Soft-close sidemount drawer slides?

[Jamie Buxton]

Several manufacturers now offer sidemount (Accuride-type) drawer slides with the soft-close feature. That is, a spring pulls the slide closed for the last couple of inches of travel, but a hydralic damper only allows the drawer to move slowly instead of slamming shut. Accuride has the 3832EC series. KV has the 8450 series. There are probably others out there. Has anybody used these? Do they feel as good as the Blum Tandem Blumotion slides?

[Jay Brewer]

Hi Jamie, I have been using the KV 8450's for a couple of months now. They do work as advertised but not as nice as the blum Tandem undermounts. I like the KV's beacause they require the same clearance as regular side mounts. Some manufacturers require an extra 1/32" or 1/16" side clearance.

The only think I dont like about all the soft close side mounts is the spring tension that activates the soft close. It requires a greater pull force the first inch or so than regular side mounts because you have to pull against the springs. Not a huge deal, just something to be aware of.

[Robert Chapman]

I use the Blumotion Tandem slides and really like them. They are easy to install and have a nice soft close so that items in the drawer are not disturbed - plus the soft close just feels really classy to me.

[Chris Friesen]

I've been testing the ones that LV sells on my kitchen cutlery drawer for a couple months now. (Available drawer space is too shallow for undermounts.) As already mentioned, they don't run quite as sweetly as the tandemplus with blumotion, but they are way cheaper and they fit the same as regular full extension drawer slides. I'll probably use some more of them.