leather or kydex???? little help here

T

THORN74

New member
hey all. its my birthday next week and i figured i would treat myself to a holster and mag holder. It will be for my Kimber PRO CDP, mostly range use, and some compatition. I cant use it for carry, concealed or otherwise, as i live in the peoples republic of Illinois.

I really like the TSS from Kirkpatrick leather and raven concealment for the kydex.

let me know what u chose or would choose, and why.
 
CUDA1.jpg


Let me start out the festivities by showing/recommending a CUDA by Simply Rugged http://www.simplyrugged.com/ with a matching mag holder. The pistol in the pic is a Dan Wesson CBOB which is a commander size 1911.

The CUDA can be worn either IWB or OWB as the user chooses. Great holster at a great price.
 
I use leather and was under the impression that kydex is capable of scratching the finishes of some guns. That being said a lot of people like kydex. I'm staying with leather for now. I have bianchi, galco, and a couple of other brands.
 
I've damaged the finish on a couple of pistols with Kydex holsters. Now, I don't mind normal wear & tear but Kydex wear isn't normal. I use only leather.
 
My CDP has a silver stainless slide, so im not worried about the finish. i really like the look of the raven concealment kydex holster, but i equally like the leather from Kirpatrick (and the leather is a few $$ cheaper)
 
If your worried about the finish, dont use a holster, and dont use the gun.

Both leather and kydex will mark a guns finish over time, just in different ways. Kydex usually only marks the finish at a couple of distinct points, where the gun contacts the holster. Leather tends to wear the finish more overall, leaving the entire finish looking worn, as well as wearing more at some contact points, as it contacts a lot more of the guns metal surfaces. This wear only gets worse with age, as the leather picks up more abrasive crud and diirt, which tends to embed itself into the leather and work on the guns finish. You dont have this issue with kydex. Kydex holsters also are very easy to clean. A quick rinse in the sink and dry with a paper towel and your good to go.

The biggest issue with leather is moisture and rust, something that is really a non issue with kydex. The kydex holsters will also long out live the leather holsters. I used to go through two, and sometimes three good quality leather holsters (the last set were Galco Royal Guards) in a year. One Blade Tech IWB lasted 10 years of daily use before it was retired. I still have it, and its as functional now as the day I bought it, 20 some odd years ago.
 
Leather or Kydex

For IWB I prefer the Cross Breed they are little expensive, and take 2 weeks to get but for CC they are very comfortable. Don't feel like I am carrying most of the time and no fatigue an wear in the hip. Its both Leather an Kydex and made in the USA. And made to order.
Try moving to the Semi free state of Alaska and the choices are endless!
 
Like many others, I'm partial to leather. It seems that people either love leather or they love Kydex. With either one, you will get what you pay for. There are a lot of good holsters to be had, and then there are some great ones. The thing about a leather holster is that there are no great bargains. Only you can decide what's 'good enough' and what you are willing to spend. Just because a Wilson costs three times what a Para does, it doesn't mean the Para is a piece of crap, but shoot the Wilson and you will know where your money went. I know that doesn't answer your question, but I hope that helps in some way.
 
Holsters & rigs for a 1911A1 Kimber .45acp....

For general open or concealed carry, I'd look into the Blackhawk SERPA: www.blackhawk.com . It's a kydex-plastic unit with a high speed secure design.
The angle cant & belt width can be converted too, ;).
The kydex Blade-tech line gets a lot of good press; www.blade-tech.com . There is a little known shop called COM(center of mass) that has many good reviews by working cops/armed professionals. The website is unknown but I could edit that later.

For leather see Greg Kramer, Milt Sparks: www.miltsparks.com or Mitch Rosen; www.mitchrosen.com . Galco Gunleather, a AZ based outfit www.usgalco.com , has a few great 1911a1 models.
 
Leather has outdone the myriad of plastic holsters of every type that I have tried.

Leather is so comfortable and I havent found a single one of the plastics to be comfortable for me whatsoever...

Hope this helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top