I wonder if there's something else we could use that would be slippery instead of the "slider." It's so expensive for what it is. Why would a straight-stitch plate help with FMQ?

I wonder if there's something else we could use that would be slippery instead of the "slider." It's so expensive for what it is. Why would a straight-stitch plate help with FMQ?
Rebecca in Baarn, Netherlands by way of Orange County, CA.