This one puzzles me, as the concept is stuck well in the past: the metal inside the mouth has no function other than to adjust the mouth opening; that is, the lamination of the second layer, then stitching it, is what keeps the mouth open, not the metal (that comes from the old leatherslaps of the '50s and '60s). So -- for an IWB wouldn't one want one's holster to be minimum bulk -- and so no metal in the holster on top of all the metal in the cylinder? It's stylish and the construction details are very good, too; but performance first, looks second (much what I had to say about the incredible bulk of the Alien IWB in another, concurrent thread).
I agree the metal strip adds unnecessary width to the holster and that's a concern with a 686.
However, the Guardian holster I bought from Next Holster forced me to re-consider one of my long held beliefs. In the past I felt a double thickness mouth was essential for an IWB holster and a very nice thing to have on an OWB holster.
That's missing on the Guardian, but the the quality and thickness of the leather combined with the way the mouth is shaped (square front) does just as good a job of holding it open as does double thickness leather construction sandwiching a polymer insert.
The difference in thickness on the waist line is 1.800" versus 1.965", and while not a lot, that .165" difference is still noticeable.
Below is a Wild Bill Concealment's "Covert Carry" holster along side the Next Holster "Guardian". Interestingly the owner of Next Holster used to work for Wild Bill Concealment and left due to what he described as creative differences.
I switched because after years of business and a number of holsters, I got stiffed on a custom order for a 3" 686 holster (the one below is for a Model 66 and is slightly snug for the 686. I think it was an honest error on their part, but given the volume of business I'd done with them it was also a case where it should have been a case of "the customer is always right".
I was motivated enough to break one of my own rules about holster mouths and give it a try. After more than a year carrying
both 2 1/2" and 3" 686s in it, I am very impressed.
The WBC Covert Carry holster uses an offset clip to keep the thickness down, but the two clips and wider surface area of the Guardian make it much more comfortable. The Covert Carry is "noticeable but not uncomfortable" in all day carry, but the Guardian is "you don't even know its there" most of the time when used with a good quality carry belt.
The sole advantage of the Covert Carry is that it is a tuckable design.
