Bill K
04-23-2011, 09:17 AM
Received two items in the mail from member toptog. The Kydex PM9 holster he made and offered to the first member who expressed interest in receiving the holster and a magazine holster/pouch that came as a surprise.
http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6453
http://kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3616&d=1303217495
General observations…
Kydex is thin which to me is a big plus. There is a good 1/8” difference in thickness between my PM9 holstered in the toptog vs. holstered in my Glock 26 DeSantis Nemesis holster. This could translate into a few more pants pockets that will allow me to pocket carry. Also, the toptog Kydex holster doesn’t print gun like the Nemesis can sometimes do when seated.
A big negative get with the Kydex holster is noise on the draw. Maybe some of the noise will diminish with a more practiced draw but right now there is just too much scrapping noise, believe it is the front sight scrapping the Kydex, on the draw. The Nemesis is quiet, I like that and feel it could make a big difference in the outcome of a situation where you need to make a stealthy draw.
Particular to toptog’s holster [IMHO]…
The retention of the holster as received was much to tight, in my opinion, for a POCKET holster. For pocket carry I want little or no retention. I want to minimize the possibilities of the holster coming out of the pocket with the gun. I want my pocket pistol to draw from my pocket like a hot knife being drawn through soft butter. However, the tightness was easily remedied by using two washers to space the folded Kydex apart. Removing the retention screw hardware also worked. Re-heating, if this can be done with Kydex, and taking out some of the trigger guard molding would probably also work. If I were going commercial I’d have true retention adjustment hardware so that the user could more easily adjust retention to their liking.
I believe that the “hook” should not be straight but rather should be curved somewhat so it kind of molds to the thigh. There’d be a little less printing when sitting down and make for a bit more comfort in the pocket.
The finger push-off needs fixing! After loosening the retention I messed around doing some practice draws and had to stop after 10-12 draws. The Kydex rubbed my finger raw where it made contact near the trigger guard as I pushed-off. There are probably several fixes for this. Toptog put extra Kydex in area, I’m guessing, for the purpose of mitigating this finger rubbing issue. It is fine for maybe doing a half dozen draws or so but does not do the job for practicing many more draws than that in one practice session. I need to able to practice dozens of draws particularly during some of my snap cap training sessions. I’m thinking that cutting the Kydex down so that it meets lower on the trigger guard and at the same time have a straight vs. a slant in the push-off area would work better. It would allow the push-off to be done with the fingernail on the Kydex and there would not be a slicing action taking place during the push-off. If this didn’t work then some sort of non-abrasive cushioning needs to be adapted to the holster in the area used for push-off. I know some Kydex pocket holsters have thumb push tabs but I don’t like that idea as I want my thumb and fingers in as near my grip position as can be as the draw is being executed.
In summary, if I were to give this holster a grade I’d give it a “C”. If the thigh molding, retention and push-off issues were remedied the grade would be a “B”. To get an “A” the noise on draw issue would need to be fixed and I’d want two snap on “hooks”, one for square cut pockets the other for round cut pockets. The “hook” appears to be a compromise shape for both round and square pocket cuts.
Toptog himself gets an “A+” for the effort of making the holster in the first place, letting it go for free and for actually asking that the holster be reviewed.
[With regards to the mag holster/pouch that toptog sent… I must confess ignorance. It is a nice fitting holster affixed with a lanyard. My guess is that you loop it around your belt and put the holster in your pocket. To deploy you’d grab the bottom of the mag, pull it out of your pocket and when you reach the end of the lanyard the mag pops out of the holster. Is this right?
I’ve not given much thought to carrying an extra mag. When I do carry one I just drop it in my left back pocket. This is probably not the best idea. Crap, more stuff to research and learn about. :)]
Regards,
Bill K.
http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6453
http://kahrtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3616&d=1303217495
General observations…
Kydex is thin which to me is a big plus. There is a good 1/8” difference in thickness between my PM9 holstered in the toptog vs. holstered in my Glock 26 DeSantis Nemesis holster. This could translate into a few more pants pockets that will allow me to pocket carry. Also, the toptog Kydex holster doesn’t print gun like the Nemesis can sometimes do when seated.
A big negative get with the Kydex holster is noise on the draw. Maybe some of the noise will diminish with a more practiced draw but right now there is just too much scrapping noise, believe it is the front sight scrapping the Kydex, on the draw. The Nemesis is quiet, I like that and feel it could make a big difference in the outcome of a situation where you need to make a stealthy draw.
Particular to toptog’s holster [IMHO]…
The retention of the holster as received was much to tight, in my opinion, for a POCKET holster. For pocket carry I want little or no retention. I want to minimize the possibilities of the holster coming out of the pocket with the gun. I want my pocket pistol to draw from my pocket like a hot knife being drawn through soft butter. However, the tightness was easily remedied by using two washers to space the folded Kydex apart. Removing the retention screw hardware also worked. Re-heating, if this can be done with Kydex, and taking out some of the trigger guard molding would probably also work. If I were going commercial I’d have true retention adjustment hardware so that the user could more easily adjust retention to their liking.
I believe that the “hook” should not be straight but rather should be curved somewhat so it kind of molds to the thigh. There’d be a little less printing when sitting down and make for a bit more comfort in the pocket.
The finger push-off needs fixing! After loosening the retention I messed around doing some practice draws and had to stop after 10-12 draws. The Kydex rubbed my finger raw where it made contact near the trigger guard as I pushed-off. There are probably several fixes for this. Toptog put extra Kydex in area, I’m guessing, for the purpose of mitigating this finger rubbing issue. It is fine for maybe doing a half dozen draws or so but does not do the job for practicing many more draws than that in one practice session. I need to able to practice dozens of draws particularly during some of my snap cap training sessions. I’m thinking that cutting the Kydex down so that it meets lower on the trigger guard and at the same time have a straight vs. a slant in the push-off area would work better. It would allow the push-off to be done with the fingernail on the Kydex and there would not be a slicing action taking place during the push-off. If this didn’t work then some sort of non-abrasive cushioning needs to be adapted to the holster in the area used for push-off. I know some Kydex pocket holsters have thumb push tabs but I don’t like that idea as I want my thumb and fingers in as near my grip position as can be as the draw is being executed.
In summary, if I were to give this holster a grade I’d give it a “C”. If the thigh molding, retention and push-off issues were remedied the grade would be a “B”. To get an “A” the noise on draw issue would need to be fixed and I’d want two snap on “hooks”, one for square cut pockets the other for round cut pockets. The “hook” appears to be a compromise shape for both round and square pocket cuts.
Toptog himself gets an “A+” for the effort of making the holster in the first place, letting it go for free and for actually asking that the holster be reviewed.
[With regards to the mag holster/pouch that toptog sent… I must confess ignorance. It is a nice fitting holster affixed with a lanyard. My guess is that you loop it around your belt and put the holster in your pocket. To deploy you’d grab the bottom of the mag, pull it out of your pocket and when you reach the end of the lanyard the mag pops out of the holster. Is this right?
I’ve not given much thought to carrying an extra mag. When I do carry one I just drop it in my left back pocket. This is probably not the best idea. Crap, more stuff to research and learn about. :)]
Regards,
Bill K.