Leather vs. Kydex/Synthetic

[D.B. Cooper]

How many have made the switch to Kydex and/or other synthetic materials? Who is holding on to leather equipment?

Most of my life, I've preferred leather for its longevity, but about 2 years ago, I was forced to buy a kydex holster because I couldn't get a leather one in the time frame I needed it.

I think I may be getting hooked on synthetic. It's lightweight, impervious to water (whereas leather absorbs water and becomes heavier than it already is), and durable. (I have thousands of draws/reinsertions on my holster now. I recently went with a kydex and nylon strap chest holster for hunting season.

Yet, my nylon knife sheath, which is only 10-12 yrs old is completely falling apart. I'm thinking of replacing it with leather, except for the reason above.

Yet, my leather belts are terribly misfigured (collapsed and folded over) under the weight of my revolver and ammo. I doubt synthetic of the same shape/size would fair much better.

So, for the moment, I'm between worlds.

 

[AK103K]

I quit using leather holsters for daily use when kydex first showed up back in the 90's, and havent looked back. Pretty much stopped a lot of my rusting issues right away. It also saved me a lot of money too, gun and holster wise. I still have that original $50 Blade Tech holster today, and its as functional now as the day I bought it.

Kydex is great for knife sheaths too.

I quit using leather belts a little while prior to that too, and have been using a couple of types of Wilderness belts ever since. They too hold up a lot better than leather, and are more comfortable as well.

 

[FL-NC]

I have both. A couple leather thumb break holsters for CCW, but kydex for everything else.

 

[Thomas Mayberry]

I use leather primarily. I only have one synthetic holster and that's because leather wasn't available for one particular gun. I still prefer leather for my fixed blade hunting knives despite the fact that I regard kydex as being safer and more practical.

I'm a luddite and probably won't change.

 

[JTQ]

I have holsters and mag pouches in both leather and kydex and I like both. My only "gun belt" is a Wilderness belt and like it.

The late Paul Gomez has a video on carry gear that shows some advantages and disadvantages of each. The abridged version, he liked leather for holsters and kydex for mag pouches.

 

[Cump]

Up until recently, I have only used leather because of aesthetics, comfort and finish wear. But my favorite holster for concealed carry is now a kydex paddle, and I have my first kydex iwb on order. I like the retention without thumbsnaps, and the ease of reholstering. We will see if I can get over comfort with the iwb.

Regardless there will always be a preference for leather on revolvers and classic pistols.

 

[huntsman]

Leather belts only, trying one with a steel core now for longevity.

Striker guns OWB kydex, IWB leather, any holster that’ll touch skin I want leather.

Any gun platform other than striker gets leather regardless of method of carry.

 

[AK103K]

IWB leather, any holster that’ll touch skin I want leather.

Im just the opposite. The thought of wet leather rubbing against my bare skin makes me cringe. It actually "hurts" and makes for a very long day.

Kydex just slides across it without irritation.

Preferably with either, a tee shirt between them is best.


As far as finish wear on the gun goes, Kydex normally only leaves a couple of marks where the holster actually contacts the gun. Leather, on the other hand, tends to wear the guns finish more overall, as it contacts more of it. Wet leather just aggravates that, and brings with it rust/corrosion issues.

I think another big advantage to the Kydex is, you can easily clean them by rinsing them out in the sink and drying them with a paper towel.

They also dont embed dirt and other abrasives into the holster like leather does, which just adds to the finish wear over time.

The only thing I really like about leather holsters is the looks. Kydex doesnt have a thing on them there.

 

[roo_ster]

Own both kydex and leather rigs and leather and not-so-leather belts (5.11, etc.).

Prefer leather for carry, kydex for competition in the summer.

 

[Logwood]

I pretty much go with leather holsters for steel guns, kydex for the plastic guns - only plastic guns I own are Glocks. Have a number of kydex holsters, mostly Comp-tac and on-your-six models.
These days I most always go with a leather belt, but still have a few wilderness type belts around here.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

Gotta have both.

Very gun dependant. SAA? yeah that gets a leather holster.

Glock 19? Kydex.

I use both.

I prefer the Kydex options for most applications and have even begun experimenting with making my own.

Pics cause I have pics:
Favorite Kydex


Second favorite:


Need leather too:




Tinkering around making my own:

 

[SharpDog]

How many have made the switch to Kydex and/or other synthetic materials? Who is holding on to leather equipment?

Most of my life, I've preferred leather for its longevity, but about 2 years ago, I was forced to buy a kydex holster because I couldn't get a leather one in the time frame I needed it.

I think I may be getting hooked on synthetic. It's lightweight, impervious to water (whereas leather absorbs water and becomes heavier than it already is), and durable. (I have thousands of draws/reinsertions on my holster now. I recently went with a kydex and nylon strap chest holster for hunting season.

Yet, my nylon knife sheath, which is only 10-12 yrs old is completely falling apart. I'm thinking of replacing it with leather, except for the reason above.

Yet, my leather belts are terribly misfigured (collapsed and folded over) under the weight of my revolver and ammo. I doubt synthetic of the same shape/size would fair much better.

So, for the moment, I'm between worlds.

