diff --git a/freelist.go b/freelist.go
index d441b69..0e7369c 100644
--- a/freelist.go
+++ b/freelist.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package bbolt
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"reflect"
 	"sort"
 	"unsafe"
 )
@@ -94,24 +93,8 @@ func (f *freelist) pending_count() int {
 	return count
 }
 
-// copyallunsafe copies a list of all free ids and all pending ids in one sorted list.
+// copyall copies a list of all free ids and all pending ids in one sorted list.
 // f.count returns the minimum length required for dst.
-func (f *freelist) copyallunsafe(dstptr unsafe.Pointer) { // dstptr is []pgid data pointer
-	m := make(pgids, 0, f.pending_count())
-	for _, txp := range f.pending {
-		m = append(m, txp.ids...)
-	}
-	sort.Sort(m)
-	fpgids := f.getFreePageIDs()
-	sz := len(fpgids) + len(m)
-	dst := *(*[]pgid)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-		Data: uintptr(dstptr),
-		Len:  sz,
-		Cap:  sz,
-	}))
-	mergepgids(dst, fpgids, m)
-}
-
 func (f *freelist) copyall(dst []pgid) {
 	m := make(pgids, 0, f.pending_count())
 	for _, txp := range f.pending {
@@ -287,18 +270,15 @@ func (f *freelist) read(p *page) {
 	var idx, count uintptr = 0, uintptr(p.count)
 	if count == 0xFFFF {
 		idx = 1
-		count = uintptr(*(*pgid)(unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p))))
+		count = uintptr(*(*pgid)(unsafeAdd(unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p))))
 	}
 
 	// Copy the list of page ids from the freelist.
 	if count == 0 {
 		f.ids = nil
 	} else {
-		ids := *(*[]pgid)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-			Data: uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p) + idx*unsafe.Sizeof(pgid(0)),
-			Len:  int(count),
-			Cap:  int(count),
-		}))
+		ids := (*[maxAllocSize]pgid)(unsafeAdd(
+			unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p)))[idx : idx+count : idx+count]
 
 		// copy the ids, so we don't modify on the freelist page directly
 		idsCopy := make([]pgid, count)
@@ -331,16 +311,18 @@ func (f *freelist) write(p *page) error {
 
 	// The page.count can only hold up to 64k elements so if we overflow that
 	// number then we handle it by putting the size in the first element.
-	lenids := f.count()
-	if lenids == 0 {
-		p.count = uint16(lenids)
-	} else if lenids < 0xFFFF {
-		p.count = uint16(lenids)
-		f.copyallunsafe(unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p)))
+	l := f.count()
+	if l == 0 {
+		p.count = uint16(l)
+	} else if l < 0xFFFF {
+		p.count = uint16(l)
+		ids := (*[maxAllocSize]pgid)(unsafeAdd(unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p)))[:l:l]
+		f.copyall(ids)
 	} else {
 		p.count = 0xFFFF
-		*(*pgid)(unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p))) = pgid(lenids)
-		f.copyallunsafe(unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p) + unsafe.Sizeof(pgid(0))))
+		ids := (*[maxAllocSize]pgid)(unsafeAdd(unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p)))[: l+1 : l+1]
+		ids[0] = pgid(l)
+		f.copyall(ids[1:])
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/node.go b/node.go
index 1690eef..73988b5 100644
--- a/node.go
+++ b/node.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package bbolt
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
-	"reflect"
 	"sort"
 	"unsafe"
 )
@@ -208,36 +207,32 @@ func (n *node) write(p *page) {
 	}
 
 	// Loop over each item and write it to the page.
-	bp := uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p) + n.pageElementSize()*uintptr(len(n.inodes))
+	// off tracks the offset into p of the start of the next data.
+	off := unsafe.Sizeof(*p) + n.pageElementSize()*uintptr(len(n.inodes))
 	for i, item := range n.inodes {
 		_assert(len(item.key) > 0, "write: zero-length inode key")
 
