New holsters: initial impressions

[ViperGTS19801]

So, about three weeks ago, I ordered a cowhide Crossbreed Supertuck for my Ruger P85, at the recommendation of this board. Also at the recommendation of a member of this board I ordered a Galco 3-slot cop holster for the same.

The former arrived on Friday, and the latter, this afternoon.

Firstly, my impressions of the CBST:

Some may not be aware that the Crossbreed holsters are all hand made on a per-order basis. Therefore, from time of ordering, they may take up to three weeks (possibly more, but rarely so) to arrive, depending on their order volume. This disappointed me, as I am not much for delayed gratification, but I must say that the wait was well worth it.

The design of the SuperTuck is interesting. It's just as comfortable as everyone claims it to be, despite it being a rather flat and wide holster. It reeks like all hell when it first arrives, but that's because of the dye I believe, and it's already dissipated for the most part after only four days. It doesn't take long to break in, and once you figure out how to put it on correctly, it's much easier to work with.

As far as concealment, if one is wearing a loose T-shirt or sweater over it, untucked, it seriously just disappears. Like a file you accidentally deleted from a Mac, it's just fucking gone. There's a sizeable bulge in your waistband and belt if you tuck your shirt in, but if you keep it loose, you can mask that a bit and make even that almost disappear.

I bought this because, although I very rarely CC my weapon, I want to have the best for those few times - and I am thusfar satisfied with my decision.

As for the Galco 3-slot:

This is my new OC holster, and so far, I like it. The leather smells great, and it looks and feels so much less bulky than the crappy nylon thing I had before. The fit is EXTREMELY snug out of the box, so some stretching is required to make the weapon fit properly. Even then, when you put the thing on your belt, it makes the holster collapse a bit, making it nearly impossible to re-holster your weapon without the holster racking the slide and damn-near ejecting a round.

To make up for this, I wrapped my sidearms in a few layers of wax paper and jammed that baby in there. Then, using a hair dryer, I heated up the leather a bit and got it nice and toasty (do not use water or oil!) to make the material a bit more malleable. I worked the weapon in and out of it for a while, then holstered and belted it, and worked it some more. Now, after only an hour or so of fiddling with it, the weapon slides nicely into the holster without moving the slide at all. Drawing and re-holstering one-handed is a breeze once you stretch the leather out properly.

All this effort aside, the Galco 3-slot cop holster is an excellent OC holster, and it looks damn fine on my hip too.

[Beest21]

I recommended the Galco . Damn fine holster.