Firearm: Kimber 2K11 (MSRP: $2,125)
Double-stack, 1911-style pistols are certainly popular right now, and presented as exhibit number – well, I lost count, but it’s a lot – is the Kimber 2K11. The company, long known for its traditional 1911-style handguns, has branched out recently, with micro-9 mm pistols in both 1911-style and double-stack, striker-fired, polymer-frame variants. The company’s latest offering is the 2K11, a double-stack 9 mm 1911 pistol with all the extras you’ve come to expect from Kimber.
The 2K11 has dimensions similar to other double-stack 1911 pistols: 5-inch barrel, 8.6-inch overall length, 5.7-inch height and a weight of 40.9 ounces with an unloaded magazine. It’s on the heftier side to be sure, but when it comes time to put rounds downrange that turns into a significant positive attribute in the significantly reduced felt recoil. This is a gun you can shoot comfortably even in a high-round-count practice session.
Up top, a cover plate with a built-in rear, ledge-style sight covers the optics-mounting system, with a fiber-optic front sight for those who prefer iron sights to optics. Should optics be desired, C&H Precision Weapons plates are available for RMR-, RMSc-, DeltaPoint Pro-, Acro- and 509T-footprint optics. There’s even a version of the 2K11 with a Trijicon SRO red-dot sight pre-installed, for those who prefer one-stop shopping, or just don’t want the hassle of installing an optic.
So, what’s the end result? Kimber’s 2K11 offers a solid, mid-range option packed full of features and ready for carry, home defense or the range. Concerned about magazine options? Kimber ships each 2K11 with one flush-fit 17-round magazine for carry and two 20-round versions for back-up duty or range and practice time. Extra magazines are available, at a price on par or below that of other double-stack 1911 magazines. The 2K11 is another option for the fan of the double-stack 1911, and more options are always a good thing.
Holster: Crucial Concealment Ambi Universal Light Holster, SureFire X300 (MSRP: $69.99)
We’ve opted for the new Universal Light holster from Crucial Concealment for today’s kit, for a couple of reasons. First, the Kimber 2K11 is relatively new to the market, and while it should have a fair number of holster fits available now, at the time this segment was recorded there were not a lot of fits for this new pistol. While holsters for double-stack 1911-style pistols should fit, we strive to only feature holsters specifically designed for the handgun in the kit. Second, Crucial Concealment recently released its Universal Light Holster, which indexes on an attached weaponlight.
Having a holster like the Universal Light holster, which in this case indexes on the SureFire X300 series of lights, means that nearly any pistol with an accessory rail under the dustcover can fit. In the case of the Kimber 2K11, it fit perfectly. The Universal Light holster features taco-style construction with a single sheet of kydex and offers a retention shim to hold the pistol tightly. The holster can be used by both right- and left-handed shooters, features a single-point belt clip to attach the holster and has a small wing to keep the holster tight to the body.
Accessory: SureFire X300U-A (MSRP: $379)
Since the Crucial Concealment holster requires an attached weaponlight, we’ve added the SureFire X300U-A light as the last piece in today’s kit. While it might be up for debate if a light on a carry gun is really a necessity, the Kimber 2K11 is also ideally suited for use as a go-to home-defense pistol, where there is simply little reason not to have a light at the ready. In any case, SureFire’s X300U series makes a first-rate addition.
With 1,000 lumens at the ready, the X300U-A has a run time of 1 hour, 15 minutes; certainly sufficient time to check out things that go bump in the night. It runs on two CR123A batteries and is IPX7-rated for water resistance. The light can turned on momentarily by pressing on the toggle switches toward the muzzle, or by rotating the switches clockwise or counterclockwise for constant on. For the curious, the “U” designation in the name is for the “Ultra” high output, while the “A” designates that the X300 can be added to an accessory rail with the toolless lever-latch system.
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