+		// Create a slice to write into of needed size and advance
+		// byte pointer for next iteration.
+		sz := len(item.key) + len(item.value)
+		b := unsafeByteSlice(unsafe.Pointer(p), off, 0, sz)
+		off += uintptr(sz)
+
 		// Write the page element.
 		if n.isLeaf {
 			elem := p.leafPageElement(uint16(i))
-			elem.pos = uint32(bp - uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(elem)))
+			elem.pos = uint32(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&b[0])) - uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(elem)))
 			elem.flags = item.flags
 			elem.ksize = uint32(len(item.key))
 			elem.vsize = uint32(len(item.value))
 		} else {
 			elem := p.branchPageElement(uint16(i))
-			elem.pos = uint32(bp - uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(elem)))
+			elem.pos = uint32(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&b[0])) - uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(elem)))
 			elem.ksize = uint32(len(item.key))
 			elem.pgid = item.pgid
 			_assert(elem.pgid != p.id, "write: circular dependency occurred")
 		}
 
-		// Create a slice to write into of needed size and advance
-		// byte pointer for next iteration.
-		klen, vlen := len(item.key), len(item.value)
-		sz := klen + vlen
-		b := *(*[]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-			Data: bp,
-			Len:  sz,
-			Cap:  sz,
-		}))
-		bp += uintptr(sz)
-
 		// Write data for the element to the end of the page.
 		l := copy(b, item.key)
 		copy(b[l:], item.value)
diff --git a/node_test.go b/node_test.go
index 85a9dc2..eea4d25 100644
--- a/node_test.go
+++ b/node_test.go
@@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ func TestNode_read_LeafPage(t *testing.T) {
 	nodes[1] = leafPageElement{flags: 0, pos: 23, ksize: 10, vsize: 3} // pos = sizeof(leafPageElement) + 3 + 4
 
 	// Write data for the nodes at the end.
-	data := (*[4096]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&nodes[2]))
-	copy(data[:], "barfooz")
-	copy(data[7:], "helloworldbye")
+	const s = "barfoozhelloworldbye"
+	data := unsafeByteSlice(unsafe.Pointer(&nodes[2]), 0, 0, len(s))
+	copy(data, s)
 
 	// Deserialize page into a leaf.
 	n := &node{}
diff --git a/page.go b/page.go
index 415cd77..3cfd94e 100644
--- a/page.go
+++ b/page.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package bbolt
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
-	"reflect"
 	"sort"
 	"unsafe"
 )
@@ -51,13 +50,13 @@ func (p *page) typ() string {
 
 // meta returns a pointer to the metadata section of the page.
 func (p *page) meta() *meta {
-	return (*meta)(unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p)))
+	return (*meta)(unsafeAdd(unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p)))
 }
 
 // leafPageElement retrieves the leaf node by index
 func (p *page) leafPageElement(index uint16) *leafPageElement {
-	off := uintptr(index) * leafPageElementSize
-	return (*leafPageElement)(unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p) + off))
+	return (*leafPageElement)(unsafeIndex(unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p),
+		leafPageElementSize, int(index)))
 }
 
 // leafPageElements retrieves a list of leaf nodes.
@@ -65,17 +64,14 @@ func (p *page) leafPageElements() []leafPageElement {
 	if p.count == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
-	return *(*[]leafPageElement)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-		Data: uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p),
-		Len:  int(p.count),
-		Cap:  int(p.count),
-	}))
+	return (*[maxAllocSize]leafPageElement)(unsafeIndex(unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p),
+		unsafe.Sizeof(leafPageElement{}), 0))[:p.count:p.count]
 }
 
 // branchPageElement retrieves the branch node by index
 func (p *page) branchPageElement(index uint16) *branchPageElement {
-	off := uintptr(index) * unsafe.Sizeof(branchPageElement{})
-	return (*branchPageElement)(unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p) + off))
+	return (*branchPageElement)(unsafeIndex(unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p),
+		unsafe.Sizeof(branchPageElement{}), int(index)))
 }
 
 // branchPageElements retrieves a list of branch nodes.
@@ -83,20 +79,13 @@ func (p *page) branchPageElements() []branchPageElement {
 	if p.count == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
-	return *(*[]branchPageElement)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-		Data: uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)) + unsafe.Sizeof(*p),
-		Len:  int(p.count),
-		Cap:  int(p.count),
-	}))
+	return (*[maxAllocSize]branchPageElement)(unsafeIndex(unsafe.Pointer(p), unsafe.Sizeof(*p),
+		unsafe.Sizeof(branchPageElement{}), 0))[:p.count:p.count]
 }
 
 // dump writes n bytes of the page to STDERR as hex output.
 func (p *page) hexdump(n int) {
-	buf := *(*[]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-		Data: uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)),
-		Len:  n,
-		Cap:  n,
-	}))
+	buf := unsafeByteSlice(unsafe.Pointer(p), 0, 0, n)
 	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%x\n", buf)
 }
 
