Posts tagged 'Kimber Solo'

Kimber has finally started shipping the new LG-408 Crimson Trace laser grips for the Solo Carry pistol. The Crimson Trace grips were first shown off back in January at the SHOT Show when we were shown a set of rosewood grips on a Solo Stainless. To date, neither the Solo Stainless pistol or the rosewood Crimson Trace laser grips are available. Instead, we have the all black Solo Crimson Trace grips (LG-408) with front activation. You can see more photos or place an order in our store.

If you're into reloading and have a Solo or intend to buy a Solo, there is a great discussion underway over at 1911forum.com where some of the members are sharing some of their reloading configurations. See the discussion at http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=322707.

Kimber has a new Solo in the works. This new model will be called the Solo CDP and features a few improvements / desired features missing on the current Solo model. In addition to the Kimber Solo CDP's addition of rosewood Crimson Trace lasergrips, the Solo CDP also gains night sights, front strap checkering, and back strap checkering. The front and back strap checkering added to the Solo CDP will please a lot of shooters - some are adding skate tape to the frame to increase the texture / improve the grip because when your hand gets sweaty, it tends to get slippery. See the photo of the Solo CDP below along. We currently do not have a projected release date. It is safe to say that it will be around the fall considering that the Solo Stainless won't start shipping until sometime around June. We have 150 Solo CDP models on order already and will likely increase that depending on demand. The estimated retail price is $1,223. There will likely be very long wait times for this model considering that the demand for the regular two tone and stainless model are so backed up. If you're interested in being notified when this model is available for sale, send an email to [email protected] or leave a comment. You'll notice that the Crimson Trace grips now have the Kimber logo. The previous demo version we saw at SHOT didn't feature the logo. Below you'll see the Solo CDP compared to the regular Solo Two Tone.

A lot of people are probably wondering where all the Kimber Solo's are. Well, so are we. We know that the stainless model (aluminum frame with silver finish - there has been a lot of confusion on this because it is not a stainless steel frame) is not yet shipping. My guess is that the factory is focusing on delivering as many two tone models as possible before producing / shipping the stainless model.. Based on a recent discussion with our factory rep, it is likely that shipping for the Solo Stainless will start in or after June. It would appear that the overall demand for Kimber's Solo was significantly higher than the factory anticipated at the time it was announced. For example, we currently have 300+ on order. I don't know how many the factory is producing per month but I'm guessing it isn't more than a thousand or two. There are at least 500 Kimber Master Dealers and probably around 1500 to 2000 dealers in total. Every dealer will have at least one on order and if they are like us, much more. You can do the math. Basically, the factory just can't keep up. They are producing and shipping as fast as possible but the demand is through the roof. 2011 is obviously the year of the subcompact 9mm - with the release of the Sig Sauer P290 and Ruger LCP, in addition to the Solo. As a minor side note, the retail price of the Solo has been increased by the factory. I honestly forgot the new price but I believe it is about $735. I'll post a correction if I find that to be wrong. As we hear updates or receive more news, we'll post it here. We closed the back orders on both Solo models over a month ago once we saw just how slowly Kimber's Solos were shipping. If you'd like to be notified about availability of either model, just send an email to [email protected]. We'll contact everyone in order of their inquiry as pistols become available. On another note, we saw the rosewood Crimson Trace laser grip on a Solo Stainless back at SHOT Show in January. That grip has just appeared on the Crimson Trace website - strangely, the grip probably won't be available for sale until the fall. I'm not quite sure why Crimson Trace would advertise the grip when availability is worse than the Solo itself. The black LG-408 is supposed to be shipping sometime in the next month. Below is the graphic from Crimson Trace's website showing the LG-408 P10 - Rosewood finish. The grips will be sold exclusively through Kimber so we cannot buy them from Crimson Trace, unlike many other grips. We'll place an order for the rosewood Solo grips as soon as the factory starts taking orders.

I had the opportunity to meet one of the Solo Carry engineers at SHOT Show this year and John was gracious enough to take some time to sit down with me and talk shop about the new subcompact 9mm from Kimber. Below is the video. Hopefully it will be insightful! See all of our Kimber Solo Carry coverage / news!