silicosys4
Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2012
- Messages
- 3,655
Just on a whim, I picked one of these up at Wally world. It seemed like a great idea, an IWB/OWB convertible holster that can be molded to fit a wide range of handguns, from revolvers to semi's.
It seemed like a fairly well thought out design, and pretty adjustable. The concept is, you are supposed to adjust the fit to approximate with the adjustment screws, then heat the holster up to 265 degrees or so in the oven or with a heat gun. Then you insert your gun, and wait for the holster to cool and "mold" to your gun.
Well, I decided to use the oven to get the most uniform heating. I moved the screws around and tightened them down so it fit a Kahr K9 snugly at a decent forward cant, as per the instructions.
I then preheated my oven to 260-270 degrees, monitored by an electronic temp gauge I use for barbecuing, so its much more accurate than the oven thermostat.
I placed the holster in the oven on a clean cookie sheet away from the element, as per instructions, and left it in the oven for the recommended 15 minutes. At no time did the temp climb over 275 degrees.
After the 15 minutes were up, I opened the oven and tried to remove the holster....only to find it was stuck on the cookie sheet. No bueno.
The plastic(!) belt loops had melted, ruined my GF's cookie sheet, and rendered the holster completely unusable. They were so brittle from the heat they snapped off when I tried to test the holster to see if it might be salvageable. What I think happened is that the element clicked on and overheated the bottom of the cookie sheet, even though the sheet was well above the element. The air temp never rose above recommended temps, but the cookie sheet must have.
I decided to at least test the claim that the holster "molds" itself for a tight fit, but the claim that the holster "molds" itself to the gun is a loose interpretation, in my opinion. While you can see it does wrap around the gun a bit more after being heated, It definitely does not form fit to the gun like kydex. You can see the gap between the gun and the holster clearly, about a 1/4" gap after being "molded". This means that the holster is only making contact on a small area (upper right hand corner) of the slide, which will cause more finish wear at that contact point.
The only thing that the heat seemed to have done is make the holster a little more form fitting around the trigger guard and the sides, and make the gun slightly easier to draw than before "molding". It was a really tight fit before molding, and after molding it was definitely much easier to draw...too easy, in fact.
Retention after "molding" the gun was fair, but its not a holster I would recommend for any type of activity. If I were to have to run for any distance, for example, it would only be a matter of time before the gun worked its way out of the holster and went bouncing across the pavement. I hate having a holster like that, because I end up constantly checking to see if my gun is working loose, which is not conducive to concealment.
The pros to this holster are
1. It probably does accommodate a wide range of firearms, and I think it can be reheated and refitted to different guns if you are changing your carry firearm. This was the main selling point to me, the ability to refit the holster for a different gun if desired.
2. The material is fairly soft and rubbery, and probably pretty easy on the finish of your firearm.
3. The holster is pretty adjustable for individual firearms and the cant you desire.
The cons are
1. The instructions are incomplete. If they included the line "remove the belt loops before putting the holster in the oven"...a lot of my frustration would have been alleviated.
2. The fit isn't very good even after being heated.
Overall, I'm pretty disappointed in this holster. For the $35 I spent, there are definitely better options. I'm going to return it tomorrow, and get my money back rather than a replacement. Even if the belt loops hadn't melted, the holster just doesn't retain as well as I'd like and didn't come anywhere close to molding to the shape of my Kahr K9.
It seemed like a fairly well thought out design, and pretty adjustable. The concept is, you are supposed to adjust the fit to approximate with the adjustment screws, then heat the holster up to 265 degrees or so in the oven or with a heat gun. Then you insert your gun, and wait for the holster to cool and "mold" to your gun.
Well, I decided to use the oven to get the most uniform heating. I moved the screws around and tightened them down so it fit a Kahr K9 snugly at a decent forward cant, as per the instructions.
I then preheated my oven to 260-270 degrees, monitored by an electronic temp gauge I use for barbecuing, so its much more accurate than the oven thermostat.
I placed the holster in the oven on a clean cookie sheet away from the element, as per instructions, and left it in the oven for the recommended 15 minutes. At no time did the temp climb over 275 degrees.
After the 15 minutes were up, I opened the oven and tried to remove the holster....only to find it was stuck on the cookie sheet. No bueno.
The plastic(!) belt loops had melted, ruined my GF's cookie sheet, and rendered the holster completely unusable. They were so brittle from the heat they snapped off when I tried to test the holster to see if it might be salvageable. What I think happened is that the element clicked on and overheated the bottom of the cookie sheet, even though the sheet was well above the element. The air temp never rose above recommended temps, but the cookie sheet must have.
I decided to at least test the claim that the holster "molds" itself for a tight fit, but the claim that the holster "molds" itself to the gun is a loose interpretation, in my opinion. While you can see it does wrap around the gun a bit more after being heated, It definitely does not form fit to the gun like kydex. You can see the gap between the gun and the holster clearly, about a 1/4" gap after being "molded". This means that the holster is only making contact on a small area (upper right hand corner) of the slide, which will cause more finish wear at that contact point.
The only thing that the heat seemed to have done is make the holster a little more form fitting around the trigger guard and the sides, and make the gun slightly easier to draw than before "molding". It was a really tight fit before molding, and after molding it was definitely much easier to draw...too easy, in fact.
Retention after "molding" the gun was fair, but its not a holster I would recommend for any type of activity. If I were to have to run for any distance, for example, it would only be a matter of time before the gun worked its way out of the holster and went bouncing across the pavement. I hate having a holster like that, because I end up constantly checking to see if my gun is working loose, which is not conducive to concealment.
The pros to this holster are
1. It probably does accommodate a wide range of firearms, and I think it can be reheated and refitted to different guns if you are changing your carry firearm. This was the main selling point to me, the ability to refit the holster for a different gun if desired.
2. The material is fairly soft and rubbery, and probably pretty easy on the finish of your firearm.
3. The holster is pretty adjustable for individual firearms and the cant you desire.
The cons are
1. The instructions are incomplete. If they included the line "remove the belt loops before putting the holster in the oven"...a lot of my frustration would have been alleviated.
2. The fit isn't very good even after being heated.
Overall, I'm pretty disappointed in this holster. For the $35 I spent, there are definitely better options. I'm going to return it tomorrow, and get my money back rather than a replacement. Even if the belt loops hadn't melted, the holster just doesn't retain as well as I'd like and didn't come anywhere close to molding to the shape of my Kahr K9.
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