Pistol wear, and leather VS kydex

[section8usmc]

So, many of us here have read enough on this, and likely some other sites, about holsters, and who prefers what and why. The merits of one make or model holster over another, one material or another, and so on. Now, because I'm relatively new to concealed carry, I may be a little behind the power curve on this, and it may have been covered several years back when plastics became more and more popular with holsters, so please bear with me on this. I have searched in many different ways on this site, including just going page by page, and I've come up dry. If you happen to know of a thread that includes something on this subject great. That saves time and space. I haven't found it.

There are several types and materials of holsters out there. Since I'm not to keen on the full on plastic, ones, my concern here is with leather and kydex. I know too, that many now include both, so feel free to mention any experiences with those as well. In other words, is the mouth reinforced, or the whole thing? Is there a layer of leather between the gun and the kydex? Is there much difference in two textures of leather, for example, I've seen some with a brushed or suede inside, as well as smooth finished leather.

All that said, what, in your own experience, or someone you know, what wears more or less on the finish of your gun? How often do you shoot or practice with holster / reholster drills? How often do you carry? How about those of you that carry all the time, but rarely unholster whether it be lack of range time, or you have an identical gun and/or holster you practice with? I don't have enough experience, even with practice, to have worn on my guns thus far, and I'm sure that, since different manufacturers use different finishes, you mileage may vary, of course. So, with all of those variables, I'm still hoping I can at least get a ballpark idea of which wears more, and relatively, by how much. This is not me being bored and coming up with an idea for a thread. I don't have the funding for as many guns as I'd like, and as such, I baby my guns. I have 2 H&K USP .45s (just sold the other) and as a result, was able to by 2 M&P .40 Compacts. I plan on having them for some time. You get the idea. Thanks for the help here. Always love the good answers we get here.

[JodyH]

Holster wear doesn't harm your gun.

[JHC]

Holster wear doesn't harm your gun.

I train from the holster every week. I only wish all these thousands of draws would wear the finish on these Glocks more. I sort of think most of the great honest wear on the old blued guns was more due to carry in loose holsters (generally leather) so the gun rocked around in it all the time during carry. Tightly boned leather holsters, not so much.

[JV_]

I only wish all these thousands of draws would wear the finish on these Glocks more.

I agree. My Gen4 guns have been very resistant to holster wear. It's seen thousands of draws, and when I look at it, I think I'm falling down on my training because it looks almost new.

[orionz06]

One of the original M&P's, even with the bad finish, was resilient. The ones with the good melonite will not show wear. Gen 4 G17 looks new after about a year of dry work, showing anything. I have accidentally touched my Shield with a drill a few times and I cannot determine where.

[section8usmc]

I agree. My Gen4 guns have been very resicounts to holster wear. It's seen thousands of draws, and when I look at it, I think I'm falling down on my training because it looks almost new.

As I'm only at mere hundreds of draws, (maybe more but who counts?) this is exactly the reason I asked. I've seen people drop their guns (not at the firing line) on gravel, concrete, etc., and though they usually hit with the grip first (is this like buttered bread? Lol) and have had little dents in the frame being some type of composite material, I've not seen any that have had any visual damage to the slide. Being that this doesn't happen often, again, I didn't have enough info to say it was anything more than luck. Well, I guess that these answers about cover it. With all of the variables, I thought it would be a bit more difficult to get a rough idea. Awesome. Thanks for the input. While I know my guns can handle abuse, lack of cleaning (such as the 2,000 round test or just not having time between range visits), from the Marine Corps on, I've cleaned them near religiously. Thanks again. My brain can finally rest on this issue .I've been worrying about it long before I even had the option of CC.

[section8usmc]

One of the original M&P's, even with the bad finish, was resilient. The ones with the good melonite will not show wear. Gen 4 G17 looks new after about a year of dry work, showing anything. I have accidentally touched my Shield with a drill a few times and I cannot determine where.

Whoa. I'm a mechanic by trade. Even at a slow rpm and a light touch is usually more than enough to at least scratch most surface. Very good.

[orionz06]

It was a super light touch with a small drill. I do not believe for one minute that I could repeat it but it did happen.

[ToddG]

Whether holster wear affects a gun's functionality depends a lot on the gun and the particular finish. Some guns can receive a lot of wear of the top layer (black) finish without impacting corrosion resistance; the majority of modern quality semiautos come with such a finish.

In terms of appearance, there is an endless debate between pro-kydex and pro-leather holster advocates. My personal experience is that:

• kydex wears much faster on the "high spots" where the material and the gun actually make contact during the draw
• leather wears slower but tends to wear larger areas as the holster is more likely to be in contact with more of the slide during the drawstroke
• kydex, because it has no flexibility, can become very damaging to a finish in the unlikely event that some abrasive gets stuck inside the holster
• leather can mold slightly to an abrasive to reduce the amount of force it applies to the gun, but at the same time leather is more likely to attract and trap such an abrasive
• kydex dries extremely fast if it gets wet; simply wiping down the gun and holster should be enough to avoid corrosion
• leather absorbs and traps water; I've had quality guns show corrosion after a day of training in hard rain when using leather

All of that being said, holster wear is right around the bottom of my priorities when choosing a holster.

[section8usmc]

All of that being said, holster wear is right around the bottom of my priorities when choosing a holster.

...and believe me, it is for me too. Even so, since there are so many good holsters out there in recent years, for every excellent leather holster, there is usually a kydex equivalent, if you will, meaning same basic fit around the gun, near identical size, just a different material. Because of my thin stature, (think Abe Lincoln just not as tall) I do have room to work with in certain applications. So tit is likely, that if I find a holster I like more than others, I will be able to use the other as well.

While it may be low on the priority list, if it were lopsided to one or the other, all other things being relatively equal, you'd obviously want to choose the one that will wear less. I figured like anything, they both have merits and a downside, but I don't have enough holsters, or enough time to notice a big difference, and if you add in the finishes being so good, there's no way I'd be able to tell the difference thus far. Some of you guys however, draw and holster in a weekend, more than most of us do in a month or longer, so, as always, ask those in the know.