I switched to Kydex for all my semis, still use leather for all my revolvers. It all started when I couldn't find leather holsters for my pistols with lights. Some leather holster makers said the issue was retention with the lights. There are some now but still relatively few. For longevity, I think Kydex will outlast leather with comparable workmanship and attention to detail.

These don't have lights. The upper is Cleveland Kydex, the bottom one from Concealment express has adjustable retention.

 

[herrwalther]

Both. I use hybrid holsters that are leather backed and kydex shells.

 

[Zendude]

I prefer both - dual belt clip hybrid holsters.

 

[GBExpat]

My general preferences are:

OWB, leather ... ayup, I'm one of the old guys who has been carrying for 44 years.
IWB, kydex
IP (InsidePocket), specialized synthetic textile++

 

[CraigC]

Leather, leather and more leather. I'd rather have a sister in a whorehouse than a synthetic holster. And it sounds like 99% of the complaints above about leather could easily be rectified.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I find it interesting how, for most of you, revolvers get leather, auto gets plastic. It's lie "old world" vs "new world."

I have 2 kydex holsters for Ruger Redhawk. First one I bought (OWB hip holster) because, at that moment, there were no other options. Second one I bought (chest holster) I bought over a leather holster. Then bought a third for OWB for an autoloader.

Admittedly, I have an old Colt Police Positive that I couldn't imagine pairing with Kydex.

 

[GBExpat]

BTW, the IWB kydex holsters which I mentioned in Post# 15 are all MICs.

 

[AK103K]

And it sounds like 99% of the complaints above about leather could easily be rectified.

How do you rectify sweat-soaked leather holsters that dont dry out overnight or even days later?

Before I got my first kydex holster, I was rotating through two Galco Royal Guards daily in the summer, and once they got wet, they stayed wet. They never had a chance to dry out, and dealing with rust was a constant issue. Kydex stopped the bulk of those problems for me.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

How do you rectify sweat-soaked leather holsters that dont dry out overnight or even days later?

Before I got my first kydex holster, I was rotating through two Galco Royal Guards daily in the summer, and once they got wet, they stayed wet. They never had a chance to dry out, and dealing with rust was a constant issue. Kydex stopped the bulk of those problems for me.

I have to admit, I can see your point here. And when I lived in the the south, near the ocean, it was common knowledge that you never stored a gun in a leather holster due to moisture accumulation.

 

[If1HitU]

I love leather.

 

[nettlle]

I went through this Kydex/Leather thing and these are my observations:

Leather is softer than Kydex. I prefer things that are softer between my belt and my hip.

Leather soaks up sweat. Kydex does not soak up sweat. Kydex doesn't breath as well as leather so it caused me to sweat more. The additional sweat just runs down my leg. Sweat is sweat.

Due to it's durability Kydex will last almost forever. Far longer than the finish on my guns. Leather is much kinder to my gun finishes.

The only advantage I see to Kydex holsters is that they are plug and play and readily available without a wait.

When all is said and done wearing something comfortable will win out in the end and Kydex turned out to be a far cry from that for me.

 

[AK103K]

dupe

 

[AK103K]

I went through this Kydex/Leather thing and these are my observations:

Leather is softer than Kydex. I prefer things that are softer between my belt and my hip.

Leather soaks up sweat. Kydex does not soak up sweat. Kydex doesn't breath as well as leather so it caused me to sweat more. The additional sweat just runs down my leg. Sweat is sweat.

Due to it's durability Kydex will last almost forever. Far longer than the finish on my guns. Leather is much kinder to my gun finishes.

The only advantage I see to Kydex holsters is that they are plug and play and readily available without a wait.

When all is said and done wearing something comfortable will win out in the end and Kydex turned out to be a far cry from that for me.

Leather may seem to be softer, but in reality, I never could tell the difference. Its not like either is "padded", and the gun in the leather holster makes it as stiff as the kydex.

Without the gun in the holster? Yea, the leather is "softer".

My experience has been that leather is actually more destructive to a guns finish, especially "overall" than kydex. Kydex holsters usually only have a couple of specific contact points, and limit any wear there might be, to those points.

Leather, on the other hand, contacts much more of the guns finish and the wear shows more across the whole gun. Add to that, over time, it picks up dirt and crap that are abrasive, and embed them in the leather, which just makes things worse, and you cant easily clean them or remove that.

Over time, the guns I used on a constant basis in leather holsters, had a lot more finish wear and problems with the finish than any kydex holster Ive used.

Theres no doubt, and well-made leather holster with a nice blued 1911 or something similar in it is all class, and a thing of beauty. Just look at some of the ads from the better-known holster companies, or in American Handgunner. etc, and they will about make you drool. Of course, those are usually brand new holsters and guns with no use too, but still, they are nice.

Kydex and things like Glocks are strictly utilitarian workhorses that just seem to crave the abuse of living in a holster day to day, and often in a hostile environment. And they too have a beauty all their own.

Even that fancy 1911 in the holster pics will be better off in the long run in a kydex holster if its actually being used. And Ive already experienced exactly that.

 

[Garandimal]

If God meant for you to carry your pistol in Kydex?

...he'd of made Cows out of the stuff.






GR