AIWB: Leather vs Kydex Holsters?

[DamonL]

Some makers use horse hide for their holsters because it does not absorb moisture.

[JTQ]

My belly provides the retention.

It'll fall out of the holster if you hold it upside down

Tony Kanaley, the former owner of Milt Sparks Holsters, has commented that his personal IWB holsters function the same way. Perfectly secure when worn, but if the holster is not worn, it will drop the gun out if held upside down.

[taadski]

Here is what I got in my testing.

Attachment 118709

I know it’s not the topic of the thread, but are you, in your testing, controlling for ride height? I’ve spent a lot of time on a timer over the years playing with a variety of Kydex and leather rigs. And while I’ll generally jump on the kydex is faster boat, the ride height makes a pretty considerable difference for me.

On the topic of the thread, I’m a devout SME user. I haven’t found anything else that combines such a high degree of concealment with such a high degree of comfort. It’s almost like TLG and SLG, et al, kinda knew what they were doing. 😊

[Cool Breeze]

I know it’s not the topic of the thread, but are you, in your testing, controlling for ride height? I’ve spent a lot of time on a timer over the years playing with a variety of Kydex and leather rigs. And while I’ll generally jump on the kydex is faster boat, the ride height makes a pretty considerable difference for me.

On the topic of the thread, I’m a devout SME user. I haven’t found anything else that combines such a high degree of concealment with such a high degree of comfort. It’s almost like TLG and SLG, et al, kinda knew what they were doing. 😊

Ride height is very important to me. I'm able to run a lower ride height holster with a traditional wedge (JMCK George) vs wing claw. Also, the wedge doesn't interfere with my middle knuckle like a wing claw.

@taadski - the SME rides pretty low no? Are you still able to get a good grip and fast draw compared to kydex?

[TCinVA]

I've heard good things about the SME. Is it one-size-fits-all? Seems like they only make a 1911 and a pistol option, I was curious how that worked.

And in the restroom, what do you do with the holster? (Since people can see under the stalls, I was wondering about that).

He only made them for a limited number of guns in the past, and I thought there was no red dot option but apparently he's opened up to making more configurations. You'd have to contact him to get a read on what he's willing to make, though...the "wing" on the SME is a bitch on stilts to manufacture from what I remember.

As for what to do in the restroom, flipping the gun inwards into the lowering pants works really well for keeping that bit of visibility down.

[Flamingo]

Ride height is very important to me. I'm able to run a lower ride height holster with a traditional wedge (JMCK George) vs wing claw. Also, the wedge doesn't interfere with my middle knuckle like a wing claw.

@taadski - the SME rides pretty low no? Are you still able to get a good grip and fast draw compared to kydex?

I have another thread on the testing. I am going to re-do the test and one of the data points I am going to take is the ride height. I am also going to include the time to first shot and the splits.