Review: Galco Matrix

[JoeWilliams]

I am not generally a huge fan of paddle holsters, but I occasionally have a need to for a holster can be easily put on and removed, and this is what paddle holsters are good for, so I went shopping to get one for my 1911. I don't like the Fobus, so that was crossed off the list. I've had a Blackhawk Serpa in the past, and admired the quality and comfort of the holster, but it was crossed off for two reasons. First and most important, I would occasionally start to draw the gun just before getting the button pushed, and this would lock the gun in the holster. Kept doing it even after much practice, so it's not a holster I am willing to depend on. True, the holster is working as designed, but I just couldn't seem to always get the draw right. Second, and it's a testament to the Blackhawk design, the holster is NOT easy to remove. Unlike most paddle holsters, that bugger locked into place for me, and was quite stubborn about not moving. Since one of my requirements was "easy to remove," That kind of defeats my purpose.

I decided to try the Galco Matrix made for a 5" 1911. To cut to the chase, I'm medium happy with it, more so than most paddle holsters, but it's not my favorite holster by far. It's functional, and can perform the task I bought it for, but does have shortcomings.

Galco, of course, is known for quality work, and at $30 the price was quite reasonable. The holster appears heavily built, but is not heavy on the hip. It's made of a material that feels more like hard rubber than Kydex, instead of the harder plastic feel of the Blackhawk. Unfortunately, the material scratches VERY easily. I've only had this holster for 10 days, and it's already getting all scratched up in use that is pretty light duty, as shown in the pic below. The Blackhawk never scratched at all, and it's seen a lot more use. Scratches don't necessarily mean the holster is bad, but I'd really like a sturdier material that didn't ugly up so fast and so easily.

Front view of the Matrix, note the scratches already showing up:


The holster has comfort issues. The paddle is long, and sharply curved to follow a much skinnier hip than mine, I suppose. The bottom edge of the paddle is sharp, and it's also curved, making two rounded, but still pointy, tips to dig into one's hip or leg. And dig in this holster does! I've got small bruises on my hip and leg after a week and a half... the bugger can really pinch sometimes, at other times the "points" will dig into my leg. This is really prone to happening when first sitting down in the car. The Blackhawk never hurt me to wear.

Back and forward edge of the Matrix, showing the sharp curvature and "points":



Another irritating trait of the Matrix is it has a tendency to migrate back and forth on the belt, unless it happens to have grabbed hold of the skin on you hips or leg to hold it in place. The holster has three triangular ledges to keep the holster from coming off, which can be seen in the pic of the forward edge above, and they do work very well. The holster never shows any indication of trying to come off when I don't want it too, while still being fairly easy to remove on demand. But the holster will scoot back and forth a bit, and I find this an irritant. I like having the butt of my gun right where I'm used to it being, not having to search for it! It doesn't move a lot, never enough to cause me to miss or fumble when practicing, just enough to pester me.

One final, and functionally irrelevant, nit: I think the holster is just dog ugly. My gun isn't a beauty queen to begin with, and when paired with this holster, there's plenty of room for aesthetic improvement! When I remarked on the gun's looks Cathy, knowing I can be a tad vain about my holsters, gently referred to the look as "functional." Below is the gun and holster on my hip. You decide for yourself:


On the positive side of things, the Matrix does a better job than most any other paddle holster of not letting the gun flop around. A flopping gun is tiresome, and feels like crap. The Matrix actually does a good job of keeping this under control. Paddle holsters in general have a tendency to hold the gun pretty far out from the wearer's side, but the Matrix doesn't share this malady. The Blackhawk sticks out far enough that I banged it and the gun in it into door frames more than once. The Matrix actually holds the gun pretty tight into the side, enabling at least casual concealment of a pretty big gun even under a not terribly loose t-shirt. It conceals very well under a cover shirt or jacket.



The Matrix's ability to carry the gun without wobbling, and how tight it holds the gun to the side and resultant concealability, do balance out some of the other issues. As I said, I'm not a fan of paddle holsters in general, and have come to expect compromises with them. The Matrix is no exception to this rule. Again, I'm medium happy with it. The gun is carried nice and tight, but it has real comfort issues for me. The "migrating" issue is a minor one, but the comfort... not so much. It causes me to have to fiddle with the holster to get the paddle into a more comfortable position, and fiddling with the holster just draws attention to the gun. Overall, it's good enough that I will continue to use it when I need a paddle holster instead of looking for a replacement, but I cannot give a wholehearted recommendation to it either.

[ungawa]

Great review. I'm new to this stuff and you gave me a lot of things to check for my next holster.

[Emptymag]

Thanks Joe!

Useful info about guns/gun gear... on a gun forum. Who'da thunk it?

Seriously. I wish more people would post this kind of stuff.

[The Unknown 1087]

Nice, this review scared me because I thought at first it was the Galco M4X Matrix Autolock paddle.

I am going to order the "Galco M4X Matrix Autolock Paddle Holster" sometime soon. It has a button to press down in order to remove the pistol from the holster. Can't find too many reviews about it though