M&P Duty Holster

[TheNewbie]

I currently use a SERPA Level 2 for my M&P 9mm duty weapon. For a while now I have been thinking about the drawbacks of the holster and I have been considering Safariland. I am looking at the following:

070- Good security, but may be a little slow.
6360- Has the hood and the ALS.
6320- Just has the ALS, and no hood.

I am leaning towards the 6320, as it is the most simple while maintaining what I think is a good amount of security.
What do you guys think about the Hood guards on the Safariland holsters? Are they worth it?

What are your opinions on which holster to use?

Thanks!

[KeeFus]

I currently use a SERPA Level 2 for my M&P 9mm duty weapon. For a while now I have been thinking about the drawbacks of the holster and I have been considering Safariland. I am looking at the following:

070- Good security, but may be a little slow.
6360- Has the hood and the ALS.
6320- Just has the ALS, and no hood.

I am leaning towards the 6320, as it is the most simple while maintaining what I think is a good amount of security.
What do you guys think about the Hood guards on the Safariland holsters? Are they worth it?

What are your opinions on which holster to use?

Thanks!

We currently use the 070 for our HK USP 45 compacts. We are getting M&P 45's (mid-size) at some point within the next month. Our new holster will be the 6360. Easier to manipulate and is quicker than the 070. Another advantage of 6360, once you reholster it snaps back in and you can conduct your business...070 you at least have to snap the back strap to conduct business safely, which adds time and may complicate matters in a high stress situation.

[TheNewbie]

Thanks for the reply!

Btw, I am open to other holster suggestions as well if anyone has some.

[JDM]

On the odd occasion I open carry, the 6320 is what I use. Excellent holster. I believe Safariland makes the best open carry/duty holsters in the game.

[Serpico1985]

I disagree. The ALS alone is not ideal for uniformed carry. Something like the 6360 with als and rotating hood plus the hood cover/shroud is the best, most secure holster. Add the drop ubl and its the $hit. Detectives and plain clothes can get away with the als alone.

[jlw]

I just went through an ordeal with Safariland on a 6377 for an M&P 45:

I placed an order for a Safariland 6377 holster. It was supposed to arrive in four weeks. It took six. The first time I tried it out, the pistol wouldn't fit, and when I tried to adjust the tension, the tensioner broke. So, I called the Safariland customer service number printed on the package. They told me to take the holster back to the dealer, have the dealer return it, and they would send me a new holster, which of course would have been another "four" week wait time.

Once they got over the notion that I am reasonable, they sent me a call tag, but they entered my information wrong causing me to have to call the next day and get that straightened out causing me to miss that day's FedEx pickup. Two days later when the FedEx guy had not come back for the package, I took it and put it in a drop box for shipment. A few days later, I get a call from Safariland stating that the tracking number indicated that it had been returned to me. This was not the case. They promised to "look into it".

Six days passed, and I had not heard anything; so, I called them. I get the run around that they have not received the holster and can't do a replacement until they did. After a refresher course in my lack of reasonableness, they check and, as luck would have it, the holster has indeed arrived.

They promise to send out a replacement via second-day air, and, (wait for it), when I questioned the competence of the company and their "service" they reply with the fact that the shipping is being waived. Yes, they were going to actually try to charge me shipping.

[Odin Bravo One]

Safariland CS and support has waned over the years. Yours is not an isolated incident by any means. Just trying to find the right holster for my pistol/light combo required talking to one of their "vendors" as no one at CS could figure it out. Not a good sign that your customer service people don't know what it is they sell exactly.

I suppose it was inevitable, since they were "acquired" and folded into a larger empire of companies, where bottom dollar reigns supreme. I have had similar issues with them over the past couple of years, and continue my search for comparable/suitable replacements. Hopefully soon I can retire the last of my Safariland holsters and spend more of my money with the little guys who make their money on satisfied customers.

[GJM]

Holsterops.com, operated by Bill Rogers' son-in-law, Brian Pond, has excellent customer services, great pricing, and a model selector tool on their web site to make finding a holster straightforward.

[jlw]

Safariland CS and support has waned over the years. Yours is not an isolated incident by any means. Just trying to find the right holster for my pistol/light combo required talking to one of their "vendors"...



They actually gave me grief for ordering through a dealer and not them directly. My dealer was not happy when I told him this. I have a request from our SRT for some new tac-vest. They had selected a Safariland product. In my dealings with Safariland over this holster flap, I told them that I didn't know if I could in good conscience order such vital products from them if this was going to be their level of service.

[TheNewbie]

Again thanks for the replies!

JL, you experience with Safariland CS sounds like mine. I called them asking for help in finding a holster for a certain pistol. Not only did they have a hard time helping me, they were not very friendly either. Maybe it was just the person.

What other options are there for a duty holster besides Safariland? I have a blackhawk now, and I really do not want to use them. I also wear Nylon gear, so leather is probabaly not going to look right with it.

[jlw]

Again thanks for the replies!

JL, you experience with Safariland CS sounds like mine. I called them asking for help in finding a holster for a certain pistol. Not only did they have a hard time helping me, they were not very friendly either. Maybe it was just the person.

What other options are there for a duty holster besides Safariland? I have a blackhawk now, and I really do not want to use them. I also wear Nylon gear, so leather is probabaly not going to look right with it.

There really isn't a strong competitor other than many of the old school leather works folks. Check out Looper Leather. I have some of their stuff and like it a lot.

I really like the Safariland offerings, but I am not going to continue to do business with them if this is how they are going to provide "service". I am not a fan at all of the Serpa stuff.

[Gadfly]

I personally would not feel comfortable with just the ALS on a duty rig. I have the rotary hood version without the ALS, and I have been quite pleased with it. The combination of rotary hood and ALS that you mentioned is issued by a large PD my neighbor works for. At first I thought the two methods of retention were overkill, but upon playing around with my neighbor’s holster, it is quite easy to learn. Light years ahead of the 070 SSIII I went through the academy with back in the day. In open carry on a duty rig, you can't go wrong with Safariland. We have done Red-Man training where I have seen 200lb guys picked up off the ground by their holsters, and the holster took the abuse...

As far as the customer service, I have not ordered from them in some time. Back in 2000 to 2003, I was tasked with purchasing gear for the office. I dealt with a very nice lady who was always helpful (Teressa?). Zero problems with shipping or with the products. Perhaps they were nicer to me than to a customer who order one holster, because I was buying $5k worth of gear. During some conversations with the sales rep, it came up that she never shot a gun before, nor had she ever actually worn a holster...

I wonder how one acts as a LEO sales rep when one has never actually used any of the products?

[Serpico1985]

In my PD they found that when issueing the rotating hood only holsters often times officers would be ridding around, their seatbelt would unknowlingly rotate their hood down, they'd hop out of the car to chase someone on foot and be stopped by the loud metal vs pavement sound of their gun bouncing down the road. Yes that happened, a lot. The ALS + the hood + a hood guard is the most secure combo I know of. Speed really isn't an issue either. There's a video of Todd Garret shooting out of 3 or 4 different holsters from the speed comptition rigs to the level 3 rigs and the difference in time is minimal. I'm sure I sound like a cheerleader for safariland but oh well, their stuff is the best for uniformed carry. Plain and simple.

5.11/blackhawk came out with the thumb drive holster that may have potential. On the VTAC approved video (on youtube) they have two holsters mounted upside down and over a door frame with glock blue guns inside and big grown men are doing pull-ups on them. Haven't heard much about them though.