The truth about lined holsters

VigilantesLiberi

VigilantesLiberi

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Do soft lined kydex holsters put less wear on the gun? I am looking at the Safariland Species IWB holster. It has a Kydex exterior and a suede inner lining. At first thought this seems like it should be better for the finish. Is there a catch, does it trap dirt and actually scratch your gun more than an all plastic holster?

Safariland Species:
safariland.com

Species® IWB Holster

The durable Safariland Species inside-the-waistband holster is a top option if you are looking for iwb holsters for a glock 43 or an m&p shield iwb holster.
safariland.com safariland.com

I've also seen Garrett being recommended, they have leather lined Kydex shell holsters:
 
Any gun I'm worried about the finish on. . . . I'm not carrying. Like my mint late 60's Smith Model 38. I COULD carry it. But why would I?

I've got a few cowboy guns. Just being a plain leather holster and shooting a couple of seasons, there was definite wear on the muzzle and cylinder. Traditional bluing.
 
Junior314 said:
Is wear on the gun really that big of a deal?

I'm not being a smartass here.
Click to expand...
Was just coming to post this

Although i will say it really bothered me on my hellcat.

But that was because the finish was so shitty

6 months of carry and the thing looked like a low grade police trade in.

But no wgaf carry guns get beat up. And there are plenty of good options out there where you dont need to carry your nighthawk with you

Although it is my getting dressed up gun
 
Junior314 said:
Is wear on the gun really that big of a deal?

I'm not being a smartass here.
Click to expand...
Depends.

If it scratches down to the steel, you could get some rust. Maybe, if you don't keep it oiled. I say "maybe" because I shoot muskets that are not blued and don't have rust, it is all about taking care of the weapon.

But, some wear on the finish, I couldn't care less. I don't carry a gun for it to look pretty.
 
I had an heirloom quality custom 1911 45 built for me a bunch of years ago. The bluing on the slide has some honest wear from use at the range and in competition. I think it adds some panache to the gun.

Now my minty royal Colt blued Python, I don't place that in a holster. Different treatment for different guns. ;)
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
I have OCD about stuff like that. Also I bought the opposite of a Nighthawk. If I had one, I'd probably wear white gloves even when I wanted to touch it.
Click to expand...

Broc Tuah said:
Depends.

If it scratches down to the steel, you could get some rust. Maybe, if you don't keep it oiled. I say "maybe" because I shoot muskets that are not blued and don't have rust, it is all about taking care of the weapon.

But, some wear on the finish, I couldn't care less. I don't carry a gun for it to look pretty.
Click to expand...
My Glock has some wear. I think it makes it look cooler.
 
FYI ... Hi-points have a surprisingly tough AF finish.

I wanted to polish a slide to a mirror finish, and it was really hard to remove the finish.

I just wanted to throw that out there.
 
Carry guns should be reliable and all that but I kinda don't want to carry something where the finish is a concern, much anyway - is like putting on your new jeans to go to Walmart, run errands, mow the lawn, and change the oil in your truck. You wanna wear something that's low stress.
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
Do soft lined kydex holsters put less wear on the gun? I am looking at the Safariland Species IWB holster. It has a Kydex exterior and a suede inner lining. At first thought this seems like it should be better for the finish. Is there a catch, does it trap dirt and actually scratch your gun more than an all plastic holster?

Safariland Species:
safariland.com

Species® IWB Holster

The durable Safariland Species inside-the-waistband holster is a top option if you are looking for iwb holsters for a glock 43 or an m&p shield iwb holster.
safariland.com safariland.com

I've also seen Garrett being recommended, they have leather lined Kydex shell holsters:
Click to expand...
Complete waste of time. Holsters wear the finish of your gun. If you are properly dry firing, you will put a lot of wear on the finish of your gun. Accept it.

One thing lined holsters will do is you can get sand embedded in the lining which will scratch your finish even more.

There are plenty of better IWB holsters than Safariland. If you want a level 3 retention holster for open carry, the Safariland is a great choice. But skip them for anything else.

