What sets the preferred holsters apart?

[YVK]

In no particular order:

1) customer service, which encompasses price, promptness of communication, delivery times and meeting those delivery times, platforms supported, and willingness to customize.

2) performance, as in how fast a presentation is allowed, both through design and adjustment to ride height.

3) concealment.

4) specifics of a design and execution such as supporting one's technique, minimization of a footprint and wasted space, stability of position, retention control, comfort and durability.

[William B.]

Lots of stuff though seems to look like folks would rather toss holsters out and collect some fast cash rather than wait and ensure things work.

I suspect this was the case in my situation. I had a holster begin to develop serious cracks in the trigger guard area after about 18 months of use, had it replaced under warranty, and its replacement developed cracks within 6 months. Pretty disappointing because the holster was comfortable and concealed well.

[Tony Mayer]

From the perspective of one of the makers the OP mentioned (thank you) I have always tried to have the holster design accomplish certain tasks (rotate grip, tilt muzzle, ride height adjustments, etc) while maintaining a minimalist approach to the amount of kydex/Boltaron/holstex needed to make that happen. I also am a firm believer in having the holster perform one job as well as I can make it perform that job, instead of one holster that can be worn in multiple positions. Usually you end up with a holster that is mediocre at both instead of good at the one job, not always though. I also see many design features by others that seem to only be designed that way because of ease of being able to finish the edges rather quickly with no thought to how the holster will interact with the body. Also, developing specific belt loops to perform with specific aspects of a design is not something done by the masses either.

[JAD]

There's also the consideration of experiential equity. This community has a lot of reported interaction with these makers and their products, and I can get a really good understanding of a prospective holster from the forum and / or PM. I can't do that with RCS.

[Jared]

For me, it has a lot to do with attention to some small details that make a huge difference. The better shops do small things that minimize the footprint of the holster but also make it more comfortable and less "pokey" to wear.

Best example I can give is a JMCK IWB vs a Blade-Tech Nano. I bought the Blade-Tech on a whim to try it out. My first evaluation of a new holster is to wear it around the house for a day to see how it works in that environment. Molded for the same gun, I had to take the Nano off after a couple hours because it was poking and digging in multiple places. The JMCK for the same gun I can wear much longer.

Not to start a war, but if I need to carry for more than about 8 hours, leather works a lot better. I've got a JRC IWB-SN that I can wear for nearly forever without discomfort, which I attribute to the leather being an little more flexible.

So for me, I'm looking at 2 hours with a mass produced plastic IWB, up to 8 with a JMCK IWB, and wear it from sunrise to sunset with a JRC leather rig. That, to me, is the difference between the well executed continuously improved custom shop makers vs the mass produced rigs.

[Hambo]

Expertise, and I don't mean just in bending the kydex. If you buy a leather holster from Milt Sparks you're getting not just craftsmanship, but decades of experience. If you buy kydex from a maker who gets a lot of feedback from customers who carry a gun all day, every day, you're getting that same form of expertise when you call or email with questions. That feedback also fuels design changes and improvements. Your local kydex taco bender doesn't have that.

[Larry Sellers]

As others have stated holsters can be very subjective and usually the stuff on the wall at the gun shop made by a local guy isn't really conducive to anything other than OWB at the local steel match. There are some quality local folks for sure, I think the major folks who are all recommended by the guys here have the advantage of the larger community and feedback. I just received a wing claw 2.0 from Tony for a 5" 1911 and it's great as to how well it conceals the pistol. I've tried some holsters from the local folks and they just don't have that level of refinement.

It seems to me every 20 minutes that there's a #hashtag on an instagram post touting how great XYZ holster company is, when you go to their page it looks like Sloth hammered 2 pieces of insert material here together with 45 screws and calls it good.

[Gray222]

I've posted this before statement before and this thread is on the same subject.

The majority of the conceal carry public doesn't understand what they don't understand. It's 2017. If we are still carrying with a holster made with concepts from 2000 we are pretty behind the curve. Even with this fact, people will still go out and buy some super cheap $30 holster because they either like the pattern of kydex, it was recommended by someone who doesn't know any better or they just want it immediately and aren't willing to wait for a custom holster. The same people also have the "well a timex tells time just as well as a Rolex does" syndrome.

