Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
I am a strong believer that in the realm of handguns, the holster is a critical part of the system. A handgun without a holster is still useful but it sure is a LOT more useful with a holster.
In today’s world there is a huge array of synthetic material options. Materials such as Kydex, hard plastic, nylon, laminates, carbon fiber, and probably a dozen more are available. Those synthetic materials have their place and I’m not going to disparage them. However, I’m a bit old school, so most (not all) of my holsters and belts are leather.
Leather gear isn’t as maintenance free as the synthetic options, but I understand how to maintain leather gear and I’m willing to put in the work. I know many of the members of this forum make their own leather gear and that’s a skill I admire. I have neither the skill nor the tools to make leather gear. This lack of ability to make my own gear means I must purchase the gear I need. Fortunately, this isn’t a terrible predicament as there are plenty of good options in this field.
There are many holster makers ranging from mass producers, to semi-custom to one-of-a-kind craftsmen. We have no shortage of options here. Prices vary according to what one desires but again, it is good to have options. I have purchased and used leather gear from many different suppliers and overall, I’ve been very impressed with the cost versus quality ratio of the industry. You generally get what you pay for. When you look at the life span of good gear, it seems to be a decent value even in today’s world.
I recently purchased a leather holster from one of the larger producers. I will not mention the name of the company, but their initials are Galco.
OK, jokes aside, it is a fairly good example of the quality available from one of the larger companies. In my opinion the price is commensurate with the quality. I did have to soak the holster in water and mold it a little to complete the fitting, but that’s not unusual for leather gear in that price range. After drying and a short break in, it fits the gun and me as it should.
I still find Don Hume leather gear to be one of the best values out there. I would probably use their gear exclusively if their line was a bit more extensive. I have even purchased used Don Hume gear and found it to be an excellent value.
DeSantis remains an east coast favorite of mine. Mitch Rosen gear is pricy but there’s no denying the quality. I used one of their 5JR thumb-break holsters daily for over ten years and I still use their belts daily. I was sad to see Bell Charter Oak close, they were one of those old-school, east coast suppliers that had a niche market for concealed carry rigs.
There are the old stand-by makers like Bianchi and Safariland (although Safariland is almost all synthetic gear these days). I had one of the early Milt Sparks Summer Special IWB rigs when they were almost unknown. I included that well-worn holster when I sold the 1911 Commander it held. Wished I had held onto the holster.
El Paso Saddlery continues to make excellent gear and they’ve never disappointed me. I have some odd ball holsters from makers that went out of business, and I have some custom-made gear from smaller one-man shops. Even Craft Holsters that are sold out of Slovakia but often marked Made in Italy, are good values, despite the shipping from the eastern hemisphere! (Their quality has impressed me).
So – even in today’s world of I-phones, internet, synthetic gun gear, plastic everywhere, computers everywhere, and hot filament type light blubs nearly being a black-market only item……..you can still get a quality leather holster!
In today’s world there is a huge array of synthetic material options. Materials such as Kydex, hard plastic, nylon, laminates, carbon fiber, and probably a dozen more are available. Those synthetic materials have their place and I’m not going to disparage them. However, I’m a bit old school, so most (not all) of my holsters and belts are leather.
Leather gear isn’t as maintenance free as the synthetic options, but I understand how to maintain leather gear and I’m willing to put in the work. I know many of the members of this forum make their own leather gear and that’s a skill I admire. I have neither the skill nor the tools to make leather gear. This lack of ability to make my own gear means I must purchase the gear I need. Fortunately, this isn’t a terrible predicament as there are plenty of good options in this field.
There are many holster makers ranging from mass producers, to semi-custom to one-of-a-kind craftsmen. We have no shortage of options here. Prices vary according to what one desires but again, it is good to have options. I have purchased and used leather gear from many different suppliers and overall, I’ve been very impressed with the cost versus quality ratio of the industry. You generally get what you pay for. When you look at the life span of good gear, it seems to be a decent value even in today’s world.
I recently purchased a leather holster from one of the larger producers. I will not mention the name of the company, but their initials are Galco.
OK, jokes aside, it is a fairly good example of the quality available from one of the larger companies. In my opinion the price is commensurate with the quality. I did have to soak the holster in water and mold it a little to complete the fitting, but that’s not unusual for leather gear in that price range. After drying and a short break in, it fits the gun and me as it should.
I still find Don Hume leather gear to be one of the best values out there. I would probably use their gear exclusively if their line was a bit more extensive. I have even purchased used Don Hume gear and found it to be an excellent value.
DeSantis remains an east coast favorite of mine. Mitch Rosen gear is pricy but there’s no denying the quality. I used one of their 5JR thumb-break holsters daily for over ten years and I still use their belts daily. I was sad to see Bell Charter Oak close, they were one of those old-school, east coast suppliers that had a niche market for concealed carry rigs.
There are the old stand-by makers like Bianchi and Safariland (although Safariland is almost all synthetic gear these days). I had one of the early Milt Sparks Summer Special IWB rigs when they were almost unknown. I included that well-worn holster when I sold the 1911 Commander it held. Wished I had held onto the holster.
El Paso Saddlery continues to make excellent gear and they’ve never disappointed me. I have some odd ball holsters from makers that went out of business, and I have some custom-made gear from smaller one-man shops. Even Craft Holsters that are sold out of Slovakia but often marked Made in Italy, are good values, despite the shipping from the eastern hemisphere! (Their quality has impressed me).
So – even in today’s world of I-phones, internet, synthetic gun gear, plastic everywhere, computers everywhere, and hot filament type light blubs nearly being a black-market only item……..you can still get a quality leather holster!
