All posts tagged police holsters

There’s a reason these can be expensive

Desantis holstersSticker shock just goes with this business, people that have no idea why things are priced the way they are but it’s extremely rare for me to personally say something in this industry is over priced.  Recently several customers have told us they had issues with certain weapon mounted lights and all I could tell them is there is a reason why people spend another $100-$200 for Surefire flashlights over some of the lesser expensive weapon mounted lights.  In the 10yrs we’ve been in business nobody has returned a Trijicon ACOG saying it won’t hold zero and the glass fell out.   I’ve had it happen to me personally with 2 optics, but both of those were under $200.

The same is going to go for firearm holsters and I can tell you from personal experience that I have broken, and had plenty of inferior holsters before I started increasing my investment amounts.   I’ve had plenty of broken kydex holsters in my life but have not ever had any Leather Desantis Holsters break, tear, or rattle.  There are plenty of magazine pouches I’ve used where once they were broken in, the mags started to rattle and it was just downright annoying.   A customer recently returned a Don Hume holster that had the finish peal off it but I told him that’s why they are $20.  The closest Desantis holster to that design started at $54.99 and nobody returns them because the colored peeled off.

Top

How many options should I consider when deciding on a paddle holster?

Safariland holstersWe get tons of people walking in the door hear looking for a holster that they can use for their gun with a light attached to it.  The majority of the time it’s the Surefire X300 or the Streamlight TLR-1, TLR-2 or sometimes the TLR-4 light.    Every police department in our area has some variation of those light either on their AR15, G36 or their handguns.    There are a lot of options out there for paddle holsters and in 2014 we will be bringing in more and more of the Fobus gun holsters and the Safariland holsters.  One thing we’ve learned is if you don’t have a Glock, 1911 or a Sig 229, Sig 226 or Sig 220.   You are going to be limited to customer kydex or a very few manufacturers.

We have a large number of customers that want something other than the Blackhawk Serpa and when it comes to light attachments, they are very limited.   There are going to be big increase in the number of Safariland holsters in our inventory this year because so many CCW holders are using them because they are much sturdier than Fobus gun holsters.  They are more expensive but I have yet to have someone walk in the door with a broken gun holster.  Even the local State Police are buying our holsters because they have switched from the Glock 38 to the Glock 21 like many of our local Police have.

Top

IDPA competition shooters, where to start? We’ll tell ya!

Blackhawk Serpa HolstersJust had another local guy that was getting into shooting IDPA and was not sure where to start from.  We have been getting a lot of customers walking in here trying to figure out what the best holster was for them to get and we always start with the Fobus gun holsters.  Paddle holsters are easy to get on and off and Fobus makes a good product for in the $25 price range.  They are very good for open carry or winter carry.  When it’s time to pick out magazine pouches, we offer nylon, open kydex mag pouches and the Blackhawk single and double stack magazine pouches.  I personally like the Blackhawk open magazine pouches because they have a little bit of tention that keeps the magazines from rattling or coming out under certain levels of shaking.   I always warn people about open magazine pouches because sometimes people do lose gear when moving.

You definitely are not going to want any type of holster with level 2 retention but there is nothing wrong with the Fobus E2 type holsters because you can adjust the tension to your tolerance levels.  The Blackhawk Serpa holsters are more popular with law enforcement and it’s not safe for them to carry guns out in the open without level 2.  Lots of Police Officers get hurt on the job just from scuffles and it gives a little more comfort knowing that in a scuffle the gun is not going to come loose.  Most of the differences between Safariland ALS and the Blackhawk Serpa is about preferences, but they are all very popular with Glock owners.

Top

Check out the ever expanding Rogue Elite Tactical Product line

fobus holstersNew this fall we will be bringing on the Aimpoint and Fobus product lines into our 1500 sqft tactical store along with several items from Tru-Spec and Warwick Mills.   We have dealt with several distributors over the last 9yrs and it’s gotten to the point that instead of waiting for stock to arrive, and have to deal with fighting over inventory from other dealers, it was time to start stocking the stuff directly.   There are always changes and improvements to product lines and not getting stuck with a dud product or making sure you have the newest version of something is very important.  Just this year alone we saw some major improvements to our holster and tazer product lines and LED Technology for flashlights has improved by about 85%.  Sometimes holster companies don’t have the accessories up to date with the batons, flashlights, magazine pouches ect that people want.

There have been situations where we have asked customers to look into getting a customer kydex holster becaues there needs were beyond what many manufacturers could make.   Many of our Law Enforcement sometimes have an issue with a holster breaking and just need a quick fix for a range day and that is often where Fobus Holsters come in.   I have a Fobus holster for every Glock firearm, Sig Sauer 228, 229 and Sig 220 that I own.   There are some retention holsters that I may look into picking up since we are a direct dealer now.   The new E2 holster has more flexability when it comes to adjusting your retention which was a common complaint about some of the earlier paddle holsters.

Top

Duty holsters, can you deviate from Safariland?

safariland holstersThe short answer is YES but many people stick with the Safariland products because even though sinking $100 into a holster is expensive you get something that unless you break it in some wild adventure, it might last most of your 20yr career in Law Enforcement.   There are so many products listed in the Safariland catalog that many dealers of the Safariland product line don’t even list all of it.  Recently we actually had an issue with some of the technical info not being up to date and we had some incorrect holsters come in.  We didn’t  know that there was no difference between the M6 flashlight and the TLR-1S light.  Everyone and their dog is using the TLR lights now so we are stocking them for the local departments.

Blackhawk Serpa holsters are still very popular and a quick fix for anyone looking for a retention holsters but I don’t even have to ask why when a cop walks in our store on why he wants retention.   You gotta have retention and Safariland holsters like the ALS are the way to go because when you have to holster your weapon and cuff someone you don’t want them pulling your own firearm and using against you.  The Stats are there for cops being killed with their own weapons and  even for swat teams that are primarily using AR15 or M16, you need retention on your handguns to prevent them from flying out when you are moving around.

Top

More Blackhawk vs Safariland

We have a very long and growing list of Law Enforcement officers coming into our store with broken or worn out parts, and 95% of the time it means going back to our Safariland product book and flipping through the pages to find the right part.  There are so many variations of guns out there and slight contour differences that mean you need a new holster.   With many products this takes research and patience to get it right the first time.  There have been changes to guns, holsters and even Streamlight flashlights but it’s almost impossible to keep up to date with it. In fact one of our distributors even acknowledged that they don’t have the man power to keep their website up to date with all of the correct product info.

This year we are breaking from the drop shipping policies and moving more toward stocking the parts and accessories that we know people are going to need.  Some of the Blackhawk and Safariland holsters that we carry are the products that are the most demanded.  For instance, most departments around here use the Glock 17 and the Glock 21 so we usually stock the duty and drop leg holsters that they need.   Some of these holsters can cost over $140 so stocking the correct items and not getting stuck with a dead product they collects dust for years is something we try to avoid.

Top
Page 1 of 1