I recently bought a Bodyguard 2 and am looking at holsters for pocket carry. I have noted several recommendations on this site, many of the suggestions being holsters made of Kydex. To those of you who do have Kydex holsters, is scratching the gun an issue? Thank you.

No not scratch (unless you manage to get some sand in there) but the contact points will wear the finish a little faster. It's a Bodyguard 2 carry piece, so don't worry about it. It will just gain some character and become an old friend.

I swear by the pocket holsters made by Alabama Holsters. Never one scratch from any of them.

I'm a fan of JM Custom. Not cheap but they're very well made.

Pocket holsters should be soft.
Kydex holsters are hard.
Not worried about scratching the gun.
I prefer softer holsters because they are way more comfortable. Kydex has as many abrupt corners as a gun.
Kind’a defeats the purpose.

I don't use Kydex pocket holsters. Much prefer the Sticky Holster type.

I do, however, have several Kydex holsters, both IWB and OWB. They absolutely do not "scratch" the gun. If you draw and reholster the gun A LOT then they might cause the finish to wear some (though I've never had that happen).

Kydex is far softer than any metal, so it cannot scratch any metal. I suppose if you have a plastic gun that is made of really, REALLY soft plastic, then the Kydex might cause that to wear. I wouldn't want to own a gun made of such soft plastic!

I recommend Mika Pocket Holsters. I have been using them since the 1980s.

Mika's Pocket Holsters

Kydex works well IWB and OWB because it can be easily kept clean with a gentle bath in warm (not hot) water. Grit is kept flushed away by this method. Grit is not a friend of your gun's finish.

For pocket carry, there is a lot to be said for the DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster. Effective, comfortable and affordable. By its design, it looks more like a wallet in a pocket than a firearm.

Mika (I use one for my M649), Galco , Remora (I use one for my Walther CCP), and DeSantis all make top-notch pocket holsters in leather or modern, sticky material. NONE ARE KYDEX. JM Custom makes nice holsters but unless they have something hidden on their website they do not make pocket holsters.

WHICH IS PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE!!!

Who in the world wants to put a hard, unyielding, impossible to conform to the pocket, Kydex pocket holster in their pocket? But they are out there - just do a search for "Kydex pocket holster" and you'll find them.

Good luck with that.

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IMHO Kydex holsters are great for Glocks, Sigs, etc. outside the waistband. IWB needs the flexibility of leather.

I wouldn’t go Kydex, but don’t go soft since you NEED the trigger to be protected. Too soft and …

My opinion…

That hasn't been my experience with this brand of pocket holster (I have no company affiliation).

Fwiw, I’m a leather guy. I have a (very?) few Kydex holsters for semi auto pistols. But is I like the pistol. I end up with a leather holster.

Leather retains moisture (sweat will cause rust), kydex does not. Leather can have dust/dirt stick to it, kydex does not.
Both of the above will destroy a finish and are why I no linger buy leather.
Kydex will leave marks on a slides finish, but in my opinion its less than leather.
I recently stopped carrying a j-frame in my pocket as a BUG using a cheap desantis pocket holster and switched to an Alabama holster kydex pocket holster for a shield plus.
Its stiffer bouncing on my thigh, but it always stays in my pocket while drawing, thanks to the hook molded into the holster, the desantis came out with the gun about half the time. I've had this setup about a month now and am not planning on any changes right now.

The only kydex holster I ever USED was a Fobus paddle holster for my Taurus stainless 605.
Call it what you want but it definitely wore the finish. Any microscopic grit that gets in there will act as an abrasive.

Kydex holsters have lots of attributes - no argument there. They are inexpensive, durable, moisture proof, lightweight, available in many colors and configurations and seem to hold their shape for a long time. They are also quite popular these days and I am in no way trying to talk anyone out of one.

That said, I personally don't like them. As a pocket holster I can not imagine they would be comfortable for all day carry. I pocket carry about 1/2 the time and IMHO, the most comfortable, utilitarian, and wildly available pocket holster is a soft DeSantis Nemesis. For under $30 bucks it does everything better than any leather or Kydex holster made (IMO) - especially in the comfort department. Let's face it - if a pocket holster isn't comfortable it won't be used. The Nemesis has been in my pocket 50% of the time over the last 3 decades and they also last a long long time.

The reason I don't like Kydex as a OWB holster is not because of how it performs - no not at all. I am a traditionalist and like all natural products most of the time over "plastic". That is my own preference and my own hang-up if you will. So while I can not say too many bad things about Kydex holsters, they are not part of my equipment. The part about using a hard formed Kydex product as a pocket holster and not being as comfortable as a DeSantis Nemesis just makes so much sense to me. BTW, the Nemesis is also moisture resistant, extremely light weight, super comfortable, inexpensive and available in many different models for different guns.

Kydex makes a lot of sense as a duty holster for uniformed LE as it is inexpensive, works quite well, is durable with great retention characteristics and in a pinch can easily be replaced for a reasonable price if need be. I just don't see it as a viable pocket holster.

When a gun gets scratched in a Kydex holster it is usually because a piece of grit gets trapped between the gun and holster material.

I love the security and retention offered by Kydex but I don't use holsters made of it for firearms that have a finely-polished and/or blued finish.

One grain of sand that finds its way into the holster while hiking, etc, can really do a number on your handgun's finish. I'm not saying this is a typical or common occurrence, but it definitely can happen. :-(

I LOVE Kydex holsters for my Glock or Kahr, but would not use one for my K22 Combat Masterpiece or Model 19...

I'm a fan of the Alabama holsters, but soft ones do seem to be more comfortable. I've got this one that's supposed to show up on Monday, hopefully it performs as I expect it to.

Attached Images

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	Bodyguard 2.0 leather holster order 2 (Large) (Large).jpg (28.8 KB, 122 views)

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Do not worry about holster wear, it happens. Just keep things clean.

This is a more multi faceted question than it seems. Not all plastic holsters are made from Kydex which is an alloy created for hospital walls and aircraft interiors so that it won't catch fire. It becomes molten instead and emits poisonous gases! First used in holsters by my friend Bud Watson in 1970, later claimed by Rogers several years later who then added a thin suede lining because of complaints from the FBI (after he had left the agency when the Draft ended).

Today such as Safariland have stopped using Kydex and the thin leather lining inside it, and switched over to injection moulded nylon of a special formulation that the company claims is softer on finishes. That suggest that scratching was a genuine problem for their customers who are basically EVERY police force in America and the world. Rogers' original claim to fame was as an injection moulding man.

Plastics do have the advantage of no absorbing water. Easy answer to that, don't wear your leather holsters inside your waistband in summertime Florida! "This holster is not for you".

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Sticky holster. It won’t retain moisture, it’s so comfortable in the pocket and will not come out with firearm

I am a longtime revolver guy, but bought a P365 for CCW last spring. I tried a Sticky pocket holster, which is soft, but did not like it. I have been using this Vedders pocket holster when I pocket carry.



I find it comfortable. When in the pocket I can't tell if it is a soft or hard holster unless I touch it with my hand. (But I am not a skintight jeans guy either...)

For my Colt DS I have a Mika pocket holster, which I preferred to one by Mitch Rosen. I also carried a 640-1 in a Kramer but preferred Mika.

For the P365, I've been using Kydex and hybrid leather/kydex OWB holsters while I wait for a Lobo leather pancake to show up. I like OWB better than pocket carry when practical. I do like how Kydex needs no break in, has adjustable retention, and makes for very smooth drawing and reholstering.

I think the problem with grit getting into a holster and scratching it is more acute with a leather holster because it can stick to the leather. (A good reason to avoid suede lining, by the way.) Not sure if there is much of a difference between leather and Kydex when it comes to rubbing the finish off.

But I also agree with the poster above who says he would not carry a classic revolver with a nice blued finish in Kydex. Just feels wrong to me.

Plastic = Blasphemy. Dead cows & horses = good. Any questions? Yeah, I'm a geezer.

Very funny!!! But I disagree..............somewhat........*

In light of the many guns on the market today that have frames that are made from - HORRORS!!!! - polymer/plastic - it seems only fair that the gun public should have the option of matching plastic with plastic.

As noted above, I can't imagine a Kydex holster being comfortable in my pocket, but some folks disagree, and that's YMMV every time. Not counting a couple of Walther P-22s (with hammers), I only have one polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol and it's a Walther CCP. I pocket carry it in a Remora holster which works perfectly. Soft, flexible, and easy to draw from. In the unlikely event that the holster comes out of my pocket with the gun (I've had that happen with other pocket guns and holsters) a quick shake and it's gone so it ain't any kind of an issue.

BUT!

When I belt carry the CCP it is in Kydex IWB or a Galco TAC-slide hybrid OWB, both of which work perfectly.

The gun doesn't seem to have picked up any scratches from those holsters but why would I care? It's a fighting pistol, not a work of art.

*My pretty guns only go into leather or another soft material. Those guns are called revolvers....

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