Do any of the fellow members have the LWRC PSD 8.5" 5.56 pistol? If so, how has the performance and reliability of the pistol been? Any regrets purchasing?

It appears that purchasing this pistol is ~$600 premium over building a high quality gas pistol. I'm curious if it's worth the extra $ for a complete factory pistol with a piston system as well.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

I'm sorry I cant comment on this specific LWRC upper. I know they make great gear. I have had a shorty piston upper, it ran great but was stupid heavy. Really reminded me of a 9mm conversion weight wise. Lately I just pick up parts I like and build my own, even if I had the cash flow I can't justify spending $1500 on an upper. I know guys do it all the time on here and would bash me for saying it, but I've run $1500 uppers on my lower just as hard as my $500 and $800 uppers and ended up having more issues with the more expensive equipment than the ones I built myself.

Plus half the hobby for me is building my own gear.

Hell no its not worth it. A DI 8.5 will run just fine. Use an H3 buffer and extra power extractor spring.