Anybody have experience with Alien Gear Holsters?

[Rich]

IMHO, the only one of these hybrid holsters that are worth a shit in the long run is the Comp-Tac MTAC Minotaur. I've tried a bunch of them and they squeak, stretch out, break, or compromise the drawstroke in some way or another. They are comfortable and do a great job of concealing a service size handgun, though, and that's why they're popular. I personally use a MTAC on occasion (my wife loves this holster for a G26) but a better option is a Milt Sparks VMII or one of their ilk. I'm hoping the JM Custom IWB #1 works for me as well. I have one ordered. Holsters that have the belt loops off of the body of the holster work much better for me, so I have tried a bunch of them over the years.

I don't like the fact that it will stretch out .

Now I just love the retention the kydex IWB have (SNAP). I have 2 JM IWB-L based on his V3 for my P30S w/ TLR and one for the gen 2 APL.
Also Blade Tech Gen 1 IWB and there NANO.

I use to use leather IWB made by Milt Sparks and never had my pistol come out while rolling in the dirt. But I highly doubt I`ll go back to leather.

[45dotACP]

Thought I'd give an update....I bought one the day of posting the question because...well 35 bucks is less than I spend on gas and I didn't have a concealment holster for the G34. Wanted to see how it conceals, but didn't want to spend 80+ bucks on custom kydex or leather just to find out I can't conceal a g34. Turns out it conceals just fine, so I'll be looking into a nicer holster to carry the ol hoss about.

As far as how I like the Alien Gear holster...well It's better than the DeSantis Intruder that will rank on my list of "holsters to never buy again" and the Neoprene backing is comfortable enough. It does squeak but the design of the holster with clips off the body of the holster seems like it pulls the butt of the gun in tighter than my preferred "summer special" type holster for my 1911. I can see why they'd be good idea for a shooter on a budget, and paired with a SD9 or a some gun of the like I could see it being a good "budget CCW" setup. Of course, the same could be said for a CCC Uno, as they price isn't much different. I see the concerns people have with muzzling themselves on the reholster, as it does collapse a little bit. It will require a bit of extra caution and a hard break when holstering.

Fortunately, I'm soon to be getting a better job (and the tax refund should be coming soon) and I'll be able to afford something from JMCK like a 3:30 or 4:00 position holster (that conceals best for me, AIWB can be done with a smaller compact gun, but for a he-coon of a gun like a G34/35 it's just not happening with me.

In short...decent, but not mind blowing. It'll get the job done until I can afford a nicer rig, but I can totally conceal a G34 under a T-shirt with it, and at the moment, that's what matters.

[RJ]

Sorry for necro-post.

Any updates on Alien Gear?

Especially their newly designed Cloak Tuck 3.0?

The attraction (for me) would be low price, and (relatively) quick shipping. This would be my first CCW holster for my VP9, IWB, leftie.

Or should I just sock the $50 away until I can afford a leather IWB (hypothetically a Milt Sparks VMII, say)?

What say you, p-f.com holster gurus...

[tanner]

How does the old adage go?

Quick. Cheap. Good.

Pick two.


These holsters work for the quick and cheap. Not terrible, will do fine for a short term fix. Although I just tried mine out and then went on to the higher quality and more expensive rig. Maybe they will do better long term than I think.

[CS Tactical]

Sorry for necro-post.

Any updates on Alien Gear?

Especially their newly designed Cloak Tuck 3.0?

The attraction (for me) would be low price, and (relatively) quick shipping. This would be my first CCW holster for my VP9, IWB, leftie.

Or should I just sock the $50 away until I can afford a leather IWB (hypothetically a Milt Sparks VMII, say)?

What say you, p-f.com holster gurus...

Considering how important a holster is in the scheme of things, save up and buy something that will do the job correctly.

if I had to try a hybrid again, I'd try this:
http://www.jmcustomkydex.com/p/HYBRID.html

[DMF13]

I was reading Tom Given's Rangemaster Newsletter and I saw that he had some favorable things to say about this company named Alien Gear...I checked their website and they're pretty much offering a hybrid type holster for a lot cheaper than the competition does. Has anybody in the Traditional 3:00/4:00 IWB crowd bought one and played around with it? If they're any good, it seems like it'd be a hell of a value, but I bought a Desantis Intruder and promptly returned it because it was crap. So the idea of a hybrid holster still makes me nervous.

So what's the consensus? Get what you pay for? Or decent bargain for the budget minded CCW'er?

Do I just bite the bullet and shell out 38 bucks?

A bunch of the guys I work with were raving about the leather back, kydex front "hybrid" holsters, so I bought an Alien Gear for my G27. I hated it. I don't know if that was specific to the brand, or just that type of holster.

Just my 2 cents.

[bornandraisedlv]

IMHO, the only one of these hybrid holsters that are worth a shit in the long run is the Comp-Tac MTAC Minotaur. I've tried a bunch of them and they squeak, stretch out, break, or compromise the drawstroke in some way or another.

Agree with this 100% I used an alien gear 3 for about a month, and while it is comfortable the j-hooks would often come off of my belt from simply bending over to pick something up. Also as mentioned the mouth is not reinforced at all and you end up muzzling yourself when reholstering, the spring steel that they advertise just doesn't to the trick imho.

All of this was solved with the Mtac and if I want to use hybrid this is my go to. It just works for me. Though these days if I carry at that position I stick to all leather with my TT Gunleather.

I personally would stay away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[45dotACP]

Ultimately I got a CCC Uno with a hard kydex loop and the Alien Gear has not been used since.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[orionz06]

There are quite a few moron infested Facebook groups and even those folks aren't AG fans. The JM/JRC hybrid is the only one I'd look at and I'd still lean really hard to full leather, if that's what you wanted. Otherwise a different style kydex holster will do many things better with fewer drawbacks when considering the consensus of what we want our holsters to do.

Edit: That's not meant to be an insult against any member who may have bought one. They're just something that a broad range of people have found to miss the mark in some cases.

[LSP972]

Excellent post, Orion.

I have never used one of these so-called "crossbreed", or whatever the buzzword may be, holsters... Because I have seen numerous fellow students in various classes wearing them and having all sorts of bad issues.

For me personally, a simple single piece of kydex, properly formed (by RMHolsters) is my perfect IWB holster; good for all day, and then some.

I used to be a leather slob... If it wasn't a Milt Sparks, Mitch Rosen, Kramer, TTGunleather , etc. real-by-God-leather holster, I wasn't interested. Age tends to mellow one's attitude; but I still believe that these so-called "hybrid" holsters are produced to hit a price point... whether or not they work the pistol correctly is up to the purchaser.

.