Holster Review: Blade Tech NANO IWB for Glock (and others!)

drgrant

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Finding good holsters is a pain in the ass, so when I do, I like to tell others about them, so I figured I'd put a little writeup on one particular holster, the NANO, here.

Some background.... I mostly carry Glocks nowadays, and for the longest time I've always had marginal holsters for them, like those little uncle mikes clip ons, etc. Then I graduated to don hume IWB clip holsters, etc. Some of these are fine for what they are, but after carrying with them it was obvious to see their deficiencies. I wanted a holster that was easy to take on and off, but still provided the security/stability of larger holsters. the first thing that came to mind was something like the Milt Sparks summer special, dual belt loops, a bit of retention and something with a reinforced mouth... but then I said to myself, for some reason... well, why not kydex? I knew Blade-Tech had a good rep for OWB holsters, so I said to myself, well, their IWB stuff can't be half bad, and the prices were reasonable.... So, A week or so ago I stumbled upon, and ordered (around $60 ea plus a little for shipping) a couple of these....

http://www.blade-tech.com/NANO-IWB-pr-1141.html

Fitted for a Glock 26 and a Glock 30 (with rail). ETA: I carry a G30SF, but for the purposes of this holster, they're the same thing as a regular 3rd gen G30. )

Main Features:

-Easy on off with dual belt loop straps and "pull the dot" snap fasteners.
-Belt loop straps are adjustable for different width belts (3 steps)
-Forward cant vs straight drop selection via strap mounting holes
-Adjustable retention setting with one screw
-Large front sight channel- if you have some gigantic dorkatron front sight, your gun will still fit in this holster no problem.
-Holster has "sweat shield" on the inside custom set up for the model of the gun you order. There's no "excess" going beyond the back of the gun.

At first, I was very leery of buying a Kydex IWB holster- I though the comfort would be bad, or some crap like that.... but the reality is these holsters are actually WAY more comfortable than the ones I was using, mainly because kydex is a lot less bulky than leather. I wear undershirts while carrying at all times, so the gun rubbing up against skin or whatever is never a consideration.

One thing I discovered once I put this holster on, is that the reason a lot of people have gone to kydex is immediately apparent- it is impossible to get the "performance" level of kydex in a leather analog. This holster is a very thin holster, yet it will not collapse when you draw, not one bit. This makes it especially nice for reholstering, because the mouth of the holster simply stays open to accept the gun. This also makes GREAT for practicing your draws from concealment, etc. One thing I noticed immediately was how much faster it was. Some of this was due to the slight forward cant, but I think a lot of it was that when I used leather, the net pressure on the holster was always too great to make for a "slick" draw. With the NANO, once you pull the gun past the retention point, it slides effortlessly the rest of the way.

The only negative things I can come up with on this holster is that if you have the straps set up in the "narrowest belt" mode, then you have excess strap material hanging up above the mouth of the holster. That said, you could easily cut off the excess if you know you're not going to be using extra wide belts or whatever, if you really wanted to, and I'm sure blade-tech would probably sell you parts. The other negative is this holster doesn't have shirt clip under option things or any of that other frilly crap on it, but IMO if I had those I would have paid for something I don't need and will never use.

The bottom line- I'll be buying at least one other NANO in the near future, and possibly some OWB stuff from blade-tech as well. Good products at a reasonable price... not to mention, despite their "3 week notice" thing, I managed to get my NANO holsters in a week, and they both arrived at the same time. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these to anyone for carry use.

I would not have bought any of the other IWBs I have now, had I known about these... that's how well they work... and they are still well under the $100+ cost of most custom leather holsters, like the VM2's, etc.

Yeah, leather looks pretty, but for versatility, low cost, and low wait, it's hard to beat kydex.

-Mike
 
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I have found that well made, i.e. "stiff", IWB holsters perform well and stay open to allow one handed reholstering. They are also more comfortable than the "soft" IWB holsters that allow the gun's sharp edges to print through. These holsters are also becoming harder to find. Perhaps Kydex is the solution. I am glad to hear that Kydex can be used to make a comfortable IWB holster.
 
I see on Blade tech web site for the Nano that they reduced the Kydex thickness from .093-to-.080, to make it more "streamlined". Hmm, not sure I like that. How much difference can .013 make in your waistband comfort? Yet they warn that this thinner kydex is more prone to distort from heat. Not that you'd see the 160F they warn of. But I think I'd prefer the bit more material/thickness when talking about kydex anyway. Just me.
They say it can be adjusted to straight drop for appendix carry ,but of the 7 pictures they show, no one is carrying in that position....that stinks, that's where I'd want to use it.
They did away with the second tension screw "to aid in less material". I never could see the need for 2 screws needed just to add or subtract a a minute bit of tension. So that sounds reasonable .

Nice review. Thanks http://www.blade-tech.com/NANO-IWB-pr-1141.html
 
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