Galco Walkabout Holster Review

I'm a rather impatient person. I can't stand owning a firearm and not being able to carry it. All my local dealers carry nylon holsters, fobus, or "tactical" holsters. Nothing in between. So I started looking around on the internet. I found many custom IWB holsters that I liked, but the shortest turn around time was 4 weeks.

While surfing one of my favorite vendor sites, I came across the Galco Walkabout Inside the Pants holster. The stock picture shows it with a baby glock and spare magazine. being held rather close to the firearm. My initial reaction was pleasant once I saw the price. It's cheap. relatively speaking.

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So I ordered it on friday, Febuary 29th, and recieved it Wensday March 05. Not bad. about half a week turn around time. Long story about the round about me and fed-ex had.

The Holster is made from Center Cut Steer Hide. As you can tell by the stock picture it looks very "natural" in that it shows alot of grain. The stock picture does it no justice. It is VERY natural.

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The manufacturer lists the holster as having a "reinforced mouth." Well, it does... kinda. it has a very small/thin piece of leather surrounding the mouth of the holster. Straight out of the package it held it's shape. Once donned however... i found it lacking.
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In the picture below is the "injection molded clip" that attached to your belt. IMO, I could have made a stronger clip from kydex. it's weak, flimsy, and not attached to the holster very well. This picture also shows a better view of the "reinforced mouth"
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Now, as to gun fitment. I bought the model for the 4" commander length 1911. It fits, but it's overly snug. The first three or four times holstering the weapon I really had to push on it to get it to go in. This leads me to believe one of two things is going to happen. Either my finish is going to wear on the firearm or the holster will eventually break in.

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As to wearing the holster. I usually carry at a 3-4 position. because of the spare magazine, it'll defiantly be a 4 position from now on. or at least when using this holster. The spare mag rides extremely high. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of me wearing it yet. maybe tomorrow.

Overall... this is the worst product I've ever seen galco put out. For the money, I think i'd love to try this next to a Highnoon Holsters holster. Maybe a mr. softy, or a bare asset. All in all, i'd give it a 4 out of 10.

questions?
 
They are what they are... cheap get you by until the Milt Sparks is done holsters. Basically I concur with your review. I've got a generic High Noon Bare Asset as well and it's not a lot better. At the sub-$50 price point I'd highly recommend a Nick Mathews for that weapon. I have his #2 with optional reinforced mouth and I can't say enough good things. At the $50-70 price point I like the CrossBreed leather/kydex hybrids. At $80 the Comp-Tac MTAC is awesome. And of course the Milt Sparks VM2 is hard to beat if you can wait 6 months.
 
Might want to try the old wax paper trick to make the gun fit better. I had a Galco tuck it or some thing can't remember used the wax paper over night and it fit fine. Saves the wear on you gun.
 
These tip are borrowed from Milt Sparks' site and they apply to Nick's gear as well. I think you'll be happy.

To ensure the mouth of the holster retains it shape over time and remains open, we offer the following recommendations.

  • When putting the holster on or taking it off, it is recommended that the pistol always be in the holster.
  • It is imperative that the belt never be tightened over the holster without first having the gun in place.
  • It is not a good idea to remove the gun from the holster while sitting down over extended periods. If you would rather not wear the gun while sitting, then the holster should be removed with the gun.
 
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