hey guys, thanks in advance for feedback.....    want to put a green laser on my s&w shield 45.  give me pros and cons for viridian and crimson trace.....

I bought the Viridian C5L mainly
because of the auto shut off feature
upon holstering. I bought the kit to
add the magnet to my Kydex holster.

I use it on my G19.4 which is my
evening carry piece.

I like it so far. I have had it about
2 months & I have taken it to the
range a few times to break in the
Glock & sight in the laser.

I don't have any Crimson Trace
items.

YMMV

John

I have both, the X5L is going to give you the extra option of the WML.  I have the Trac-Loc holster for my M&P. That gives you the option of putting it in the holster turned on (the holster turns it off). This is better for dark (really Dark) palces.

The CT's are (for most guns) just a replacement grip with the Laser only, but instinctualy turned on. This is good when you can still see your target.

I've been playing with my cousins Viridian and Glock and plan to run it in a local competition next weekend. So far I'm really liking it. The fact it has an auto sleep feature when in the holster is really cool. "Set it and forget it", no messing around trying to get it turned on. The potential downside of the setup if the retention release on the holster is a bit low. I have long fingers so it works fine for me, but if you have shorter fingers you may need to use your middle finger to release the retention and draw the pistol. This leaves your fingers ever so slightly misaligned to quickly drop the trigger finger onto the trigger. 

Not a huge deal but something to keep in mind. 

i just bought the XL5 and love it.. its bad ass!

All of my revolvers have CT laser grips and all have been flawless. I almost bought a Viridian a year or two back, (not sure of the model, it was FDE with a green laser), but while researching it I found a few different people online who were having problems with theirs. The laser shutting off and not coming back on, intermittent performance, things like that. For $250 I just couldn't justify it and decided to scrap the idea all together. Maybe these issues have been sorted out by now.