The Guardian features a two-piece frame; the upper portion being Cerakote-finished aluminum, while the lower portion is made from glass-filled polymer. Like all the 2011 series, the lower grip frame has a squared-off trigger guard for those shooters still lost in the ’70s. The grip panels are steel reinforced polymer and are of the shorter, Officer Model type—STI calls it their 2011 VIP grip. The company claims the polymer lower portion flexes enough to soak up some of the recoil, but I have no way to measure or determine whether that is true.