My most expensive handgun is a Wilson Combat 1911. It was my competition gun for several years. The slide finish is heavily worn. A gun with a worn finish is a gun that has been used and loved. Your carry gun isn’t a safe queen. Get over your concern about finish wear.
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
I have OCD about stuff like that. Also I bought the opposite of a Nighthawk. If I had one, I'd probably wear white gloves even when I wanted to touch it.
Click to expand...
Just a syggestion.....don't just learn to live with finish wear on guns that get used and carried....learn to love it.

My favorite shotgun was pristine perfect when I bought it 10 years ago.....almost bnib browning a5 made in 1969. I hunt with it alot.....I mean alot.......the bluing has worn off the bottom of the receiver from loading shells and same with the back of the receiver from where I hold it when walking. I love that shotgun.....even with the finish wear. It gets oiled every time I put it away.....no rust at all
 
M1911 said:
DeSantis sucks. Buy a good holster from a custom holster maker.
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What's a custom holster maker exactly? Safariland uses model specific molds. Are you talking about someone who vacuum forms a holster from scratch in the garage? Is Crossbreed better than Safariland?

SuperTuck® IWB Holster | Order the SuperTuck® Holster - CrossBreed Holsters

Shop the SuperTuck® holster online at CrossBreed Holsters. Our SuperTuck® IWB holster is the most comfortable IWB holster on the market. Buy your SuperTuck® holster from CrossBreed Holsters today!
www.crossbreedholsters.com www.crossbreedholsters.com
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
What's a custom holster maker exactly? Safariland uses model specific molds. Are you talking about someone who vacuum forms a holster from scratch in the garage? Is Crossbreed better than Safariland?

SuperTuck® IWB Holster | Order the SuperTuck® Holster - CrossBreed Holsters

Shop the SuperTuck® holster online at CrossBreed Holsters. Our SuperTuck® IWB holster is the most comfortable IWB holster on the market. Buy your SuperTuck® holster from CrossBreed Holsters today!
www.crossbreedholsters.com www.crossbreedholsters.com
Click to expand...
What gun are you carrying and how do you want to carry it?

Neither Safariland nor DeSantis have a good reputation for IWB holsters. Small companies tend to have better reputations for innovative design. Safariland made their reputation with their Level III retention system, so if you want an open carry retention holster they are the one to go to. DeSantis is simply cheap crap, like Galco and the other crap you will find at a gun store.

Some people like Crossbreed Supertuck holsters which have a leather backing and a Kydex shell. Other people claim they are dangerous or dislike their large size. For carrying IWB on the hip, I find Crossbreed holsters to be very comfortable.

I’ve tried traditional leather IWB holsters like those from Rusty Sherrick but I find them to be uncomfortable. YMMV. Untitled Document

For AIWB, I just got a Tenicor holster that I’m liking so far, but don’t have a lot of experience with yet. I have a Tenicor OWB Kydex holster and I have to say that it conceals better than any other OWB holster that I’ve tried — far better than the Vedder holster. But Tenicor only supports a few guns.
 
M1911 said:
What gun are you carrying and how do you want to carry it?

Neither Safariland nor DeSantis have a good reputation for IWB holsters. Small companies tend to have better reputations for innovative design. Safariland made their reputation with their Level III retention system, so if you want an open carry retention holster they are the one to go to. DeSantis is simply cheap crap, like Galco and the other crap you will find at a gun store.

Some people like Crossbreed Supertuck holsters which have a leather backing and a Kydex shell. Other people claim they are dangerous or dislike their large size. For carrying IWB on the hip, I find Crossbreed holsters to be very comfortable.

I’ve tried traditional leather IWB holsters like those from Rusty Sherrick but I find them to be uncomfortable. YMMV. Untitled Document

For AIWB, I just got a Tenicor holster that I’m liking so far, but don’t have a lot of experience with yet. I have a Tenicor OWB Kydex holster and I have to say that it conceals better than any other OWB holster that I’ve tried — far better than the Vedder holster. But Tenicor only supports a few guns.
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43X and I want to carry it AIWB. I really want to have a hard material covering both sides of the trigger. That's not always apparent about some holsters like the Supertuck. I thought it had a Kydex shell all around, then a leather backing for comfort.

What makes Tenicor better quality in your opinion? Amazon also has an even cheaper brand than Desantis called CYA. All three of these look similar in terms of design and construction.