Then those same people start to go down the rabbit hole, they will carry for a little bit and maybe even consider getting a new holster after a while. Usually whatever is popular, they try completely useless holsters like the aiwb pistol and mag combo types, not designed well, not well thought through, not something anyone should be carrying around concealed. After that mistake they generally do more research or start off in the more research stage, ending up with a middle of the road holster from a "trusted" mainstream holster maker who may or may not know they exist.

The conceal carry game, especially for aiwb, is very much a niche endeavor. The likelihood of someone having your exact body type, mode and preference of carry, train the same exact way and wears the same type of clothing is very unlikely so listening to people suggest and recommend holsters based on those aspects is short-sighted. Then finding a manufacturer who has the hands on experience to understand all of these things and offer a widely customizable product which may fit your particular attributes is really hard. Especially if you only stick to big name companies. The top tier holster manufacturers are not the big companies who constantly sell the same exact holster to a lot of people which has the same exact limitations across the board. The best companies are those who adapt to the modern life and technology.

It's 2017, if anyone here buys a really cheap fold over kydex holster, what you are doing is short changing yourself. You can go on eBay or Amazon and find a $30 simple design fold over holster. That is absolutely a no go given then the fact Thermomolding exists and is widely used and accepted. If needed, you as a customer should be asking questions about the holster and it's attributes, why was this curve there, why does this piece do this? If the manufacturer answers with anything other than in the field experience based reasons for existence that should probably be a red flag.

For aiwb I am a huge fan of wedges. Yes I am bias towards them, but that's because it's the best technology which exists right now that does what the wedges do. If a different tech comes out tomorrow and is better I'll go with that instantly, but until then I will keep saying that if you are carrying aiwb and you don't have a wedge you are behind the curve.

As others have stated here, the company and it's customer service is extremely important. I have posted before on PF about trying to contact companies and either never getting a response back or getting a very weak one line response to a complex question weeks down the line. Worse yet getting a response which is long and drawn out without substance or facts. I will never spend money on a company which does not respond to email with the level of knowledge I expect from a company that sells specific items. If you sell holsters you better know how to answer a holster related question and the person writing the email in response better not be some customer service type and not the most knowledgeable person there. With big companies that's a huge issues. With the smaller companies you get exactly the correct response, more often than not.

I get asked what is the best holster for a particular method of carry all the time, then the follow up question is almost always "why this company over another company?" Well, for one I don't just Google companies to recommend, I either have direct experience with the company and their product or I can tell just from looking at it (like the pistol+mag combo nonesense) that it isn't going to work. Then of those companies which one is going to do what this person needs the holster to do for them.

Since we are on the subject, evolution of a holster should be purposeful. If you see a company change their designs drastically or constantly adding and removing features, that is not good. Especially if there is no body of text or video showing exactly why the previous version needed improvement and exactly why this improvement was made with clear and concise examples. JM did a great job with his 2.5 holster which is the culmination of years of customer related experience and thought. There are many examples of good and twice as many examples of bad out there however.

[Hambo]

It's 2017. If we are still carrying with a holster made with concepts from 2000 we are pretty behind the curve.

I'm sure this sounds weird to people, but as an early kydex adopter I can say that there is a difference between my pre-Y2K holsters and the ones I use now. I have seen local kydex benders turn out holsters that look good, but the failure is how they're set up to carry. This is especially true with IWB where there is little thought given to how a loaded pistol will ride or move throughout the day.

The same people also have the "well a timex tells time just as well as a Rolex does" syndrome.

Actually the Timex keeps better time than a Rolex.

[Gray222]

I'm sure this sounds weird to people, but as an early kydex adopter I can say that there is a difference between my pre-Y2K holsters and the ones I use now. I have seen local kydex benders turn out holsters that look good, but the failure is how they're set up to carry. This is especially true with IWB where there is little thought given to how a loaded pistol will ride or move throughout the day.

Actually the Timex keeps better time than a Rolex.

I was speaking generally to the 2000-era holsters. A holster can look the part and function the part well today, no reason to have to relegate yourself to old tech and concepts.

Timex does keep better time than Rolex, it was a rhetorical statement