Anyone Carrying an Echelon?

[bcj68]

I'm looking at the Echelon and was wondering who is carrying a Echelon for CCW. Any tips, feedback suggestions on holster...I'm looking at getting one.

 

[Appropriate_Sky_8043]

I have an Echelon, I love shooting it and take it to classes and workshops a lot, but it’s not on my carry roster at the moment. I got a good holster for it from Daraholsters.com that I use for classes and steel shoot. I imagine their carry holsters are of comparable quality.

 

[vplaza96]

I plan to add my Echelon 4.0C to my CCW when I renew in November. I've been practicing with it at the range, using my T1C MSP Pro Flex with TLR-1 light. Using Kore Essentials belts.

I have the Holosun 507C-X2 ACSS Vulcan on the Echelon. I also just replaced the recoil spring guide with the NDZ (stock spring weight). It made a noticeable difference in recoil.

Oh, and I removed the mag disconnect. Couldn't stand it not dropping the mags freely.

I love this gun. Can't wait to start carrying it.

 

[NationMostWanted]

I have a stock 4.0c with iwb eclipse holster

 

[jnorr]

Currently carrying a 4.5F in a 945 industries bag… shoots great just make sure u got a dot on it.

 

[FCRII]

Yup, been carrying since their free state release. Carried a full size for over a year and moved to the 4.0 when they released it. I use T1C APX for holster primarily. Great gun & 4.0 shoots great and is easy to conceal. Probably my second favorite compact carry behind my Staccato CS.

 

[Gawernator]

Walther PDP Compact, thank me later

 

[RustVendor]

I don't have it on my permit yet but I have a compact and it's great. I got the Large compact grip module and it might be my favorite grip on a compact. Really good recoil impulse, returns right to zero. Ok trigger, not as good as the M&P but it's fine for carry and still much better than a glock.

 

[fractal]

I carry an echelon 4.0 with a red dot and a light. I'm using the Tenicor Velo Lux holster and it's great. I got the full size grip on it and I much prefer shooting it with that grip, but I found myself printing a bit too much with it so I switched back to the compact grip.

 

[presscheckpino]

I carry the full size with tlr1 and las concealment tanto aiwb but my main is the shield and xmacro for summer.

Thinking of swapping to the 4.0 grip with full size slide in the future

 

[Woodman500]

I carry the 4.0FC FDE w/ an Osight SE and TLR-7X and I use a Trex Sidecar holster at the 3-4 o’clock position.

 

[adrkwan]

Carrying the Echelon 4.0C stock with a Holosun SCS. It's replaced my G19. Using a Carey Concealment OWB Fuse holster.

 

[peahi2]

The magazine not dropping is a huge CCW issue. I mean, the guns job will be for a possible fight one day. So you better be training with it frequently and hopefully taking classes. The pros and cons of Modifying your CCW to take out the mag disconnect is a separate thread lol.

I shot the comped compact and compared it side by side with my G19 and comped 1911. I wasn’t super impressed. I was prepared to send my g19 to the boneyard. I was ready to get a new tenicor holster for a future echelon purchase lol. So I Legitly wanted the gun. I’m not dissuading you from the gun. I just didn’t see a noticeable performance increase over my g19, granted I have years and thousands of rounds down the pipe

 

[vplaza96]

The magazine not dropping is a huge CCW issue. I mean, the guns job will be for a possible fight one day. So you better be training with it frequently and hopefully taking classes. The pros and cons of Modifying your CCW to take out the mag disconnect is a separate thread lol.

This is definitely a consideration. I had been training with the mag disconnect on and could quickly do the slide lock reload, manually extracting the mag.

But my other guns on my CCW drop the mags freely, so I decided that I wanted all three to operate the same way so I don't have to think about what gun I have if I ever had to reload under stress. Fortunately, it was easy to remove it.

 

[peahi2]

Walther PDP Compact, thank me later

I do love the full size and have it on my Ccw. I have been tempted to get a compact. It would prob be one of my rare guns that are not modded. The PDP is great as is, not even tempted to buy into the replace the recoil spring hype. lol. I did on my full size and it was an issue

 

[vplaza96]

I do love the full size and have it on my Ccw. I have been tempted to get a compact. It would prob be one of my rare guns that are not modded. The PDP is great as is, not even tempted to buy into the replace the recoil spring hype. lol. I did on my full size and it was an issue

I have the compact and the recoil spring guide replacement did not make a difference on this gun like it did on my Echelon.

Also, to me, the compact felt like a full size gun compared to the 4.0C even though it's technically a compact.

 

[shooterMcGavin]

Walther PDP Compact, thank me later

Tell me more
I’ve been considering a echelon and haven’t really looked into the pdp

 

[vplaza96]

Tell me more
I’ve been considering a echelon and haven’t really looked into the pdp

I have both. Here was my latest range report on both guns:

V

Thread 'Echelon 4.0C & PDP Compact comparison update'

Jun 27, 2026

I was able to take the PDP Compact to the range for the second time since putting on the red dot and this time, tried to really look at the differences in how the guns shoot in my hands.

I made sure to run the same drills with both guns with similar round counts. Granted, I've had the Echelon longer and have taken it to the range many times before, so I'm pretty comfortable with it. But this is only the third time with the NDZ recoil spring guide in the Echelon.

For comparison to these two, I've been carrying my XD9 full size with the same red dot for almost 4 years. I'm very used to...

• vplaza96
• Replies: 11
• Forum: California Handguns

In a nutshell, the PDP Compact has a crisper trigger, feels bigger than the Echelon, and appears to have tighter tolerances than the Echelon.

 

[Gawernator]

Tell me more
I’ve been considering a echelon and haven’t really looked into the pdp

Best striker fired trigger you can buy on the market
Looks sick
Amazing grip angle and texture that helps you find the dot easily. I added a ZR tactical metal guide rod spring as well for reduced recoil