@@ -115,11 +104,7 @@ type branchPageElement struct {
 
 // key returns a byte slice of the node key.
 func (n *branchPageElement) key() []byte {
-	return *(*[]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-		Data: uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(n)) + uintptr(n.pos),
-		Len:  int(n.ksize),
-		Cap:  int(n.ksize),
-	}))
+	return unsafeByteSlice(unsafe.Pointer(n), 0, int(n.pos), int(n.pos)+int(n.ksize))
 }
 
 // leafPageElement represents a node on a leaf page.
@@ -132,20 +117,16 @@ type leafPageElement struct {
 
 // key returns a byte slice of the node key.
 func (n *leafPageElement) key() []byte {
-	return *(*[]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-		Data: uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(n)) + uintptr(n.pos),
-		Len:  int(n.ksize),
-		Cap:  int(n.ksize),
-	}))
+	i := int(n.pos)
+	j := i + int(n.ksize)
+	return unsafeByteSlice(unsafe.Pointer(n), 0, i, j)
 }
 
 // value returns a byte slice of the node value.
 func (n *leafPageElement) value() []byte {
-	return *(*[]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-		Data: uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(n)) + uintptr(n.pos) + uintptr(n.ksize),
-		Len:  int(n.vsize),
-		Cap:  int(n.vsize),
-	}))
+	i := int(n.pos) + int(n.ksize)
+	j := i + int(n.vsize)
+	return unsafeByteSlice(unsafe.Pointer(n), 0, i, j)
 }
 
 // PageInfo represents human readable information about a page.
diff --git a/tx.go b/tx.go
index 13937cd..4b1a64a 100644
--- a/tx.go
+++ b/tx.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
-	"reflect"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -524,24 +523,18 @@ func (tx *Tx) write() error {
 
 	// Write pages to disk in order.
 	for _, p := range pages {
-		size := (int(p.overflow) + 1) * tx.db.pageSize
+		rem := (uint64(p.overflow) + 1) * uint64(tx.db.pageSize)
 		offset := int64(p.id) * int64(tx.db.pageSize)
+		var written uintptr
 
 		// Write out page in "max allocation" sized chunks.
-		ptr := uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p))
 		for {
-			// Limit our write to our max allocation size.
-			sz := size
+			sz := rem
 			if sz > maxAllocSize-1 {
 				sz = maxAllocSize - 1
 			}
+			buf := unsafeByteSlice(unsafe.Pointer(p), written, 0, int(sz))
 
-			// Write chunk to disk.
-			buf := *(*[]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-				Data: ptr,
-				Len:  sz,
-				Cap:  sz,
-			}))
 			if _, err := tx.db.ops.writeAt(buf, offset); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
@@ -550,14 +543,14 @@ func (tx *Tx) write() error {
 			tx.stats.Write++
 
 			// Exit inner for loop if we've written all the chunks.
-			size -= sz
-			if size == 0 {
+			rem -= sz
+			if rem == 0 {
 				break
 			}
 
 			// Otherwise move offset forward and move pointer to next chunk.
 			offset += int64(sz)
-			ptr += uintptr(sz)
+			written += uintptr(sz)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -576,11 +569,7 @@ func (tx *Tx) write() error {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		buf := *(*[]byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&reflect.SliceHeader{
-			Data: uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(p)),
-			Len:  tx.db.pageSize,
-			Cap:  tx.db.pageSize,
-		}))
+		buf := unsafeByteSlice(unsafe.Pointer(p), 0, 0, tx.db.pageSize)
 
 		// See https://go.googlesource.com/go/+/f03c9202c43e0abb130669852082117ca50aa9b1
 		for i := range buf {
diff --git a/unsafe.go b/unsafe.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6c0c04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unsafe.go
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package bbolt
+
+import "unsafe"
+
+func unsafeAdd(base unsafe.Pointer, offset uintptr) unsafe.Pointer {
+	return unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(base) + offset)
+}
+
+func unsafeIndex(base unsafe.Pointer, offset uintptr, elemsz uintptr, n int) unsafe.Pointer {
+	return unsafe.Pointer(uintptr(base) + offset + uintptr(n)*elemsz)
+}
+
+func unsafeByteSlice(base unsafe.Pointer, offset uintptr, i, j int) []byte {
+	return (*[maxAllocSize]byte)(unsafeAdd(base, offset))[i:j:j]
+}