I'll chime in on the Safarilands. All of my experience comes from (extensively) shooting a 629, mostly with .44 Specials, in IDPA competition. Safariland only makes the Comp I for a .44. I thought I was really smart to get a few of those instead of the HKSs, as I'd seen so many shooters ROCKET through their reloads with Comp IIIs.
What a let-down! The Comp Is are a truly horrible product (at least in .44). I've seen few products that worked as poorly, as consistently, that weren't recalled or discontinued. Hard to load, hard to release, BUT, they sure release fine, in ones or twos, while riding in a vest pocket! :banghead:
Perhaps I was using them too hard, or too much, but I abandoned them after only two or three months of solid use. Which was pretty agonizing as I watched all my K-frame shooting buddies have such success with their Comp IIIs!
The HKS twist-knobs work consistently and are fast enough to get me into SSR Expert. Maybe with Comp IIIs I'd shoot into Master class with the .44. But I'll not be going back to Comp Is.
-Sam