The NAA Guardian .32 ACP is built entirely from 17-4 PH stainless steel, which is unusual at this size and price. Most pocket pistols use aluminum frames or polymer to keep weight down. North American Arms instead committed to all-stainless construction, which pushes the Guardian's weight to 15.6 oz despite a 4.38" overall length and 0.81" width. Capacity is 6+1, the trigger is a 12 lb DAO, and the gun was developed in NAA's Provo, Utah facility as a centerfire companion to the company's .22 mini-revolvers.

The Guardian competes directly with the Seecamp LWS-32 on dimensions and use case — both are sub-4.5" stainless pocket pistols with double-digit DAO trigger pulls. The Seecamp is 4.1 oz lighter and 0.05" thinner. The Kel-Tec P32 is 8.7 oz lighter on a polymer frame and runs a 5.0 lb DAO. The Guardian's pitch is durability: stainless construction across the board, made in the USA, and the kind of gun that can sit in a glove box or sock drawer for years and still function. NAA includes two magazines, which is more than most pocket pistol manufacturers offer.

The Beretta 3032 Tomcat Inox is the only other pocket .32 with all-stainless slide construction, but it uses an aluminum frame. The surprising weakness of the Guardian is the 12 lb DAO trigger pull. That is the heaviest trigger in this entire .32 ACP catalog — heavier than even the Seecamp's already-heavy 11.5 lb pull. Reviewers and owners both note that the Guardian's trigger requires deliberate dry-fire practice to shoot accurately past 3 yards. Owners who bought the gun expecting plinker accuracy report needing to either invest serious training time or accept it as a strict contact-distance tool.