Uncle Mike’s Kydex® Hip Holster
After speaking with some of the NH TAG members, I had a list of things I needed to get. First and foremost was a holster for concealed carry, so I could practice safe drawing and re-holstering of the gun. When I admitted confusion over the variety of holster choices, it came down to just picking something cheap to start with, like a Kydex holster from Fobus or Uncle Mike’s. Nothing fancy, but something that reduces cross-sweeping people (or yourself!) during the draw.
I went to Riley’s today to pick something up for my Springfield Armory XD 4″. They had the Uncle Mike’s Kydex holster, model 5326-1, for $18.05. You can read more about the holster at the Mike’s of Oregon website. These additional pictures will help you visualize the product more fully.
This site, ~spwenger’s Defensive Use of Firearms, has a useful guide to holster types and selection.
My impressions: Well, it’s a rugged plastic, and shaped to the gun. There’s a two bolt tensioning system that enables you to adjust how tightly the gun is gripped. Retention is primarily through the molded lips that grab the inside of the trigger guard. The angle is “almost vertical”, and can be worn “behind-the-hip”. It seems pretty rugged, but none of the parts are interchangeable, as they are on more expensive holsters. For 18 bucks, though, I’m not complaining.
My belt is too narrow to snugly hold the holster in place, so the rig moves around a bit…I’ll have to get a wider belt. This is an “outside the waistband” (OWB) holster, and it holds pretty close to the body, but I think it would still take some doing to cover this with a coat (especially when you have a belly like me). I am wondering if a paddle holster might feel a bit snugger.
One thing I noticed about this holster is that the magazine release is blocked by the holster on the side closest to the body. You can see from the photos that the XD’s ambidextrous release is visible on the outside, but pushing it from this side pushes against the plastic. You can flex the gun in the holster a bit to allow enough travel to release the magazine with the gun holstered. The reason I mention it is that NH Tag runs a “hot range”, and while you’re allowed to remove/replace mags from behind the shooting line, the guns must remain holstered. Other holsters seem to provide adequate access to either side of the mag release. I took a Dremel tool and ground away the holster so I can now operate the right-side safety without flexing the gun, so it works now.
I noticed also that there’s a lip that secures your belt just below the trigger, and during drawing practice the left side of my middle fingertip catches on it and gets abraded slightly. I noticed my finger was a little sore, near where the fingernail meats the skin, after practicing draws for a few minutes.
The front of the holster is cut to fully expose the ejection port, which I think means it’s not allowed in IDPA competition.
One more thing that is obvious in retrospect: it feels so much better to have your gun well secured at your side than carrying it around in your hand or in a bag.