Kydex/Fobus/Plasticky Holsters?

[jackbauer]

I also carry my Glock 23 in the same holsters btw.

[Emptymag]

Ha!

I'm just fanatical about keeping stuff looking new I guess!
I wax the INSIDE of the bed in my Silverado for cryin' out loud.

Always been that way. Didn't have much money when I was little and my mom always told me to take care of my stuff, cause it's got to last a while!

[LittleRedToyota]

emptymag...it's good to take care of your stuff. nothin' wrong with that at all.

one thing that might help put your mind at ease is that the black finish on a glock is really just for looks. the tennifer process is what actually protects the pistol. the black is NOT the tennifer. the tennifer process goes into the steel itself. even with all the black stuff worn completely off, a glock will not rust or corrode. so, while the holster wear affects how it looks, the gun is just as well protected as the day it was new.

one day i am going to build a "new" 1994 little red toyota from the ground up...the first thing i am going to do is ship the frame off to glock to have them tennifer it.

[Emptymag]

LRT,

So are you saying the finish WILL show signs of wear due to the Kydex style material? (I'm so confused!)

I don't really give a crap if you can drive a tank over it, bury it in sand, dip it in molten lava or any other brutal tests. I'm not taking it into combat, I'm taking it with me when I walk the dog! Hmmm... wonder if dog breath would "melt" the finish off that sucker?

[JustinM]

one thing to watch out for with the fobus paddle holsters at least is that, if you don't wear a belt, when you draw, the holster comes along for the ride...or at least mine does.

Alot of people I've trained with have given Fobus the "worst holsters in the world award". they're great if the only place you wear a holster is at the range. I've seen a video, and a live demo on how an attacker can come up behind you and push down on the holster, snapping it off of the paddle.

[LittleRedToyota]

So are you saying the finish WILL show signs of wear due to the Kydex style material? (I'm so confused!)

no, i'm not saying that. i don't know. my G17 had so much holster wear to begin with, i don't know if i have more now or not.

(btw, jmateer, i only use the fobus for IPSC...it's the only holster i have that isn't designed for concealed carry and doesn't hold the gun tight against my body. i agree with you...i personally would not use it in real life.)

[imashooter2]

From what I've seen, Kydex wears blued finishes quickly at the contact points and then stops wearing. Leather wears finish slowly over much larger areas and never stops wearing.

For the very low budget holsters Uncle Mike has a much better product than Fobus. For higher end Kydex, the formed Blade-Tech holsters (not the injection molded ones) are hard to beat.

[1911shooter]

it will eventually show signs of wear on the finish.

when i was at Thunder ranch one of the guys there had a Fobus and with the simple movment of reholstering it feel apart if you go Kydex go wiyh Bladetech.

[Emptymag]

From what I've seen, Kydex wears blued finishes quickly at the contact points and then stops wearing. Leather wears finish slowly over much larger areas and never stops wearing.

For the very low budget holsters Uncle Mike has a much better product than Fobus. For higher end Kydex, the formed Blade-Tech holsters (not the injection molded ones) are hard to beat.

Thank you for the input and WELCOME to the forum!

I started Goggling (that always sounds WRONG!) and I see that there are more brands out there than I realized. As I stated early on, I've always liked leather, but cost is a factor now and that's why I want to learn about the pros and cons of these types of holsters.

[dgg9]

As I stated early on, I've always liked leather, but cost is a factor now and that's why I want to learn about the pros and cons of these types of holsters.

High end "boutique" holsters are leather and are expensive, but the rank and file holsters of kydex or leather are all ballpark the same money:

Kydex: Sidearmor, Comp-tac, Blade-tech

Leather: Galco, Desantis

They're all going to be between $55 - $80 for a new holster.

My best advice is to pick one or two popular models, and look for them used on the various gun boards. You save money in your early experiments that way.