The Liberal Gun Club Forum

Okay, thought I would share some thoughts on some new holsters I purchased. After reading some other forums I heard good things about Alabama Holsters for good kydex IWB and pocket holsters. Also, Simply Rugged received high marks for basic pancake OWB holsters. Here are my thoughts:

Alabama Holsters – I ordered an Offside and back pocket holster for my Sig P238. The pocket holster is made of pretty thin kydex and forms to the gun well. It does what is supposed to do, holding the gun in your pocket and breaking up its outline. It has a thumb push off to aid in your draw. Overall it is nothing spectacular, but does what it is advertised to do. It was worth the money, but not necessarily the 6 week wait. I have an Uncle Mike’s holster that performs just as well.

The Offside is another story. Wow, I love this holster. The clip is offset from the gun to make the whole package as slim as possible. The kydex is slightly thicker. Retention is good, but the draw is buttery smooth. Simply put, this is everything I expected and more. I plan to use this almost everyday. Well worth the wait and money. You cannot tell I am concealing a gun unless the shirt rises above the top of the gun (which means I am wearing too short of a shirt) or you pat me right above my butt (which means you better be my wife or a police officer). It is super comfortable. The kydex prevents sweat from getting to the gun.

In regards to customer service, I want to say the owner is very easy to deal with and exceptionally understanding. I initially ordered a back pocket holster for a LCP. I sold the gun before the holster was made and he changed my order to accommodate my new Kahr (the LCP replacement). Well, me and the Kahr did not get along and I changed it again to the P238. In the confusion he shipped my original order and when I brought it to his attention he told me to keep the holster and pass it on to someone who could use it. My new order was shipped a few weeks later. While I imagine a larger shop might have gotten my order changes right, the owner worked hard to make everything right. Overall I am pleased and intend on ordering an offside for my revolvers.

Simply Rugged – I order a Silver Dollar for my SP101 with inside out straps. The holster is simple and rugged, hence the name. The leather is thin and pliable (not like a Galco or other big name) which makes it a little more comfortable, but it does require the belt to be tighter than I am used to for OWB carry. If the belt is tensioned correctly, the holster holds the heavy SP101 OWB high and tight. The finish is not perfect, but for a custom holster at this price I did not expect it to be perfect. Everything is functional, which is the point.

Now, the inside out straps are supposed to turn an OWB into an IWB holster. The straps use Chicago screws to attach the straps to the holster and they snap to your belt. The way they are designed the straps must fold over on themselves, creating unnecessary bulk. When worn with a t-shirt, you can see the funny straps sticking out some. With a sport coat, it does not matter. I think some reconfiguring of the straps is doable such that they do not fold over on themselves. If I do this, I think it will work much better IWB. It is comfortable IWB and so long as your shirt is not too tight it conceals well. But, I am able to conceal a S&W 640 in an OWB Galco holster easier than the SP101/SR package IWB.

My biggest complaint, the dye. I wore the holster IWB with a nice dress shirt and the dye bleb into the shirt. I feared this, but risked it recently. Well, I don’t think the shirt is ruined as the dye bled below the belt line (no one will see where it bled), but I cannot wear this holster IWB at work, which is what I purchased it for. Anyway, I will use this holster for casual wear, but will avoid wearing it with anything I fear might be ruined. For woods use, great holster. OWB it is pretty good. IWB, it is simply okay.

Side Note – waiting on an Andrews Leather Monarch should rig for the SP101. I am super excited about this rig, as everyone seems to rave about it.

BTW, who does the Irishman holsters? I have seen them mentioned on here and it seems they are done by a board member. They seem like very nice holsters. These were ordered before joining here.

Also a member but not active recently.

http://rockyriverleather.com/content/index.php

Did we ever create a space for our members who have a gun-related business? It would be neat to have a thread or a page or something we can direct new folks to, and which members which have been here longer (like myself) can also refer too when they need their memory refreshed.

I need to put it on the main site.

If someone wants to make a post, I will sticky it.

The way I've seen it done elsewhere is someone starts a thread. The first post in the thread is edited as needed to avoid having members read the whole thread to find information (and having to comb through obsolete information). People post changes to the thread. Would that work here?

Where should it be created? The Trading Post?

Seems to make sense.

Done:

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=12338

If I'm stepping on anyone's toes please delete.

Nope, it's a good idea.