Walther PDP F-Series

[TunnelRat]

Hi all,
I saw this on Walther's Facebook page today:

https://waltherarms.com/pdp-f-series/

The F in the name seems to be geared towards women (females). Dimensionally the grip circumference is reduced and either as a result of that or in addition to that the trigger reach is reduced. They also mention a two-piece striker that supposedly reduces the "racking force" by 20%. From other videos on the page it seems the slide is the same width and it uses the same magazines as the existing PDP/PPQ.

As someone that has seen his wife have issues with trigger reach and grip due to small hands, I'm interested in this. At the same time, this is an entirely different firearm. As opposed to something like a P320 where I could buy this new grip frame separately and put my existing pistol's firing control unit into that frame, I have to make a new gun purchase just for this. I have a PDP Compact, this would have to be in addition to that PDP. Walther has marketed the PDP and this as being "modular" and I understand why they say that, but in a world where pistols like the P320 and others exist there are other designs that are much more modular and result in less cost to the end user.

Thoughts?

-TR

 

[reddog81]

Makes sense. There are a lot of women out there buying guns. Male or female, if the grip is too big or the trigger reach is too long it makes it difficult to get a good solid consistent grip on the gun.

 

[reddog81]

As to the P320 or other guns with different grip frame options - I'd rather just buy a gun that fits my hand to start...

 

[wild cat mccane]

Well that's good news for you Because despite Walther calling it modular, grips can't be swapped on a Walther pistol. Only slides. So you will either get to choose this or the regular and have zero option to swap like the P320

Will be telling if it's the 1.0 or 2.0 optic plate on when this was created.

 

[TunnelRat]

As to the P320 or other guns with different grip frame options - I'd rather just buy a gun that fits my hand to start...

I think that’s a bit of a false premise. The point isn’t to buy a pistol that doesn’t fit your hand. The point is you have options that don’t require you to buy an entirely new pistol. This allows a manufacturer to essentially make rolling updates to the design of their firearms and previous customers don’t have to trade up to experience them, they just buy a new frame or slide. Look at the original P320 grip and the X series grip. To me the latter is much more comfortable, and it’s a $50 grip module to try out. The other option is to change out sizes. I have compact frames that I carry and full-size frames that I sometimes use in courses or for home defense. I understand not everyone wants to do this, but to me it’s nice to have the option and when you market your product around modularity and your product just isn’t as modular as the competition, it becomes noticeable (to me at least).

I’d love to be able to buy this frame separately for $50 like the P320. Then I could take my PDP Compact to the range, swap the frames and see if it helps out my wife. If it did then I’m all for paying for the full pistol as she’d have the reduced “racking force” and whatnot. But as is I have to invest the money for this full pistol to try it out. Hopefully a store gets one in stock and she can at least hold it and try racking the slide to see if it is notably different.


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[wild cat mccane]

Someone corrected me on the Walther forum.

There is a video with it having the 2.0 slide.

 

[TunnelRat]

Someone corrected me on the Walther forum.

There is a video with it having the 2.0 slide.

Yeah it would be weird for them to maintain the old cut just for this. It’s easier to just use one pattern going forward.


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[wild cat mccane]

I am 99% certain modular became a standard because a broken 92 grip meant an otherwise huge pain in the but to fix weapon for the military.

My 2006 P3AT was grip modular, so it's not new, but modular is nice for the end user if you bugger up your grips.

Walther is being a bit dumb for lack of better word about calling their PPQ/PDP modular.

 

[reddog81]

This allows a manufacturer to essentially make rolling updates to the design of their firearms and previous customers don’t have to trade up to experience them, they just buy a new frame or slide.

I can see some benefits to the modular system but I don't think it's a high priority for most buyers.

How much does a new slide and barrel cost? Back when the P320 first came out it was about as much as just buying another gun.

 

[TunnelRat]

I can see some benefits to the modular system but I don't think it's a high priority for most buyers.

How much does a new slide and barrel cost? Back when the P320 first came out it was about as much as just buying another gun.

Barrels and slides aren’t cheap, though they’re still cheaper than a new pistol. A frame is $50 and in this case that’s seemingly one of the primary differences.


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[wild cat mccane]

I think labeling "F" was kinda dumb by Walther. It doesn't tell anyone it's for "female," is known to stand for "female" by us all, and that title is pretty silly says this guy with smaller hands.