Raven-style holster problem

[philpac33]

I wanted another holster when I bought a new FDE Glock19 so my first thought was to get another Raven Concealment Phantom. I didn't want to wait so I went to eBay to see what they had. I found several that fit my needs; buy-it-now holsters were going for $135($160 coyote). During my search I also came across a number of Raven-style holsters of various makers. I ended up buying a holster/dual mag carrier combo for $45 shipped. I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived to find them similar in quality to my Raven. My G19 fits snug- a little too snug. Drawing shouldn't be this difficult.

How would you go about this problem? I've thought of using fine grit sandpaper, taking off a little at a time. Maybe hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of draws and reholsters will break it in. Or leaving my G23 in it while not in use(which is 99% of the time due to this tightness). I really want to be able to use this holster but until I can draw smoothly it will sit and collect dust.

[Up1911Fan]

I would imagine the same plastic bag break in used for a new leather holster would work for this as well.

[bigslim]

use a heat gun to soften the kydex, be careful because once it gets warm the kydex will start to straighten out, so warm it up a bit to adjust the retention.

Mike

[Tamara]

During my search I also came across a number of Raven-style holsters of various makers. I ended up buying a holster/dual mag carrier combo for $45 shipped. I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived to find them similar in quality to my Raven. My G19 fits snug- a little too snug. Drawing shouldn't be this difficult.

While I am not an expert, nor do I play one on the internets, I do see two things:

1) That's an awful lot of cant for a kydex holster unless you wear it back somewhere around 4:30-5:00.
2) That molding around the trigger guard is REALLY aggressive. No wonder it's so hard to pop loose.

I had a holster from another company that I wore to AFHS last year in Indy with an almost identical rake and similarly aggressive molding around the trigger guard, and by lunch on day one, I couldn't draw my own pistol from the 4:30 position anymore; too many reps of trying to pop that thing loose from behind my back with no mechanical advantage left my upper arm muscles as weak as a kitten...

[Lon]

If you don't have a heat gun, a hair dryer will probably work. I'd start by heating the BACK/inside of the holster around the trigger guard with the gun in it. At the first sign the kydex is starting to soften, I'd start pulling the pistol in and out. I wouldn't mess with the front unless I couldn't get it done by heating the back.

[kodiakpb]

The area you want to heat up is the trigger guard.

[VolGrad]

I'm late to the party but I'll offer the same advice.

Heat gun would be best but I don't have one so I've used a hair dryer with success. I remove the pistol from the holster (unload it, of course) then apply direct heat to the holster. I generally focus most of my attention to the area which seems to give the most issue .... in your case it's clearly the trigger guard. Get it really hot then reinsert the pistol. Remove the pistol. Insert the pistol. Remove the pistol. Insert the pistol. I think you get my point.

If the trigger guard still gives you problems I'd suggest you get it hot enough with the heat gun or hair dryer such that you can actually press the detent out some to open it up.

I have had to do this with a lot of holsters and mag pouches in the past. The same works if the item is too loose. You can heat it, insert your pistol and sort of work the kydex into the indentations (like the trigger guard). The kydex has to be pretty hot though. As others say, when the kydex cools it will want to work its way back out some. The process might have to be repeated multiple times to get it where you want it. To tighten up mag pouches I've heated them up good then put a plastic clamp on it (without a mag in the pouch) until the kydex cooled. Worked like a charm.

While everyone opines differently on how much retention is enough/too much I have found that newer holster makers tend to go too aggressive on retention. They figure if they are going to err they would rather err on the side of too tight. I also find newer holster makers tend to go too aggressive on the cant as well.

Random side note; might want to change the title to something like kydex pancake holster problem so you don't make anyone angry. I'd suggest you've already made "the list" somewhere by suggesting the quality of your eBay budget holster/pouch is similar in quality to Raven. I'd watch for the black choppers if I were you.

[CCT125US]

It's also a good idea to place a cold wet wash cloth on the areas you don't want to reform.

[zacbol]

Slightly off-topic but Raven now has a number of products available as 'Quick Ship', which means you get them in 30 days or less rather than the normal 4 month wait. Haven't used this myself yet, but it's something to keep in mind:
http://www.ravenconcealment.com/quic...odular-holster

[VolGrad]

Slightly off-topic but Raven now has a number of products available as 'Quick Ship', which means you get them in 30 days or less rather than the normal 4 month wait. Haven't used this myself yet, but it's something to keep in mind:
http://www.ravenconcealment.com/quic...odular-holster

Several other kydex makers have "copied" this concept from Raven as well. It's not uncommon.