I'm not thinking about OWB too much right now because I don't think I could realistically conceal it.
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
43X and I want to carry it AIWB. I really want to have a hard material covering both sides of the trigger. That's not always apparent about some holsters like the Supertuck. I thought it had a Kydex shell all around, then a leather backing for comfort.

What makes Tenicor better quality in your opinion? Amazon also has an even cheaper brand than Desantis called CYA. All three of these look similar in terms of design and construction.

I'm not thinking about OWB too much right now because I don't think I could realistically conceal it.
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43x iwb. 4:00 NOT appendix. Kydex and mesh for Georgia/summer carry.
 

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VigilantesLiberi said:
What's a custom holster maker exactly? Safariland uses model specific molds. Are you talking about someone who vacuum forms a holster from scratch in the garage? Is Crossbreed better than Safariland?

SuperTuck® IWB Holster | Order the SuperTuck® Holster - CrossBreed Holsters

Shop the SuperTuck® holster online at CrossBreed Holsters. Our SuperTuck® IWB holster is the most comfortable IWB holster on the market. Buy your SuperTuck® holster from CrossBreed Holsters today!
www.crossbreedholsters.com www.crossbreedholsters.com
Click to expand...
I’ve had terrible luck with crossbreed. I stopped by their booth at a show, ordered a holster for a Glock 30, I told them it was very important that I am able to get a strong firing grip while the pistol is still holstered. They suggested something called a super tuck with a combat cut which cost extra. Holster came, leather backing was in the way of a good high hand hold. I called them and asked and they said they could modify the holster. I was smart enough to ask what about the 14 day inspection trial period. They said it began when I received the holster and sending it in for a modification will not start a new 14 day period. I returned it for a refund instead.

I’ve had good luck with CYA Supply
IWB Holsters | Inside Waistband Holster | CYA Supply

And Muddy River Tactical

The Most Comfortable Concealed Carry Holsters - Made in USA


I have a Garret Industries leather lined kydex holster mentioned above. I bought it because it was the only holster I could find for a beretta centurion. It is Ok. Nothing special.
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
43X and I want to carry it AIWB. I really want to have a hard material covering both sides of the trigger. That's not always apparent about some holsters like the Supertuck. I thought it had a Kydex shell all around, then a leather backing for comfort.

What makes Tenicor better quality in your opinion? Amazon also has an even cheaper brand than Desantis called CYA. All three of these look similar in terms of design and construction.

I'm not thinking about OWB too much right now because I don't think I could realistically conceal it.
Click to expand...
Oh, for goodness sakes. You do not want to cheap out on a holster. An extra $50 on a holster that conceals better is only a couple boxes of ammo. Do not shop for holster by price. Cheap holsters are wasted money. You will end up dissatisfied with them and they will end up sitting in a box in your basement.

In my experience, very small differences in design and construction can result in very large differences in how well a holster conceals. For example, here is the Vedder OWB holster that I have. It's an expensive, high quality holster. I have the optional pancake wings for it:

www.vedderholsters.com

LightDraw® OWB

The LightDraw® OWB Kydex Holster is an outside the waistband (OWB) holster with adjustable retention that is molded to fit your gun perfectly. Made in the USA!
www.vedderholsters.com www.vedderholsters.com

The Vedder OWB holster looks very similar to this Tenicor holster:

tenicor.com

ARX LUX OWB Holster for GLOCK

Tenicor ARX LUX OWB Holster. Light-bearing OWB holster. Intelligently designed hip carry holster with integrated belt loops. Optimized concealment. Robust Pancake design. Kydex OWB ( Outside the Waistband ) Adjustable tension. CNC CAD Machined Glock holster Sig Holster S&W holster Weapon mounted...
tenicor.com tenicor.com

Both are high quality. Both are similarly expensive. But the subtle differences in the design of the Tenicor are such that it tucks the gun in much tighter. In the Vedder holster, the grip of the gun tends to tip outwards. In the Tenicor holster, the grip of the gun is kept firmly against my side, resulting in far better concealment.

Tenicor has several AIWB holsters. If you can wait a bit, I would wait as they are bringing out an improved Velo5.

