All posts tagged left handed holsters

Fobus holsters vs other paddle holsters, some thoughts from a retailer

fobus holstersI have several product lines that I have brought in for myself just because I knew I would probable end up buying several items from it for my own personal use.   One of those product lines is the Fobus  one and I can’t say it was because I was a huge fan of the entire product line, it’s just that they make an  extremely practical holster for a very low price.  I’ve been testing out a Safariland 6378 paddle holster and after a long break in, i do like it but there were some issues originally.  I have to say that as far as securing to my belt, I don’t find the Safariland holster to be more secure even though it’s a little more difficult for me to get off.  It may sound like a contradiction, but I had some issues with the gun pulling the holster off my belt when i was 90% sure the gun was secure.   It hasn’t happened since the holster was broken in, but when the gun was tight, it did happen.

The things people have told me they don’t like about the Fobus paddle holsters is they aren’t that strong, well, for most holsters, if you pull on certain parts of them, yeah, they can break and Fobus holsters aren’t exactly built like a tank.   I do think that they Fobus holsters that are the paddle design are very good for IDPA, winter carry, or even for your first 2 day training course.   Paddle holsters always seem to be more comfortable than IWB , but they aren’t always as secure.   Some of these holsters can be had with a belt loop design, but I’m not a huge fan of those.  If you know people are complaining about the lack of retention or adjustable tension, check out the Fobus E2 holsters, the bad thing about those is they aren’t making them for too many guns.

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Quick fixes for first time gun owners?

fobus holstersWe get new people in our store every day and many of them come in looking for gun holsters right after they walked out of a gun shop.   There aren’t very many gun shops that carry all of the holsters and gear that people are demanding.  Many gun shops don’t want to touch clothing or certain accessories because the amount of stuff that you need to know to get a gun put together properly is a lot.  There are so many things you can do to a firearm and it’s best to get an experts advice before making any major changes.  When it comes to concealment options for firearms, think about what you want to do, and then ask questions from someone has been doing it longer than  you.

Recently there has been an uptick in the number of people that are looking get firearms and I guess it’s not all politics, it’s more to do with the economy and people with a bit of foresight.    We are a stocking deal for the Fobus holsters which are for just about all of the major manufacturers.  Glocks work very well with the Fobus paddle holsters and the E2 version is a good improvement over the prevous molded design since there is an ability to adjust the tention as you see fit.  Temperature changes can also affect how your holster handles the gun so think about that before taking a screw driver to the holster.

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Kydex holsters options without going to a custom company?

Blackhawk Serpa holstersI’ve got a pile of gun  holsters in my closet and more than 80% of them never see the light of the day.  Some of the holsters we have have are made from Galco, Desantis, Elite Survival, Glock, and several more that I can’t name at the moment.   Today I  had a customer walk in the door and ask me if I Had a holsters for an H&K gun that I never heard of, and when I asked him if he wanted Kydex or leather?  IWB or OWB?  He started to seem annoyed, I told him it’s his job to tell what holster he wants and my job to find it for him.  Not to bash our customers, but we’ve got enough experience to know that we have to direct those questions back to the customer because we’ve had people blame us for suggesting certain options if they didn’t like it and try and see they won’t pay for the return shipping.

Another thing people don’t seem to realize is that if a gun holster says it will work for a gun, that they somehow need to try it on.   When I ask the customer if they want a retention, paddle holster i usually reference the diffferences between the Blackhawk Serpa holsters we sell and the Fobus gun holsters.   There is a 50% price difference between each product and you gotta know what you want and look for it instead of it finding you.  I think people carry the Serpa for the wrong reasons and it is primarly a secondary firearm holster or a Law Enforcement holster, not really a good civilian CCW holster because if you don’t need a reason for retention, don’t use it.

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Leather look and Professional appearance at work

desantis holstersKydex holsters are very good for their intended purposes but you really can’t walk away from leather holsters.   Not only do leather holsters especially the Desantis holsters that we sell look so nice, but the product line is so big that just about any type of holster, IWB holsters, Paddle holsters and even the Desantis Scorpion holster which is Kydex and not something you would have thought a Leather holster company made.  We have seen many leather holsters in our lifetime but even if you think you can get a good once for less money, you won’t have the durability and proven quality that Desantis Products has.

Much of our Law Enforcement product line has expanded our leather goods and Desantis is number one on our list.  I have a ton of holsters in my closet but the ones I use the most when I’m going  out at night are the ones that look the best and the Desantis holsters that we sell are the best looking holsters with style and durability.   We’ve had several leather holsters in our store from Galco leather to Don Hume and although each product line has it’s good points and their weaknesses, the current majority of our Law Enforcement and Detectives our using the thumb break speed scabbards instead of the Blackhawk Serpa holsters just based on the professionalism and look of the holster.

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Inventory Availability for Don Hume holsters

We got in a very large shipment of the much sought after Don Hume holsters.  I just had a customer come in here and ask what the big deal is with them and I told him that the big deal is that these are the best price leather holsters out there.  They definitely are not the nicest looking holster which Desantis and Galco will show you but if you are on a budget.  You can get a good holster for under $25.   Now that so many people are packing, not everyone really knows what it’s like to carry and how comfortable certain types of holsters are.  There are many of our customers that don’t want to carry IWB because it’s not very comfortable but from a defensive standpoint it probable is the most recommended method of carry.

I do like the Don Hume Jit holsters and if you compare these $20 holsters to the Desantis Scabbard you are going to spend 2x’s as much for a similar holsters but they are not as nice looking but they get the job done to some degree.  Most of the Don Hume holsters that I use are for small or single stack magazines.  I have noticed that the j-frame and Sig 239 holsters work very well but the Sig 228 holsters seem to flop a little and in my opinion aren’t as secure.   Some of the flopping can be avoided with a paddle holster or an IWB holster.  Do your research on the size of the gun you are using and see what other people are saying.

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