Many moons ago I ordered a M-11 IWB from Brigade Gunleather... well today was like Christmas. When I got home I had a box from Midway on my stoop. While I was hefting the box into the house my mailman stopped me with a package from Gemini Customs (another thread coming) and a BOX from Brigade...
I will get the link out of the way now...
Brigade Holsters- Leather Gun Holsters & Accessories
Before I do any evaluation lets look at the timing... Brigade Gunleather is communicating 16 weeks order to delivery.. mine came in 18-19 weeks... in the scheme of things this is very good for a custom leather holster...
Another note is that I contacted Tony K. (Milt Sparks), Alessi and a host of others regarding the Springfield Micro Compact with Rail and found only two manufacturers at the time to have a blank for my RAILED Micro. K & D and Brigade had blanks.. K & D delivered a defender that I have previously reviewed and here is Brigades IWB version of the VMII..
Now, lets have a look....
First off the package contained a small burlap sack with a twine drawstring. It had a large M-11 printed on it... Cool... so far so good! Inside was the all black M-11 IWB being touting as their best option for concealed carry... (Since it is a near copy of a VMII they are probibly correct). I ordered mine with 1.25 inch loops in black; the color and finish are top notch.. It appears to have a typical acrylic sealer over a vat died leather... good coverage and EXCELLENT quality hide (weight and appearance).
I also ordered larger 1.5 inch loops which were also in the box...
Details:
All leather is top quality and quite heavy; the boneing is clean and more than sufficient for retention (without adjusting the tension screw)... the stitching is top notch and on par with other top makers. Here is a direct comparison to a VMII for my USP40c ..note the thickness of the leather and detail of the boneing on the Brigade... heavy weight and nice work on the edges... Also note that the Brigade has a closed bottom.. this is to give the extra leather past the end of the barrell on the short 3" micro compact. Per Troy at Brigade, this is one of their selling points. they add the extra leather to aid in stability on the compact models... Performance TBD...More to come...
The fit is excelent; however the lack of a sight rail on the M-11 makes the holstering tight and unholstering a SNAG...
here is the Brigade M-11
Here is the SNAG, my rather nice set of Novacs, working as a gouge to form a sight channel....Each unholstering is pulling leather out of the holster... The small details are what make the greats great and the other guys the competitors...
Here is the VMII
Impressions and thoughts...
I must again note the heavy weight leather used by Brigade...really nice finish work and top notch quality feel.. not sure about the snap configuration (offset) but time will tell. I am not too happy with the sight snagging on the holster, but I suspect after a few in's and out's it will be fine. I am going camping all weekend and will be bouncing between this and the M&P340 as dress dictates... Once I get a better feel for comfort and funcationally I will post my further impressions...
Cheers and God Bless...