I've been an SME owner since they were first released. With the initial knowledge of some of the individuals involved in designing, testing and vetting the holster prototypes, in addition to John's reputation for fine leatherwork, I jumped right on board at the first opportunity to buy one during the pre-order process.
I wore the original day-in and day-out for about a year and very much liked it. Comfort was good, fit and finish was excellent and concealment, even with a full-sized pistol (I carry a Sig 226) was top notch. That said, there were a few small things that I thought could make the design better for me personally.
The biggest issue with the original was that I was hitting my middle finger knuckle on the tucking wing because of a combination of limited clearance and my larger hand size (I wear XL gloves). It tended to create a tender spot on the knuckle during prolonged practice sessions and I felt like I couldn't get as good a full grip on the pistol in the holster as I like to; especially in combination with the SME's tendency to ride fairly low on the beltline. I think these factors may be why some have found the SME to be a touch slower than other AIWB holsters.
Clearance on the original:
Another small issue I had with the holster may be in part platform specific. John runs a double thickness piece of leather around the entire mouth of the holster. This aids in adding stiffness and in keeping the mouth of the holster open. On the Sig this double thickness portion runs right over the decocking lever which in turn creates an even more pronounced bulge or bump on the body side of the holster. I found this small area could cause some irritation during long carry sessions and I yearned for it to be more flush.
Body side protrusion:
One final item on my personal wish list was to have a full height sweat guard. I tend to carry without an undershirt typically and find that I prefer having material between the slide and my skin.
I contacted John directly via email about the possibility of making some modifications to my holster. I told him that I thought the SME in its current configuration was excellent but that with some small tweaks it could be the end-all be-all perfect solution for me. I emailed him the following picture:
We discussed the matter more by telephone and John eventually advised he thought the best solution was to fabricate a new custom version as opposed to modifying my current one.
Fast forward a couple months and the holster I received completely fulfilled my expectations. I've been wearing it virtually full time since receiving it seven or so months ago now and I can say it's significantly more comfortable on my body than the original. It retains all of the comfort and concealability while now providing more than enough clearance for my large-ish paws. The hotspot associated with the double thickness strip is gone and the full height sweat guard does everything I had hoped without at all compromising the structure of the holster's mouth. For me it has been a huge improvement.
Here are a couple pictures of the updated version when I first received it.
The added knuckle clearance:
Shortened reinforcement strip and full sweat guard:
To close and to provide kudos where they're due, John did a fantastic job of catering to my particular needs. He went above and beyond taking care of me despite being in the middle of a period when he was very busy. I really appreciate his willingness to branch out and experiment with my suggestions for improvement. I suspect he is still currently slammed with backorders and very well may bemoan this little mini review ;-) but it's overdue and I felt obligated to get it out there.
t
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by taadski
