cheap holsters?

What is a "cheap" holster?

The holster I use most of the time now is a $5 gunshow special pocket holster. Keeps the pistol where I want it and has a sheild in front to break up the outline. Then I have a Hume IWB that I think I paid about 30 and a JT slide that was about the same. I figure that's pretty cheap but they both work very well and have worn well.
 
I believe you get what you pay for and generally speaking, cheap holsters are just that, cheap. I stay away from them.

However, pocket holsters, so long as they cover the trigger and stay secure on your gun can work pretty well. I use a cheap Uncle Mike's for my Ruger LCP and it covers the trigger and stays on the gun. I think it cost me $9.
 
"Rookie rigs", cheap holsters...

For what it may be worth...
I got a cheap black nylon holster made for med size DA revolvers(4" barrel type). I put my unkle's used Youngstown Ohio Colt .32 revolver in it. This was in 1988.
I sold the Colt revolver in the early 1990s & used the nylon rig for revolvers up to 2008 off & on.
The $5.00 gun shop barrel holster was well made but most gun show & flea market gear is $&@#.
Avoid the "rookie rigs" & pay a bit more.
Living & breathing is more important than being cheap(I mean frugal :) ).

Clyde
 
i tell people the measure of a holster is not in drawing the gun, but in putting it back in the holster. i stand squarely in front of them, with their gun unloaded, look right into their eyes. tell them without looking away from me and with only one hand put your gun away. when they start screwing the gun into the holster to reopen the holster i say, "you just shot yourself". where was that trigger finger while you had the gun pointed at your hip? trying to open the holster.

a good holster lets the gun goin the first try, without loosening or changing your grip.

my 2 cents

Joe
 
I admit to being a holster snob.

Well maybe a holster fanatic. My opinion is this. Holsters like firearms is a personal choice. If it's comfortable to wear. keeps the firearm secure, and lasts more than a year it's a decent holster... no matter what you paid for it.

Very few inexpensive holsters made from questionable material will meet those standards. Like almost every post says... "You gets what you pays for" I personally like leather. But that dont mean there's anything wrong with kydex, or ballistic nylon. (why do they call it that?)

When choosing a holster I think the individual should consider their physical makeup, lifestyles, hobbies, and home situation. Perhaps they may need more than one holster.
 
Cheap leather is usually chrome tanned and wont hold up under hard use. It will get soft and floppy. Oiling it accelerates the process. Vegetable tanned leather isn't cheap. You get what you pay for is an old adage but it's true where leather is concerned.
 
My general rule of thumb:

As gun size and/or weight increases, so too will the price and quality of the holster, generally.

A $15 nylon belt holster for a S&W J Frame or Kel-Tec PF9 will probably work just fine. But a $15 nylon holster probably won't work too good with a CZ-75 or S&W N Frame.

And pocket holsters are generally pretty affordable anyway, and most work fine. I think I paid $17 for my Robert Mika and it works perfectly with my S&W 642.

As for using the same holster for more than one gun? I have a leather FIST #20 IWB holster designed for a 2" S&W K Frame, but I use the same holster with 2.5" and sometimes 4" K Frames as well.
 
As long as the pocket holster keeps the pistol upright, keeps the trigger covered all the time, stops or minimizes any printing, and stays in the pocket on a draw you golden. However for any on wast, in waist band, or other exposed holster Stay with the you get what you pay for philosophy.
 
I don't think it matters for a pocket holster really. But I agree with Palidan-34 on being able to re-holster your weapon without looking if wearing a belt holster. I prefer hard formed leather like my DeSantis Speed Scabbard for my S&W 586. I can re-holster without looking and its form fitting shape holds the gun tight without needing a thumb break. The best nylon holster I have is the military UM-84R made by Bianchi for open carrying my 586 in the great outdoors. It's more or less a "universal fit" revolver holster in that it can accommodate many different model revolvers of similar size. As can my nylon Assault Systems (AKA Shooting Systems) shoulder rig.
 
You buy cheap, you buy twice

I have a DeSantis fits multiple models I got in the LGS when I got my first gun, so I had something to use. It works, but poorly. Doesn't conceal well, doesn't hold well, doesn't stay in place.

I got a Crossbreed Supertuck for $75 and I'll never buy another holster (except maybe another Supertuck for a different gun).

Don't think its snobbery, just think its fact; a holster designed for YOUR gun will work better than a generic one. If it works for you then go with it, but I vote for buying quality first and saving money in the long run.
 
I have a shoebox full of holsters - some cheap, some middle of the pack, but nothing really expensive. All are either pocket or IWB. If the holster covers the trigger well, there is some degree of retention and the gun won't slide out without a tug, it's reaonably comfortable and conceals well generally it's an OK holster. And some do work well for other guns.

For pocket, it has to keep the gun upright, not print and stay in the pocket when the gun is drawn. Pretty simple. As long as you aren't too fashion conscious you can conceal a fair size handgun this way.

For IWB, I find that an adjustable clip letting me change the cant of the gun is really helpful since even a gun with a bigger grip can be concealed well.

As to price, I have learned that you can't be too cheap. The nylon ones don't afford much in the way of retention in my opinion so my advive would be to skip them altogether. Although the DeSantis pocket ones are great - especially the Super Fly. The leather IWB ones are much better than nylon - they retain better, allow for re-holstering better and aren't really much more expensive if you consider an extra $10-15 to even be more expensive. You should be able to find a pretty decent leather holster for under $40 which considering how much the gun would have cost or even a box or 2 of ammo is not much of an expenditure (which I guess is why I now have a shoebox full - the candy of the handgun world).
 
i tell people the measure of a holster is not in drawing the gun, but in putting it back in the holster. i stand squarely in front of them, with their gun unloaded, look right into their eyes. tell them without looking away from me and with only one hand put your gun away. when they start screwing the gun into the holster to reopen the holster i say, "you just shot yourself". where was that trigger finger while you had the gun pointed at your hip? trying to open the holster.

a good holster lets the gun goin the first try, without loosening or changing your grip.

my 2 cents

Joe
Click to expand...

I agree that a good holster should be reinforced at the lip to allow easy one hand reholstering, but what is the advantage of not looking while re-holstering? That is terrible, potentially dangerous advice! I'm struggling to come up with a good reason for it.


Remember that there have been no songs or ballads about "the fastest reholsterer in the west". Every training course I have been to (the likes of Front Sight, Gunsite, etc) have taught to slowly, cautiously, meticulously reholster after each COF. A very common cause of a ND is clothing or some foreign object finding its way into the trigger guard during reholstering.

I saw a man shooting a Glock nearly take off his own foot while he rushed through the holstering process; his jacked zipper depressed the trigger as it entered the leather OWB he was wearing. Thankfully he wasnt hurt, but it certainly demonstrates the issue.

There is nothing wrong with eyeballing the gun back into the holster.
 
There is if the BG has been disarmed and is lying prone, arms out and palms up, and the LEOs are arriving. It is safer for you if the gun is holstered when they come into view. It may not be a good idea to take eyes off the BG, even long enough to reholster.
 
GUNSNGOLD How about free?
I’ll send you one of these so you can compare and rate if something like this would not be worth a few bucks more. PM me your shipping addy.
 

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S_Constitutionist
There is nothing wrong with eyeballing the gun back into the holster.
Click to expand...

I carry at 5:00 or the 6:00 O'clock position lately, I'd love to eyeball my holster :D

The few times I carry in a shoulder holster I did (look) until the muscle memory started taking over
 
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