I have noticed far more complaints about AIWB holsters cracking than any other type of holster. Does this carry position and/or the holster design elements necessitated by this carry position make these holsters more susceptible to cracking?
(Today I am wearing a 20 year old Kydex IWB holster.)
All kydex pistol holsters I have broken has been AIWB.
I have also broken 7 Strider DB knife sheaths, OWB, carried at 3:00.
Sadly, this is what you get with everybody's favorite holster material. It is no longer MY favorite holster material and I believe that Boltatron provides a superior and much more durable product that I hope more makers will begin using instead. I know for a fact that Tenicor is using Boltatron along with the non-injection-molded Raven Concealment holsters and Blade-Tech Classic lines. Raven Concealment cited a 'lack of quality control' when switching from Kydex to Boltatron and that they had so many issues with Kydex breaking. I have broken a kydex Zaccheas holster from Dale Fricke, which was molded for a Glock w/ X300. It breaks predictably right along the point where the material flexes, Dale knows this and warrants all his holsters because it's expected.
I have kydex knife sheaths and also boltatron as well, you can almost feel the difference in the durability of the material between the two just by handling them. Boltatron reeks of a high quality product and Kydex has always seemed to me to be a cheap 'feeling' material. The knife sheath maker I would generally send this work to in the past (he longer takes orders from non-LEO/MIL) was a former employee of Blade-Tech and has been doing this work a LONG TIME and is semi-retired now. He makes the most solid and function knife sheath I have ever seen (Brian @ Okuden). I now frequently ask other makers if they will use Boltatron instead for me and if they refuse it's a firm pass anymore as I just don't need the drama that comes with Kydex. Would you accept this from your pistol if you knew there was a way to avoid having a broken pistol down the line?
I know people love to hate on them, but I still love hybrid holsters for carry AIWB.
Leather sweatguard and outer kydex.
I haven’t broken one. The leather sweatguard flexes and doesn’t create the pointy, pokey parts when you bend over (or when being grabbed / wrestled).
Add me to the list of those who consider Kydex holsters to be consumable items. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can withstand repeated flexing; even spring steel has its limitations. AIWB, or even AOWB, is a harsh environment for Kydex. Three years seems like a good, long run, to me.
Edited to add: I have not yet cracked a Kydex AIWB holster, but that is because I wear myself out, rather than the holster, so, none of my Kydex AIWB holsters has been used much. Kydex belt loops, on various other holsters, have failed, after repetitive flexing. I reckon that is why most Kydex benders have gotten away from Kydex, for belt loops.
My first Clinch Pick sheath cracked, in the sheath body, after a few years of daily use. I did not consider this to be a fault of the material, or the maker. I “consumed” the product, by wearing the sheath where it was repeatedly and forcefully flexed. (Original, mid-tech Clinch Pick, not Ban Tang or China Pick.)
Last edited by Rex G; 04-22-2023 at 10:26 AM.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
PTD loops for the win.Originally Posted by Rex G
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
AIWB specific features, ones that manipulate the muzzle, rear sight, and grip use force created by belt tension and act against the bodies reaction. Because of this there's all kinda of forces at play, and when you walk, bend, move, etc, the waist shape changes, as does the applied force from the belt and the body reaction. This is a mess on AIWB's more so than strong side because the front of the body tends to move more than the traditional strong side spot. Just kinda how it goes. I know it's rich for a holster maker to tell ya they're consumable, but they are.
Dark Star Gear
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Yeah, this is spot on! We are literally putting metal and plastic in a place on our body where we bend, move etc;..... if used properly they will wear out, just a fact.
sales@jmcustomkydex.com
I agree with both of the makers above.
Leather has problems too. In SC summer I would sweat through an IWB in 4 hours. I had 3 sets to rotate to dry.
Plastic does not soak through and stay wet.
I really like the Ready Tactical mag pouches. When one cracks, I throw it in the drawer with the others that have cracked and order some more.
I kinda miss the old one piece fold over belt loop Kydex holsters, but I understand why nobody makes them any more.
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