Gun Holster Reviews and opinions

[CB Jones]

Bought this Cross breed Mini Tuck IWB holster to try with my Glock 43 yesterday

Only friction retention (what I wanted) but it feels good and tight. I feel it shouldn’t come out while running or in a scuffle.

How high it sits in relation to your waistband is adjustable. I have it set in the highest position for now.....but will try it in the lower positions later.

So far in the high position...really easy draw and easy to get a god grip. And reholstering is pretty easy one handed.

Conceals well....kinda a pain in the **** putting it on but it is stable once you do.

So far in the 4 o’clock position it is pretty comfortable. 3 o’clock position was a no go as it dug into my leg when I sat down.

Normally I just carried it IWB w/o a holster. Will take some getting used to not feeling the gun in my waistband.

Will try to keep this review updated.


Any opinions or reviews of other holsters would be welcomed.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I've got lots of holsters from most of the big names. Mostly IWB but a couple shoulder or ankle holsters.
I find myself almost exclusively wearing the Alien Gear neoprene IWB rigs. They're incredibly compfortable from day one.

 

[CB Jones]

I've got lots of holsters from most of the big names. Mostly IWB but a couple shoulder or ankle holsters.
I find myself almost exclusively wearing the Alien Gear neoprene IWB rigs. They're incredibly compfortable from day one.

I actually wanted Alien Gear....but they didn't have any in stock and I would have had order it. I needed it by Thursday so I went with the Crossbreed.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I actually wanted Alien Gear....but they didn't have any in stock and I would have had order it. I needed it by Thursday so I went with the Crossbreed.

I've ordered from their web site numerous times. Delivery has always been quick, but if you need it NOW, you need it NOW.
My favorite local gun shop carries Alien Gear, but only (as you'd expect) part of the line.
The only (minor) issue I've ever had with the Alien Gear holsters is the belt clips. My carry gun on the vast majority of days is a Glock 19. After about 3 years, the plastic belt clips are getting worn and don't grip as firmly as they used to. No big deal. They've got a lifetime warranty, so I'm assuming they'll just ship me a couple clips when I email them.

 

[Buka]

I have a Blackhawk, level three. Off duty I carry in my pocket.

My work side arm is a nine. I forget what kind. It's black.

 

[CB Jones]

I have a Blackhawk, level three. Off duty I carry in my pocket.

My work side arm is a nine. I forget what kind. It's black.

I have a Blackhawk for my Sig P220 but my agency banned using Blackhawk holsters on duty last year. But I always liked it.

 

[Dirty Dog]

This is my "don't tell me you can't conceal it" shot. There's a Glock 41 under there, complete with extended threaded barrel, light, and laser.



Proof shot. I figure if I can conceal this, a little Glock 19 certainly shouldn't be a problem.



This is custom, since nobody makes a stock one to fit exactly this configuration. It's rigid, and not quite as comfortable as the Alien Gear, but it's also not a gun I would typically carry. In part because it has a 2lb trigger pull, which, while awesome for a range toy or home defense weapon, is too light for a carry gun.



This is the configuration it generally sits in. Next to my bed, in a gun safe specifically designed for suppressed weapons. I haven't got a way to carry it like this, but I've occasionally thought about getting a custom shoulder rig made. It would have to be vertical with tilt out. And I'd have to wear a trench coat. But it would be cool.

 

[Buka]

I have a Blackhawk for my Sig P220 but my agency banned using Blackhawk holsters on duty last year. But I always liked it.

How come they banned it? Not that I find that surprising at all.

EDIT -
I used to work this same job back in 07. Had to go back east to help care for the wife's folks. Had a Blackhawk then, gave it to one of the guys. When I came back here he was now working for the Agriculture inspectors and had, in turn, given it to another guy.

That other guy was now the Deputy Chief. So....when I get back and get issued the junk holster they gave me, I had asked about a Blackhawk, which I had just bought. "No, no, no," they said, "not department issued." As they're saying this I notice the the Deputy Chief has it on under his Aloha shirt and is trying to casually not get into the conversation and walking away. I giggled to myself. Put on my new Blackhawk that very day. Nobody said nothin'.

I guess don't ask, don't tell, works around here, too.

 

[CB Jones]

How come they banned it? Not that I find that surprising at all.

Not by anyone in our agency but on other ranges there have been a lot of ADs by shooters when they draw. As the push the release and draw their finger falls into the trigger guard and causes an AD.

I think it was mostly new shooters but the department didn’t want the liability and banned them.

 

[Buka]

Not by anyone in our agency but on other ranges there have been a lot of ADs by shooters when they draw. As the push the release and draw their finger falls into the trigger guard and causes an AD.

I think it was mostly new shooters but the department didn’t want the liability and banned them.

I can see their point!
Spent a lot of time on ranges, only saw an AD once. Wasn't an officer, and he was a brand spankin' new shooter, first time on the range other than when he got his license. I thought he was going to have a heart attack, it scared him so badly. Hyperventilated so much we were just about to call the medics when we finally talked him down. We then spoke to the guy who was apparently teaching him. One of the guys hooked him up with someone else.

Scary stuff, them ADs.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I have so many holsters I can't keep track of them all. Crossbreed makes a great holster and AlienGear is comparable but at a lesser price. I find myself utilizing AlienGear holsters and a combination of ankle and several others. No one holster does all the jobs I need so I use several.

