Leather Vs. Kydex

[walkinghorse]

Thanks guys!
Exactly what I was hoping for, comments and experiences from those who know!
My present holsters for others I carry are, leather, whatever the material Remora and Mika use, but no kydex.
Having no experience with Glock, or kydex, I appreciate your insights.

 

[peterGun]

For my Shield9 and G23 OWB is kydex, IWB leather but I always attach gun already holstered to belt.


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[rednichols]

Old, old story, remember it well! The major factor in this ND was STUPIDITY, not the holster!!!!!!! Yes, the holster was old! Cheap, floppy cheap leather for sure to the point it should have been discarded. But trying to holster a gun while seated in the car and forcibly jamming it into the holster was the real cause of this. NOT the fct that the holster was leather!

I think you'd better have another look. The holster is a Galco and the mouth of the holster softened and caught inside the trigger guard and into the trigger. If that's stupidity, it's not of the wearer. We designer/makers have an obligation to consider all these possibilities. Certainly widows, who do sue, feel that way. Let's not blame the victims in these cases (Safariland has an absolute raft of these a/d situations in court).

 

[rednichols]

In 50 years, people wont be showing off their collection of vintage 2018 kydex holsters. But we show off our old leather on here all the time.

Well said! Here are a few from my 'Safariland holsters will last forever' (a magazine interview claim) collection:





And from Rogers (article was about both):



Compared with an ancient Heiser (began making holsters in 1906, turnerriver is our expert on the likely age of this particular Heiser model):

 

[chief38]

While I've got no personal vendetta towards Kydex, it is something I've not warmed up to yet - probably never will. I see the worth of Kydex because of its light weight, low cost, excellent retention, resistance to sweat, water, oils, solvents, etc. while also being able to take a beating. I'm just not ready to give up my traditional holsters yet. I'm sure Kydex has taken a big bite out of the Leather Holster market, but probably more with younger guys.

 

[akoda]

You guys kill me [emoji57] I just got my CCP and am looking for a first holster. The leather sure is pretty. There are so many options to choose from, I Google what you mention then Google again. How do you really choose without touching?

 

[rednichols]

You guys kill me [emoji57] I just got my CCP and am looking for a first holster. The leather sure is pretty. There are so many options to choose from, I Google what you mention then Google again. How do you really choose without touching?

That used to be the function of the stocking dealer. These originated late 60s for gunleather. But my recent experience on L.A. (2015) to several dealers showed 'little stock NO interest' in selling it. Very old packaging and some mislabeled.

 

[smoothshooter]

I never liked the way kydex caused extra wear on the seat covers.

 

[ContinentalOp]

You guys kill me [emoji57] I just got my CCP and am looking for a first holster. The leather sure is pretty. There are so many options to choose from, I Google what you mention then Google again. How do you really choose without touching?

Research. Use the gun(s) you plan to carry, your wardrobe, where/how you plan to carry, what training you have, etc. Look at suggestions here and other threads in the forum. Find something that you think would work, then buy it. Try it out, because that's the only way to see if what you chose will really work for you, no matter how great someone says XYZ holster is. If it doesn't work, start the process over again. You can always sell holsters that don't work out for you to keep losses to a minimum.

We all have holster boxes for holsters we tried but didn't work out, for whatever reason. You may as well go ahead and get your holster box set up now.

 

[pasound]

Leather if under my arm, Nylon if in my pocket, Kydex for IWB appendix or small of back. Anything bigger than my 6906 gets leather if carried OWB. The exception is my Ruger American 45 - I have a Bare Arms custom OWB with a paddle which carries it much tighter than anything else I've tried.

 

[rcsayer]

A firearm you love is easy to find. A holster you love is not so easy.

 

[sipowicz]

I use leather mostly but when I needed a rig for my M&P I went with Kydex simply because Striker fired guns require a bit more attention in this area.

 

[Bakebfr480]

Even a Glock deserves leather!

 

[Smoke]

There's a store in Colorado Springs that carries Galco and Bianchi holsters for over a hundred different models of handgun. They're right there in the store so you can look and handle them and try your gun in them.

I've had good luck with Galco holsters. At some point early on I decided that if I was buying a gun to carry to just buy a Galco CM to go with it. I've had no reason to regret that decision.

 

[akoda]

I just got my first holster. I chose a crossbreed super tuck. Will carry my s&w 9 c. I have a class next week at the range to teach me the hows and whys [emoji4]



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[Marshal Tom]

I used only leather for many years and had several of my holsters hand built because I am a lefty. In recent years I have ordered Kydex holsters for several of my guns, especially the polymer ones. I find that they bind less while drawing the gun and the retention is excellent in most cases. I am old fashion and still love leather but kydex sure works too.

 

[pasound]

I recently bought a Nevada Gun Leather J2 underarm, upside-down, in black, for my 2" J-frames. Have a very old Bucheimer upside-down shoulder, which is brown. (Dates back to my first J-60, which I am getting replaced this next week, finally.) In some situations, the black is less obvious. Neither show under a light jacket or even a flannel shirt. I like the upside-down aspects of these J holsters. Allows weak hand draw nearly as smoothly as strong hand, and no belt clips or obvious "bulge".

 

[BillBro]

I'll offer that if the finish is already showing wear I'd opt for a kydex holster, unless silence of the draw is a concern. Kydex is not the quietest stuff, but it is durable, fast and generally offers great retention with a very quick presentation without any retention straps or anything else to impede handing and presenting to firearm. Not to mention they're usually dirt cheap for even a pretty dang nice holster. We The People Holsters comes to mind, I have their paddle holster and like it well enough, $30 I think, or less. Kydex is lightweight too. Some of them even look pretty cool too. For concealment, which doesnt seem to be of paramount importance to you, they're great because they are so thin and light.
My $.02

 

[HDMotorcop]

I recently bought a Nevada Gun Leather J2 underarm, upside-down, in black, for my 2" J-frames. Have a very old Bucheimer upside-down shoulder, which is brown. (Dates back to my first J-60, which I am getting replaced this next week, finally.) In some situations, the black is less obvious. Neither show under a light jacket or even a flannel shirt. I like the upside-down aspects of these J holsters. Allows weak hand draw nearly as smoothly as strong hand, and no belt clips or obvious "bulge".

I had one of those (if not same brand, same carry style) 25+ years ago! Boy did I like it!!!! It was a hand me down. I'm not sure if it wore out (the elastic) of if it got lost. I my have to order one of those.

 

[Rick_A]

I've really never understood the philosophy that plastic framed guns don't belong in leather holsters.

My Glock primarily resides in a leather Galco V-hawk IWB holster.

I did find it necessary to add a stiffener to one leg.
20190327_141259 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr
It should be noted that it is intended for a G26, but was inexpensive enough (on closeout) that I was willing to put some time into it.

My VP9 is a bit bulkier, so it is carried OWB in either a Desantis leather or TR kydex holster when with light.

20190318_131737 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr