cleaning Kit: All You'll Ever Need

Like most shooters, I have a potpourri of pistol cleaning kits and cleaning accessories scattered on the shelf in my gun room. However, the introduction of Otis’s Elite Pistol Kit eliminates the need for multiple cleaning kits by offering everything you need to properly clean handguns from .22 to .45 caliber in one convenient, simple-to-transport zippered case.

Inside that case you’ll find a complete set of cleaning tools for every firearm—including a Professional Cleaning Kit in a nylon zippered case. The compact Professional Cleaning Kit offers everything you need for on-the-go cleaning of handguns from .22 to .45 caliber including two- and three-inch gun cleaning patches, directions and two pull-through Memory-Flex cables (eight and 12 inches) with threaded ends to accommodate a variety of cleaning tools.

Those tools include brass scrapers, four bronze brushes and slotted tips. There’s also a half-ounce bottle of Shooter’s Choice FP-10 Lubricant Elite CLP, a nylon brush and a chamber flag. The Professional Cleaning Kit is held in place within the Elite Pistol Kit case via a nylon strap with a heavy-duty metal snap.

There are a variety of scraper tools that allow you to perform a thorough clean, and these include a bent and straight pick, scraper rod, pin punch, nylon brush, female brass rod and an obstruction remover. It’s rare to find such a well-rounded collection of scrapers, and it’s even better news that they are located within the easy-to-carry Professional Cleaning Kit. If you’re at the range and want to do a thorough cleaning you’ll have everything you need inside the smaller Professional kit—even if you didn’t bring along the entire Elite Pistol Kit.

Lots of Extras

Two additional half-ounce bottles of Shooter’s Choice FP-10 Lubricant Elite CLP are located in loops within the Elite Pistol Kit, and so are bronze and nylon bore brushes and cotton mops ranging in diameter from .22 to .45 inch.

Each brush or mop comes in an individual locking plastic case that is labeled with the brush diameter (.22, 9mm, 10mm and .45). To avoid confusion, each clear plastic case lists calibers that work with each mop or brush diameter. For example, the 9mm brushes are also labeled .380 and .357. That may seem unnecessary to experienced shooters, but new gun owners can have a hard time cross-referencing metric and imperial measurements.

Not all bore brushes and mops are created equal, and the ones in the Otis kit are very high quality, and the company says its brushes have twice the fill of the average brush. While I didn’t actually count bronze bristles on the .45 brush, I will say the Otis brushes are full and offer plenty of bristles. Cotton mops are similarly full and absorb a substantial amount of liquid while maintaining a consistent diameter for thorough land-to-groove cleaning.

Each Otis Elite Pistol Kit comes with 100 two-inch and 50 three-inch patches in resealable bags that can be stored in mesh pockets within the kit.

Clever System

The team at Otis has developed a clever system that allows you to make the best use of each patch while thoroughly cleaning the bore. Each patch contains three pre-cut slots. Those cuts serve a purpose, and if you rotate the patch and use both surfaces you can swab your barrel up to six times depending on the level of fouling inside the bore.

There’s also a proper method for attaching each patch to the slotted brass cleaning tip depending upon the caliber. While I won’t go through the entire process —it’s explained in the instructions and in a video on the Otis website—I will say that its method allows you to get the most from each patch.

The Elite kit contains four Otis Ripcords for .22, 9mm, 10mm and .45. The Ripcord is perhaps the simplest and most effective one-pass cleaning system available today because it combines several cleaning steps into a single motion. The helical core ensures consistent contact down the length of the bore, and the braided Nomex surface scrubs the lands and grooves clean with a single breech-to-muzzle pull. Nomex also withstands temperatures up to 700 degrees, so you can clean a hot barrel without fear of damaging the Ripcord. It’s also threaded so you can attach a bore brush for even more thorough cleaning.

The Elite also comes with Otis’s 8-in-1 pistol tool, which features  a magnetized quarter-inch bit driver. The driver accepts the included pin punch, No. 0 Phillips bit, Glock front sight adjuster and 5/32-inch flathead bit. The bits are housed within the tool, and integrated into the body of the tool are an 8/32 threaded insert, punch hammer and a T-handle slot for cables.

Popular Tools

The Elite kit contains a Glock magazine disassembly tool, a looped pistol rod with patch cutout and 8/32 threaded head and three double-ended all-purpose brushes. The included microfiber cloth is safe to use on optics. There’s also a heavy-duty 11x17-inch cleaning mat.

That’s an impressive list of cleaning tools to fit into a single zippered nylon case that measures 15 inches long and just over nine inches tall. The case also features a zippered external pocket, hook-and-loop attachment strip and carry handles. The entire kit with all the components weighs right at three pounds.

I’ve evaluated several pistol cleaning kits, but the Otis Elite is one of the best. It offers almost every tool you’ll need for cleaning and light gunsmithing on handguns in the most popular calibers, and it’s light and easy to transport. It’s also very nice to have the right tool for every job at your fingertips.

All the components in the kit are robust and well-designed, making it simple to get a thorough clean. I also like that Otis included three small Shooter’s Choice CLP solution bottles. Some cleaning solvents aren’t very effective, but CLP is one of the best, and I have relied on it for some time.

Easy Transport

The separate Professional Cleaning Kit is a big benefit because at 4x3 inches it’s easy to toss in a range bag. The strap system also attaches to the exterior of a backpack.

My only complaint about the Elite is that not everything is secured inside the case, and sometimes when you open it items have shifted. The primary zipper on the Elite kit works fine, but I wish it were more heavy-duty. It stood up well to testing, but it remains to be seen how well it holds up over years of use.

Overall, though, the Elite kit earns high marks. It covers all the primary cleaning needs, and if there are other items you want to bring—spare springs, wrenches, etc.—you can stash them in the exterior zippered pouch or in smaller external pouches attached to the hook and loop.

The Elite Pistol Kit isn’t cheap, but I’ll bet if you total up the price of all the cleaning rods, patches, brushes and other assorted items scattered around your gun room you’ll realize that a $170 all-in-one system is something of a bargain.

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