Some of the things that make the Tenicor holsters better are:
  1. Better belt clips. The steel clips that they use are far better than the plastic clips used by some other manufacturers. Plastic clips will break over time, they are thicker and don't conceal as well, and they don't grip your belt as well.
  2. The attachment points for the clips on the Tenicor AIWB holster allows you to adjust both clips up and down and angle them as well. Different people have different bodies, so adjustability is very important for comfort and concealment for AIWB holsters.
  3. The newer Tenicor AIWB holsters like the Certrum3 have an adjustable camming bar, that allows you to adjust how much the grip is cammed into you. CERTUM3 IWB/AIWB Holster for GLOCK
I expect that the Velo5 will have an adjustable camming bar and a raised body contour on the inside, lower portion of the holster, to better push the grip into your belly, without having to add a wedge.

There are lots of AIWB holsters. I am not a fan of sidecar holsters -- they don't work for me. I find that AIWB holsters work best for me at the 1-2 o'clock position, whereas sidecar holsters need to be closer to the midline. This sort of holster doesn't work for me (and the plastic loops are crap): T.REX Sidecar Holster – T.REX ARMS
 
M1911 said:
One thing lined holsters will do is you can get sand embedded in the lining which will scratch your finish even more.
Click to expand...
^^^^ This. Even Kydex holster can get sand and whatnot in them. The best thing you can do to minimize holster wear (which happens even in the best holster; in order to retain the gun it has to grip it somehow which will result in finish wear) is to regularly clean your holster. I clean my holsters every time I clean the gun that's in them.
 
M1911 said:
Oh, for goodness sakes. You do not want to cheap out on a holster. An extra $50 on a holster that conceals better is only a couple boxes of ammo. Do not shop for holster by price. Cheap holsters are wasted money. You will end up dissatisfied with them and they will end up sitting in a box in your basement.

In my experience, very small differences in design and construction can result in very large differences in how well a holster conceals. For example, here is the Vedder OWB holster that I have. It's an expensive, high quality holster. I have the optional pancake wings for it:

www.vedderholsters.com

LightDraw® OWB

The LightDraw® OWB Kydex Holster is an outside the waistband (OWB) holster with adjustable retention that is molded to fit your gun perfectly. Made in the USA!
www.vedderholsters.com www.vedderholsters.com

The Vedder OWB holster looks very similar to this Tenicor holster:

tenicor.com

ARX LUX OWB Holster for GLOCK

Tenicor ARX LUX OWB Holster. Light-bearing OWB holster. Intelligently designed hip carry holster with integrated belt loops. Optimized concealment. Robust Pancake design. Kydex OWB ( Outside the Waistband ) Adjustable tension. CNC CAD Machined Glock holster Sig Holster S&W holster Weapon mounted...
tenicor.com tenicor.com

Both are high quality. Both are similarly expensive. But the subtle differences in the design of the Tenicor are such that it tucks the gun in much tighter. In the Vedder holster, the grip of the gun tends to tip outwards. In the Tenicor holster, the grip of the gun is kept firmly against my side, resulting in far better concealment.

Tenicor has several AIWB holsters. If you can wait a bit, I would wait as they are bringing out an improved Velo5.

Some of the things that make the Tenicor holsters better are:
  1. Better belt clips. The steel clips that they use are far better than the plastic clips used by some other manufacturers. Plastic clips will break over time, they are thicker and don't conceal as well, and they don't grip your belt as well.
  2. The attachment points for the clips on the Tenicor AIWB holster allows you to adjust both clips up and down and angle them as well. Different people have different bodies, so adjustability is very important for comfort and concealment for AIWB holsters.
  3. The newer Tenicor AIWB holsters like the Certrum3 have an adjustable camming bar, that allows you to adjust how much the grip is cammed into you. CERTUM3 IWB/AIWB Holster for GLOCK
I expect that the Velo5 will have an adjustable camming bar and a raised body contour on the inside, lower portion of the holster, to better push the grip into your belly, without having to add a wedge.

There are lots of AIWB holsters. I am not a fan of sidecar holsters -- they don't work for me. I find that AIWB holsters work best for me at the 1-2 o'clock position, whereas sidecar holsters need to be closer to the midline. This sort of holster doesn't work for me (and the plastic loops are crap): T.REX Sidecar Holster – T.REX ARMS
Click to expand...

And this is why everyone I know, (including me), has a box of holsters in their garage/shop/closet.
 
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