These days, there are many individuals and companies making Kydex holsters. So many it is hard to choose which company to buy from.
Questions like, what is the material they use, what it the thickness of the material, what styles do they make, will they be around tomorrow and what is their warranty.
Ares Tactical is the Kydex holster maker of my choice and you can read why here: http://the22man.com/2016/05/a-quick-overview-of-ares-tactical/
With that said, I wanted to review a new type of clip for Kydex holsters and how it greatly improves the wearing of such holsters. It is called the Ulti Clip, yes I spelled that correctly.
Most IWB and OWB Kydex holsters use a loop system of some sort, I reviewed one here (it is NOT an Ares holster) http://the22man.com/2016/01/appendix-carry-inside-the-waist-band-iwb-kydex-holster/
The Ulti Clip allows you to lock the holster to your pants, not a belt. This allows you to not wear a belt or hide the clip behind the belt. When a clip goes over your belt and you tuck in such as on my CrossBreed holster, you can see the clips, especially so if I am wearing a belt that is not black.
This holster is not a tuckable and was not meant to be a tuckable holster.
The Ulti Clip is designed to provide a slimmer IWB holster with much more versatility than one with loops that have to fit around your belt (again, refer to my previous article in the disadvantages of that.
The Ulti Clip is a spring tension based system that locks onto your pants or belt. With the spring released.
Slide it over your pants, the “J” hook part of the clip latches firmly over your pants or belt.
The push the clip down. The holster is now firmly held in place.
If you are wearing a belt and connecting only to your pants, run your belt and ta-da, your done.
As you can see in the following images, the added thickness (beyond the Kydex) of the Crossbreed is almost zero, the Ulti Clip adds under ½” of thickness to the holster and a loop system adds almost a full inch, double the Ulti Clip’s.
Total thickness from Inside the holster to the outside the holster of a CrossBreed us just a hair over 1”
The Ares Tactical holster comes out right under 1 ½” thick.
You may also have notice in the below image, the Kydex of the Ares Tactical holster is thicker than that of the CrossBreed holster.
I am sure you have read enough about the clip and thickness et al. “How does it wear?” and “How does it fit?” both for the pistol and on the body.
I wore this holster for about two weeks. During that time the clip held perfectly to my pants and the pistol was always firmly held in the holster. No twisting, flopping or discomfort of the Kydex to my skin. With a single clip, I was worried that the holster would twist at least some. It only did this once when I had the holster at my exact 3 o’clock position. Physics mandated that my hip moving moved the lower / barrel part of the holster. When worn at 2:30 or 3:30 positions, there was no twist for me, just a firm hold. The Ulti Clip held the holster and the holster held the pistol, all exactly like they are supposed to.
With all this said, I believe the Ulti Clip is a great replacement for the old belt loop system and possible for the over the belt retention system that is in favor now. It is sturdy, it takes less room and allows you to attach your holster without a belt.
If you have a holster with removable clips or loops, like many of those pictured here, you can order just the Ulti Clip and attach it to your own holster.
http://www.arestactical.net/?product=ulticlip
Afterthoughts:
The holster tested is for my Gen 2 Glock 19.
Why do I specifically mention it is a 2nd Generation Glock? Because not all Glock’s are alike. Generation 3 have rails and Generation 4 have thinner grips just to name a few.
Having a holster for your specific model and generation of handgun holds or retains the weapon better.
With the holster I did run into an issue that I have not run into before. While wearing this holster for testing, at two different clients I had their employees ask if I was carrying a gun. I don’t recall this ever occurring before. Both times I was on all fours under a desk working. Sensing this might be a problem I switched back to my regular holster.
In order to tell if this was an obvious issue, here are some pictures.
The first is kneeling with a CrossBreed Holster, the 2nd the Ares.
These two pictures compare me “on all fours”, the first is again the CrossBreed and the 2nd the Ares
I honestly don’t think that one is less noticeable than the other. As a matter of fact, I had no idea how much they printed under that shirt. I wear a lot of shirts of that style.
Remember in my introduction to Ares Tactical I mentioned that Matt took the time to polish the corners of the holster. In the photo below it is obvious the difference in the two.
Until we meet again, keep your booger hooker off the bang switch.