I'm 70 now and believe me, it's been one hellofa trip.
Early on it was a home made sling shot and the earliest model used choke cherries for ammo. Later I made 'em up out of clothes hanger wire twisted and bent to shape...all of the above fit into my hip pocket and I was way short of 10 years old when I made my first one.
I didn't carry through college, but packed a Ruger BH in .357 whenever I packed back over Colorado's Front Range on foot or horseback.
Then off to pilot training in Del Rio where the same .357 served me well on weekends...but was augmented by a '68 vintage Browning Hi-Power. This last one fit me to a tee but couldn't keep it's shots in a 3" circle at 25 yds...I sold it after a year.
I drew an Air Force Birddog O-1E (an L-19 for you Army types), and was issued a Smith M15 in .38 Special enroute to lll Corps in Vietnam. I rarely carried the Smith, preferring instead a 1911a1 on loan from the Special Forces guys in the camp. Later in my tour another Browning Hi-Power showed up and was a tack driver...it kept me company in all places...bed & bunker, shower points, the bird, the jeep...and a lot of slit trenches on the perimeter.
Home from Nam, I reverted back to that aged Ruger, carrying it in an open top Tom Threepersons rig for all of my off base activities in the fields and woods of eastern Washington.
Since then, and for true CC, it's been a cpl Smith J frames, a Sig P290, a cpl 1911's of the Commander size, and a Smith Bodyguard in .380.
Given the choice, however and clothing permitting, I'd opt for a Lt Weight Commander sized 1911. That equates to power in a convenient weight, adequate capacity, flat and relatively easy to conceal, and a control system that's 2nd nature to me after almost 50 years of use. There may be better, lighter SD pieces around, and for some who train on them and are comfortable with their manipulation..good on you...but for me, it's the old reliable 1911 and make it in the original caliber too, if it's all the same to you.
Rod