Freight Train

This is my first post, and after reading about what some of you use, I have narrowed it down to two choices of holsters: Andrews MacDaniel II w/ body shield, or Blade Tech Ultimate Concealment Holster. This is my first time buying a holster. Leather sounds more comfortable, but I'm a big (wide) man and sweating runs in the family. Alot. Would the MacDaniel holster still be OK? I would like to pair it with the MacDaniel Magazine Pouch and The Beltman Horse Hide 1.5" belt. Any other suggestions would be appreciated, but I would like to stay under $100 for a first holster until I know what I like.

pgrass101

IWB leather is the best IMO.

Plastic is not pliable enough to be comfortable for me. You can get a sweat guard, I just wear a t-shirt, holster and then a Polo shirt or whatever.

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Noli nothis permittere te terere

"If ignorance is bliss then shouldn’t most people happy?" -Thomas Jefferson-

purple88yj

I have been a leather man all my life. I plan to try some polys, but I will likely stick with leather.

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"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in ... And how many want out." British Prime Minister Tony Blair

Musketeer

I have:

a UCH by Bladetech for a Firestar. (Kydex)

a IWB from Sidearmor for a 5"1911. (Kydex)

a Dakota Defender from K&D for a 5" 1911 (Leather)

a Crossbreed IWB from Crossbreed (hybrid Leather/Kydex)

of those I find the Dakota Defender the most comfortable/functional/concealable with its seude body guard, distributed load and also the most flexible due to interchangeable clips. The newer cross breeds I see giving it a run for its money but those leave the muzzle exposed and I found it wearing a hole through the fabric inside my rear pocket where it rubbed (denim mind you).

BikerRN

For me it depends on what I'm carrying if I use leather or "Plastic".

My Glocks are carried in a CompTac CTAC and everything else is carried in leather. I find leather to be more comfortable for day to day carry.

The benefit to "Plastic" is it last forever. I too am in a sweat intensive environment. With a T-Shirt between my skin and the holster I haven't had a problem.

Biker

cockedlocked01

The answer is that it's a very subjective thing. Personally, I tried using a Kydex holster (Comp-Tac), & I didn't care for it. I like the "give" that leather has. I believe some of the custom holster makers have some remedies for profusive sweat. I thought I read that some will line the body part of the holster or put a man-made material in between two pieces of leather.

If you're considering an Andrews holster, give them a call & ask them what they can do concerning excessive moisture. Having said all that, if you can wear a kydex holster comfortabley, it won't soak through.

Good luck & welcome to the forum.

__________________
"Use human means as though divine ones didn't exist, and divine means as though there were no human ones." Baltasar Gracian
Integrated Close Combat
NRA Member

Glock 19, Kahr P45, Kel-Tec P-32, S&W 442, & Dan Wesson 14-2

mrchun

Comp Tac C-Tac for my Glock 23
Comp Tac Gurkha for my XD40sc
Milt Sparks VMII for my S&W 1911sc

Try Kydex out... if you can wear it comfortably you will be surprised at how FAST the draw is. On the other hand, it is absolutely brutal to wear a Kydex holster without something between the material and your skin.

My 1911 rides in leather because I simply can't put that beautiful pistol in a plastic holster! The draw is slower (made worse I think by the 1911sc's forward cocking serrations) but it is easily my most comfortable holster.

Conclusion: my Kydex holsters draw (and holster) ridiculously fast, but can be uncomfortable. My leather can be worn all day and draws a bit slower than Kydex. YMMV as anyone seriously trained with leather could probably outdraw me and my Comp Tacs.

Roadrunner

I've tried Kydex IWB carry and quickly gave it up. That may be partly due to the fact that I'm pretty skinny (31" waist). There isn't much give in my hip, and there's no give in Kydex, so it gets uncomfortable quick. Leather, on the other hand, is quite comfortable in my experience.

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- Kurt
“Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.” ~Pericles of Athens
Primary Carry - Colt Commander .45 in a Brommeland Max-Con V

fed_wif_a_sig

Personally, I do not like plastic or horse hide for any holster I wear in my pants. Might just be my imigination but to me their more uncomfortable. Cow hide for me.

__________________
Steve
"Respect all ... Fear none!!!

Gideon

Freighttain; I have severl holsters from Andrews. First He's a true gentleman and a great guy to do business with. I have one of his OWB for my 1911 and it's an outstanding field/range holster.

Then I purchased his MacDaniels and I have a word of caution for you. I purchased mine for a j frame (airweight). I've noticed two things, first, the lip is heavily reinforced and that feature means you can reholster one handed but it makes it very noticeably thicker.

Secondly, since there is only one anchor point, the gun wants to slip down and pull on the belt. Don't get me wrong, it's a great holster and perfectly made and would work well if your belt is below the reinforcing band BUT, if I had to do all over again, I'd recommend and IWB with 2 anchor points, one on each side of the weapon. I'm also convinced that for personal CCW, you don't need one handed reholstering and that it's better to have the whole package being thinner. Even 1/4" makes some difference.

What gun are you going to be using it for? I do think this holster will actually work better with a larger weapon like a 1911 where your belt is actually holding the weapon and the one anchor point is just for added security, not really to hold the weapon up so to speak.

For a great price, good service, etc. I would recommend you consider one of the IWB holsters from K&D Holsters. He makes an IWB that looks very thin and you can get it with the kydes clips or regular straps. The price is good and his customer service is OUTSTANDING.

I recently purchased an OWB holster with shark skin with snaps and after receiving it, I found out I didn't prefer the snaps becasue of how they worked with my suit coat, etc...anyway, I wrote him and asked if he'd swap it for the same holster but with belt slots, he didn't even hesitate but immediately said to send back the first one and he'd happily swap it!!!!

I'm impressed with that level of customer service. I also bought a pocket defender holster from him for my P3AT and it's also excellent.

Andrews makes great holsters and you won't have to worry about the sweat with his rigs and I'll buy from him again but still think the two anchor points is actually more important than I used to think unless, as I said, it's a big 1911 where the belts is holding the weapon.

Hope this helps a bit.

God Bless
Gideon