Phaedrus said:
Another cool thing IMO is the lack of a safety or slide lock lever. This makes the gun totally melted/slick; nothing to snag on the draw or catch/print on your clothes. I 'get' that some people bitch about the lack of a slide lock/release...
I suppose a slide lock lever might snag on the draw if a one habitually wears spandex, but in my entire decades-long Military/LEO/Civilian/career carrying concealed (often DEEPLY concealed) I NEVER had a slide release impede my draw from concealment! Not a 1911/Commander, SIG P220/225/226/228/229/239/290RS, S&W3913/469 or Glock22/23/27. Exposed hammer spurs were a different story, but that's a whole different issue.
Ironically, Beretta chose to remove this control from their NANO, and then had a rash of extraction issues, which persist to this day. Consequent to this design decision, one simply does not have the option of locking back the slide to deal with this very malfunction. Additionally, The NANO's awkward and flimsy magazine floorplate design not only compounds the problem by impeding forced magazine extraction, but also inhibits their falling free during normal reloading. This unnecessary inverted "T" profile also limits options for carrying these magazines concealed yet easily accessible.
It's interesting that Beretta's even smaller, long trumpeted (and, as yet STILL unavailable) "PICO" has a...(DRUM ROLL)...(WAIT FOR IT!)...(CYMBAL CRASH)...
SLIDE RELEASE!!!
(Seems even Beretta is correcting the mistake they refuse to admit!)
After much frustration:banghead:, wasted money and ammunition, with a Kahr PM9, SIG P290 and the NANO (all returned twice to their respective makers), I finally acquired a SIG P290
RS that refuses to malfunction after a thousand rounds of various ammo. That, my J-frame S&W's and a Seecamp LWS380 should suffice on those extremely rare times when even a Glock27 is a bit too bulky.
Fortunately, I amost never have to resort to carrying less than a Glock 27. I carried a G27 for years as an off-duty and backup piece before retiring from one of the three-letter Federal agencies (no, NOT the TSA!).
If there's one thing I've learned over all these years, it's that you cannot afford blind brand loyalty to your survival equipment. So, if I've offended any fanboys, too bad! (Save your blind loyalty for for your favorite sports team, -- or boy band!)