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Interesting question. I have a Beretta 84B and like it quite a lot. Very reliable and accurate (or at least it was when my eyes were younger). I prefer the Beretta over the BDA because of the way the safety works.
Interestingly enough it is almost exactly the same size as a Kimber Ultra. The grip on the Beretta is just slightly thicker (1/10 of an inch or so), but the overall length, width and height are really close. If you use a 7 round mag for the Kimber that gives you 8 rounds of .45ACP as opposed to 14 rounds of .380. The Kimber with one spare mag would give you 15 rounds - only one more than the Beretta without a spare mag. Plus you do go the full 14 or 15 rounds - you haven't had to do a reload with the Beretta. Both seem to weight about the same when fully loaded.
The Beretta does not conceal quite as well as the Kimber because the Beretta's narrower slide and barrel tend to cause the grip to torque out a bit more when it is tucked into a belt. For best results both should be carried in a holster.
For an "always" gun either would be "OK" if you "always" wore a holster. And then you could make a choice based on your balance of firepower vs. stopping power. Single stack .380s are thinner - and some few are appreciably shorter and not as tall. But you can also get heavier calibers in smaller packages. But most tend to be fairly heavy.
To me, an "always" gun must be suitable for pocket carry and the best for that (in a reasonable caliber) is something in the airweight j frame class, either with a shrouded hammer or one of the "hammerless" versions. Some of the smaller autos such as the Kahrs might also fit - but I don't have any experience with them. Also the advantage of the "pocket revolver" as opposed the the "pocket auto" is that the revolver can be fired more than once from the pocket. (You probably wouldn't want to do that while carrying the gun in the pocket of your jeans though.)
My "always" gun - when I don't want (or don't have the time) to fool with a holster and proper dress is an older S&W airweight bodyguard with clip-grips and a speed strip.
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Jim Fox
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