Description
Named after the stretch of Los Angeles that gave mid century America its taste in convertibles, the Kimber Micro 9 Bel Air 9mm is unapologetically a style piece that happens to be a competent carry gun. The Bel Air Blue frame is anodized in a pale blue that would not look out of place on a 1957 Bel Air, the mirror polished stainless slide gleams and the grips are ivory coloured G-10. Underneath all that is a standard Micro 9: aluminum frame, stainless slide, 3.15 inch barrel and 15.6 ounces on the belt.
A Mid Century Finish On A Modern Carry Gun
The finish is the reason this model has a name. The aluminum frame wears a Bel Air Blue anodizing with mirror polished small parts picked out against it, and the stainless slide is polished bright rather than bead blasted or coated. Ivory G-10 grips finish the look. It is a two tone gun in the original sense of the phrase, not the modern shorthand for a black slide on a silver frame.
Mechanically nothing is given up for the finish. The Micro 9 is a scaled 1911 with a single action trigger and a thumb safety, and the premium aluminum trigger breaks at roughly seven pounds with a short, clean press. An ambidextrous thumb safety is standard. A full length guide rod and an 11.5 pound recoil spring smooth out the cycle on a gun this light.
Dimensions are pure carry gun. Six point one inches long, 4.07 inches tall, 1.06 inches wide and 15.6 ounces with an empty magazine. That is small enough for a pocket holster and light enough that it still gets carried in July, which is the test most carry guns quietly fail.
Sights, Grips And Living With The Finish
This configuration ships with night sights on a 4.3 inch radius, which is the right choice on a defensive pistol. Tritium inserts glow without a charge, so the sights work in the conditions where a carry gun is most likely to matter. They sit in machined dovetails and are steel rather than plastic, so they hold zero and can be drifted for windage.
Grips are ivory G-10 grips, which do the aesthetic work without the drawbacks of real ivory or wood. G-10 shrugs off solvent, sweat and heat, holds its texture indefinitely and will not swell or crack. The pale colour against the blue frame is the whole point of the gun, and unlike a painted panel it will still look that way in five years.
A word on the polished slide. Mirror polish shows fingerprints and fine scratches more readily than a matte finish, so this is a pistol that rewards a lined holster and a wipe down after carry. It is not fragile, it is stainless underneath, but it is a finish you maintain rather than ignore.
Kimber Micro 9 Bel Air 9mm Specifications
- Caliber: 9mm Luger
- Capacity: 7+1 rounds as configured under this SKU
- Barrel length: 3.15 inches, stainless steel, ramped
- Barrel twist: 1 in 16 inches, left hand
- Overall length: 6.1 inches
- Height: 4.07 inches
- Width: 1.06 inches
- Weight: 15.6 ounces with empty magazine
- Sight radius: 4.3 inches
- Sights: fixed night sights, steel, dovetail mounted
- Trigger: premium aluminum, approximately 7 pound pull, single action
- Slide: stainless steel, mirror polished
- Frame: aluminum, Bel Air Blue anodizing with mirror polished small parts
- Grips: ivory G-10
- Safety: ambidextrous thumb safety
- Recoil spring: 11.5 pounds with full length guide rod
- Manufacturer SKU: 3700647
Kimber has shipped the Bel Air in more than one configuration over its production run. Earlier listings show a six round flush magazine with white dot sights, while this part number is the special edition build with night sights and a seven round magazine. Magazines for the Micro 9 are interchangeable across the family, so either capacity fits.
Why Buyers Choose The Kimber Micro 9 Bel Air 9mm
Carry guns are overwhelmingly black, grey and forgettable. The Kimber Micro 9 Bel Air 9mm is one of the very few that people buy because of how it looks, and the finish is anodizing and polished stainless rather than a coating that will wear through at the muzzle after a season.
It shoots like a Micro 9, which is the important part. A single action trigger with a short press beats a striker fired subcompact trigger in almost every comparison, and the 1911 grip angle and thumb safety feel immediately familiar to anyone who shoots the full size platform.
Weight and size close it out. At 15.6 ounces with a 3.15 inch barrel the Kimber Micro 9 Bel Air 9mm rides in a pocket, an ankle rig or an appendix holster without making a case for itself every morning, which is the only way a carry gun actually gets carried.
Who Should Buy The Kimber Micro 9 Bel Air 9mm
This is for the carrier who wants a defensive pistol with some personality, the 1911 shooter who wants the same trigger and safety in pocket size, and the collector who appreciates a finish that is not another black rectangle. Capacity is modest at seven plus one, so anyone prioritising round count should look at a double stack micro instead. The mirror polished slide also asks for a little care, so plan on a soft lined holster.
Full manufacturer specifications for the Kimber Micro 9 Bel Air 9mm are published by Kimber on the official product page. Browse more Kimber pistols and 1911s in our handguns category.
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