Springfield's Echelon Pro Comp Earns Its Upgrades, Not Its Price Hike

Travis Pike at Ammoland put 550 rounds through Springfield Armory's new Echelon Pro 4.5F Comp, testing whether the upgraded grip texture, flared magwell, and factory porting actually earn their keep over the standard Echelon.

Key points

• New grip texture: The laser-applied "Badlands" texture, modeled after cracked earth, replaces the original Echelon grip and offers a solid, slip-free hold according to Pike.
• Magwell and finish: A removable flared magwell ships with three 20-round mags, though Pike notes it may not play nice with flush-fit magazines, and the slide gets a grey Cerakote finish with new sights.
• Compensator performance: Pike found the porting made little difference with 115-grain ammo but showed real split-time gains, .17 to .22 seconds, with hotter 124-grain NATO rounds, especially shooting one-handed.
• Reliability: After 250 rounds of NATO ammo and 300 rounds of steel-cased Monarch through sand-gritted mags, Pike recorded zero gun malfunctions, with just one bad primer.
• Price gap: The Pro series carries an $899 MSRP versus $784 for a standard comped Echelon, a $100 jump Pike questions given the extra features amount to one more magazine and cosmetic touches.

Quick take

Pike's take is that the Pro Comp is accurate, reliable, and a worthwhile pickup for Echelon fans or newcomers, though the price premium over the standard model is debatable depending on how much you value the grip texture and magwell.

Read the full story: Travis Pike