I know a lot of people have already chimed in on the Echelon but I wanted to give my initial impressions.
First, weight:
Xdm Compact 9mm 28oz (my edc)
XDM Elite 4.5” 9mm 31oz (for apples to apples comparison)
Echelon 4.5” 9mm 24oz
That is ½ pound lighter than the XDME and ¼ pound lighter than the XDM Compact. Big props there alone.
Grip: The patented grip texture we all love from the Hellcat is now on a full size gun and it’s awesome. The texturing is flat enough to not be uncomfortable but grippy enough to really set your hand when firing. There’s also grip pads in the right places for a proper thumbs-forward grip and for your trigger finger to rest. The trigger finger pad is a little awkwardly placed but serves its purpose as both a trigger finger and thumb rest depending on your handedness so it makes sense for a full ambi pistol.
Slide: The serrations are deep but not sharp and provide excellent grip when charging. The rear of the slide has two ears that also assist charging more than I thought they would. The loaded chamber indicator is on the right side which makes it near useless for a righty unless you use the support hand to feel for it. Of course there’s always the option to turn the gun on it’s side and just look. The reverse cut in the slide, just in front of the ejection port, is excellent for a quick press check.
Other stuff: The mag release is the smoothest I’ve found of any of my Springfields. Empty, full, whatever, it ejects effortlessly. The frame rails are tiny tiny. I’m sure they’ve tested it to all get out but seeing those tiny things makes me cringe lol. The trigger reset is short and trigger pull is only 2x the reset, making for a solid factory trigger. But what in sweet baby Jesus' name is that tiny slide lock/release?! It's a freaking blade and not nice for those of us who train for and like using it as a release, ugh.
Overall I’d say this is the most refined pistol HS/SA has put out. Can’t wait to get it out and finally shoot it.
First, weight:
Xdm Compact 9mm 28oz (my edc)
XDM Elite 4.5” 9mm 31oz (for apples to apples comparison)
Echelon 4.5” 9mm 24oz
That is ½ pound lighter than the XDME and ¼ pound lighter than the XDM Compact. Big props there alone.
Grip: The patented grip texture we all love from the Hellcat is now on a full size gun and it’s awesome. The texturing is flat enough to not be uncomfortable but grippy enough to really set your hand when firing. There’s also grip pads in the right places for a proper thumbs-forward grip and for your trigger finger to rest. The trigger finger pad is a little awkwardly placed but serves its purpose as both a trigger finger and thumb rest depending on your handedness so it makes sense for a full ambi pistol.
Slide: The serrations are deep but not sharp and provide excellent grip when charging. The rear of the slide has two ears that also assist charging more than I thought they would. The loaded chamber indicator is on the right side which makes it near useless for a righty unless you use the support hand to feel for it. Of course there’s always the option to turn the gun on it’s side and just look. The reverse cut in the slide, just in front of the ejection port, is excellent for a quick press check.
Other stuff: The mag release is the smoothest I’ve found of any of my Springfields. Empty, full, whatever, it ejects effortlessly. The frame rails are tiny tiny. I’m sure they’ve tested it to all get out but seeing those tiny things makes me cringe lol. The trigger reset is short and trigger pull is only 2x the reset, making for a solid factory trigger. But what in sweet baby Jesus' name is that tiny slide lock/release?! It's a freaking blade and not nice for those of us who train for and like using it as a release, ugh.
Overall I’d say this is the most refined pistol HS/SA has put out. Can’t wait to get it out and finally shoot it.
