Ideal AIWB kydex thickness?

[Mike R]

I have been attempting to work with kydex the past few months and just finished my first AIWB holster. It is for an aluminum J frame, using .060 kydex for the body and .093 for the clip. I love the way it carries and disappears, but I also want to be able to carry something more substantial.

I am going to make a few more AIWB holsters in the next couple of weeks. I am planning on making holsters for a G17, a M&P compact, a Commander, and a full size 1911.
Would .080 be a good balance between adding thickness and strength/durability? Should I move up to .093?
I haven't had any holster failures yet but I am planning on making a few for friends and I want to make sure I am giving them something that will work well for them.

Any input would be appreciated! I realize that there is not a huge difference in thickness but I am going to order some more material and I thought I would ask what has worked best for people that have built holsters before.

[bdcheung]

I prefer as thin as can be while still being durable enough for daily holstering.


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[ToddG]

My personal belief is that the race for the thinnest kydex has led to a lot of cracked holsters. The difference between thin 0.060 and thick 0.093 kydex, accounting for thickness increases both fore and aft, is one 16th of an inch. If that really makes a huge difference in the concealability and wearability of a holster, I'd humbly suggest that the holster design itself needs work and/or you need to stop wearing skin tight clothing.

[TCz]

My current holster uses .08 for the front panel, .06 for the rear (Not for reduced bulk, found some blue .06 kydex on sale...). My next one will have .08 all the way around. The .06 works, but you get a lot more rigidity out of the.08, for negligible added bulk.

If you're making clips, go .093 minimum, thicker = better.

[TCz]

My personal belief is that the race for the thinnest kydex has led to a lot of cracked holsters. The difference between thin 0.060 and thick 0.093 kydex, accounting for thickness increases both fore and aft, is one 16th of an inch. If that really makes a huge difference in the concealability and wearability of a holster, I'd humbly suggest that the holster design itself needs work and/or you need to stop wearing skin tight clothing.

What Todd said. I try to go as thin as I can just because I'm a cheap bastard though. .08 is usually $1-$2 cheaper per square foot than .093.

[Mike R]

Thank you everyone for clearing up my doubts on the matter. Makes perfect sense. I think I will go ahead with the .093 and .080 stuff for future projects.
Here is my J frame holster- that cylinder seems so wide but I bet when I strap on an auto I won't notice the extra 16th from using more sturdy material.

This one is kinda ugly, but its my first folded holster. Hopefully the commander holster I am doing tonight comes out a little more crisp and professional looking.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7077/6881369606_daf0261796.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76644630@N02/6881369606/)
P3270130 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76644630@N02/6881369606/) by megarush (http://www.flickr.com/people/76644630@N02/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7212/6881366924_f07d4ab761.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76644630@N02/6881366924/)
P3270127 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76644630@N02/6881366924/) by megarush (http://www.flickr.com/people/76644630@N02/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/7027462089_26ec58cac6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76644630@N02/7027462089/)
P3270123 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76644630@N02/7027462089/) by megarush (http://www.flickr.com/people/76644630@N02/)

[JB326]

In my experience, most .06 holsters seem to break because of the stress placed on them by riding on a belt. (Before i stsrtrd making my own, I had two big name, .06 holsters crack and a buddy of mine also broke two as well)
On the other hand, I've never had an .08 holster returned with a breakage, even when I "dared" my T&E'ers to break them. I've recently started doing some IWB stuff with .06, and no issues have arisen yet, so I think .06 is viable as long as it isn't going to have a belt threaded through it or some other form of heavy tension. But again, I would NEVER suggest it for OWB belt mounted holsters. And for what it is worth, I use .125 for all clips and attachments, but .09 will probably work too. I just like to my stuff to be over built when other people are buying and depending on it.

[DallasBronco]

My Bladetech Nano is made of .060, and I have been experimenting with making AIWB Kydex holsters as well. I made one for an M&P full-size today out of .080. What I have found is that you can't get as much detail in a heavier material, at least for a fold-over type holster, and therefore have to count on a few points of contact for most of the retention. I tried .093 but without success as I could not get a good wrap aver the top of the slide with this thick of a material. The holster came out with a large 'fin' down the top of the slide. Bear in mind, I am a newbie at this, but this has been my experience so far. I also tried making retaining clips out of .080 and it was a terrible failure. The holster came out with the gun every time. I did have success making a double J-hook clip with .080, though. I will be using .093 as I prefer a full clip that can slide on over the belt. I'm a lefty, so there will be no off the shelf solutions for me; that's why I started experimenting with my own.

[Mike R]

Thank you for the feedback. I tried molding some .125 and it came out a complete failure, I think I will hang on to it for clips and items I can form with jigs like mag pouches. The .093 should be fine for my use. I am looking forward to working on more projects and experimenting!

[orionz06]

0.080 for bodies, 0.093 for some bodies if someone requests it, and 0.125 for hard loops.

[stmcelroy]

.08 for the body and .125 for clips/loops is all I use.