Turnerriver's phrase "ugly clunky holsters" describes most of the S&W line, in my opinion.
The US Air Force issued a military contract border patrol style holster made by S&W. The metal shank which formed the belt loop portion had the metal on the outside of the loop, with the leather-only portion behind the belt, the opposite of nearly every other manufacturer of this type rig. It caused problems with twisting, the belt loops getting bent out of shape and failing, and some outlandish bending of the loop causing the gun to project way out from the hip by cops who thought it looked cool.
In 1974 while on active duty I attended the S&W Academy's Firearms and Non-Lethal weapons course. While on the range one day the "holster guy" (I don't recall his name) from the factory visited. When I complained about the design deficiencies of the S&W holster issued by the USAF, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "We designed a better one, but the Air Force didn't want it."

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John