Let me begin by saying this is essentially an out of box review. I have run the ESSTAC for a few weeks and just got the SOE cards today. I am a righty who shoots a long gun lefty. Last week in a defensive shotgun class I had a lot of trouble with tight ESSTAC shell loops and trying to load off of it shooting left handed. I did a bit of research and found that the SOE cards offer good retention but aren't known for being too tight so I ordered 2 to try.
Let me say that right now I love them. They offer great retention but you can still remove shells easily from the awkward left handed shooters procedure. They also lay flat on the gun whereas the ESSTAC cards curl up. I do not know which of the 2 will hold up long term but right now I am enjoying the easier shell removal of the SOE card. A right hander may not find it as difficult to get a round out but for me the ESSTAC was very difficult and didn't really loosen up over the last couple of weeks use in practice.
I will likely be ordering a few more SOE cards.