 

[CB Jones]

Thinking about contacting some holster companies to see if any of them want to donate some of their holsters for attendees to try at an UC seminar and school we put on.

 

[Danny T]

AlienGear, comfortable right out of the box.

 

[CB Jones]

AlienGear, comfortable right out of the box.

That seems to be the consensus, so far.

 

[Dirty Dog]

How come they banned it? Not that I find that surprising at all.

Notorious for ND. People (mostly inexperienced ones) tend to press the release with their finger (as they must) and then keep pushing as they draw, resulting in their finger entering the trigger guard prematurely, and them shooting themselves in the butt.
I have never personally owned one, but I tend to think of this as a training issue more than a design issue.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I have so many holsters I can't keep track of them all. Crossbreed makes a great holster and AlienGear is comparable but at a lesser price. I find myself utilizing AlienGear holsters and a combination of ankle and several others. No one holster does all the jobs I need so I use several.

Very true. I've got a couple ankle holsters and a couple shoulder holsters, because sometimes IWB just doesn't work. For example, I wore an ankle holster at my youngest daughters wedding. It was outside. In Texas. In summer. IWB doesn't work super well with a tux. And I didn't expect to wear the jacket more than absolutely necessary, so ankle holster FTW.

 

[CB Jones]

In Texas. In summer. IWB doesn't work super well with a tux

Isn't that what they invented cummerbunds for? To conceal your gun under. Right?

I do something like this when I have to wear a suit....but in the 3 or 4 o'clock position. (I hate the appendix carry....don't like having a pistol pointed at my junk all day.)

 

[CB Jones]

Any suggestions on companies to contact and request test holsters.

I'm thinking:

Aliengear
CrossBreed
Urban Carry
Brave Response
Concealment Solutions
Desantis

Any other brands ya'll would suggest?

 

[Dirty Dog]

Isn't that what they invented cummerbunds for? To conceal your gun under. Right?

They're generally too tight, honestly, but could work. I put a Glock 26 in an ankle holster instead.
I've also occasionally worn one of those tank tops with the armpit holsters built in. They're not fast to access by any stretch of the imagination, but you can wear them under just about anything. And they do offer excellent concealment. Despite their ads, I don't find anything larger than a subcompact (think Glock 26-sized) to be comfortable in those shirts.

I do something like this when I have to wear a suit....but in the 3 or 4 o'clock position.

I wear tuckable holsters, generally, but its very slow and awkward to draw. So assuming I'm wearing a jacket (which I probably am, with a suit) I'll just tuck the shirt and leave the gun exposed. It's covered by the jacket.
I also pretty much always remove my gun and place it in an under-dash holster when I'm driving. Behind the hip is uncomfortable, really difficult to access, and tears up the leather. If circumstances are such that removing the gun isn't a practical option, I wear a shoulder holster.
Frankly, I'm not generally all that chuffed if the gun gets exposed. I've taken my jacket off in restaurants when carrying IWB, although I do not recall ever doing this with a shoulder rig. Nobody seemed to even notice (since the gun is most concealed by the chairback anyway...) and certainly nobody cared.
My tailor is at least gun savy. She puts a patch in the lining of my jackets over where the gun rides, so when it inevitably wears faster than the rest, the patch can be easily and cheaply replaced.

(I hate the appendix carry....don't like having a pistol pointed at my junk all day.)

Appendix carry is idiotic. While certainly not common, negligent discharges and mechanical failures DO happen; my brother, who was an LEO, had a single action Browning drop the hammer and fire while it was holstered. He was standing in line at the grocery store. No impact on the gun or anything like that. Put a crease in his butt cheek and a hole in the floor and may possibly have resulted in a customer pooing themselves. A purely mechanical failure. Had he been using appendix carry rather than behind the hip, I might very well have two fewer nieces. And possibly one fewer brothers. Because femoral artery. The fact is that there just isn't much to be seriously injured in the back. The opposite is true of the opposite.

 

[jks9199]

Not by anyone in our agency but on other ranges there have been a lot of ADs by shooters when they draw. As the push the release and draw their finger falls into the trigger guard and causes an AD.

I think it was mostly new shooters but the department didn’t want the liability and banned them.

As a firearms instructor -- there are 2 problems with the Blackhawk Serpa holsters. The first is the potential for an accidental discharge because the draw includes a motion similar to inserting your finger into the trigger guard, and so there is the possibility of a careless or inexperienced or severely adrenalized shooter getting their finger into the trigger before the gun is drawn. Yeah -- possible doesn't mean it'll happen, and "it'll never happen to..." until it does... Training issue, absolutely... but sometimes you plan for the lowest common denominator. And there are plenty of documented cases of that happening...

The other potential problem with is that if anything blocks that push-button lever release -- the gun ain't coming out of the holster. Like, say, a pebble in a scuffle... or just general schmutz in being in a cruiser... The leather cover on my old Safariland ALS hood holster was chewed to hell by the console in our cruisers. I'm far from the only one... I don't want to think what may have happened to that paddle-release assembly along the way... For me, this is the deal breaker. Here's a link documenting it. It's the quickest that came up in a quick search, take it for what it's worth. Like I said, the possibility is a deal breaker for me, even if it's only happened in "rigged" tests... Murphy loves to mess with cops too damn much.

I'm also attaching a file from FLETC about their holster study on these.