TactiPac Fusion Review

[RJGold]

I looked at the holster and it appears rather large and possibly hot to wear in the Texas summer heat.

Am I wrong?

Thanks

It's not any worse than any other holster (see the first post in the thread).

[RJGold]

thanks for digging up this thread now I'm going to have to order one and hope it shows up before christmas So i'm guessing the dual mag holders wouldn't be worth ordering? stick to the single?

Frankly I don't use any of the built in mag holders. I stick one in my pocket or use an IWB holder.

They're just not placed effectively for me.

My two cents.

[RJGold]

I looked at the holster and it appears rather large and possibly hot to wear in the Texas summer heat.

Am I wrong?

Thanks

To add a little more detail about this question, I use mine mostly when I'm wearing shorts and will be active outside (i.e. mountain biking for 6 hours as mentioned in the original post). This holster seems to stay put better when I am active and dressed lightly than one with a gun belt. It's not any hotter than any other holster and actually feels less hot than leather.

My two cents.

[baldeagle]

I received my holster today, immediately put it on and tried it out. I was surprised by how comfortable it was. Carrying a weapon, for me, is never truly comfortable, but compared to others I've used this one was very comfortable. I bought the double magazine carrier holster. It's made from a stretchy web-like material (like elastic band) and attaches by wrapping completely around the waist using velcro to tie the two ends together. The magazine carries loop around the belt and can be slid into any position you want. The weapon fits in a Kydex body attacked to the belt with a foam backing keeping the weapon completely off the body.

I carried my weapon at about 3 o'clock and the mags at about 10 o'clock. I found that the weapon was concealed better if I wore a belt to hold it tighter against my body, but it wasn't that bad even without a belt. Overall I'm happy with my first impression, but I've had elastic band belts before. I'll have to try this one for a while to see if it holds up and remains as comfortable as my first impression. I really like the idea of being able to carry two mags, because my Sig P239 in .357 Sig only holds 7 rounds in a mag, so having 14 extra rounds is much better than just 7 extra. With the pistol, that gives me a total of 22 rounds on body. If I carry another mag in my pocket (which is what I've been doing), i'll have 29 rounds available.

Summary: initial impression - good, but the jury is still out. I'll wear it for a week or two and we'll see.

[RJGold]

My mag holders are sewn in place immediately in front of and behind the weapon location.

One thing you have to say about Anthony Battaglia and TactiPac, they listen to feedback and aren't afraid to make design changes on the fly. It seems like he is continuously improving his designs.

Thanks for the report. I am still impressed with the comfort of mine and it seems to be holding up well.

Hopefully your experience will be the same.

[jsk]

I got one of these a little while back. I really like the idea of a holster that doesn't need a belt, but I think there's still room for improvement in a product like this. On the plus side, the back panel is very comfortable against your body even without an undershirt, and I don't find it to be any hotter than other IWB holsters such as hybrids or traditional leather.

What I find strange about the TactiPac is the very high ride height of the gun relative to the waist band. To have the gun at the same ride height I would typically get with a belt holster, I end up with the strap/band fairly low down on my hips. While this does help keep the rough edges of the nylon strapping away from bare skin, the strap doesn't really want to say in this position and will tend to ride up as I move about. The lower strap position relative to the gun also doesn't do a very good job of keeping the grip snug against your body the way a good IWB belt holster does. So concealment isn't as good as it could be.

I also find retention to be lacking. Due to the soft/flexible back panel there's no retention at all when putting the holster on or taking it off, and even when wearing it there's just not much retention even with the strap fairly snug. I definitely wouldn't consider this an "active wear" holster.

All in all I'm not getting as much use out of this holster as I thought I might. If I'm in shorts/t-shirt and need to run a quick errand where I'm mostly in the car, I might throw on the tactipac because it's convenient and fairly comfortable. And I also wear it around the house outside my shorts sometimes with just a t-shirt covering. But if I'm going to be out and about for an extended time, especially around lots of people, I don't use it because I don't have confidence when it comes to concealment and retention.

[baldeagle]

I wore the belt today to work. I found that if I adjust the belt so that the grip of the pistol is about my pants belt, so that the pants belt holds the pistol tight against my body, it conceals very well. The magazines weren't noticeable at all but were within easy reach. I'm going to wear it again tomorrow to see how it goes.

[Robert*PPS]

I get mine here in the next couple of days....I'm excited to finally try it out.

[Robert*PPS]

I wore my Tactipac fusion all evening doing everything from light chores to laying on the couch watching TV. It was very comfortable. The elastic bands held my gun just fine, no slipping or anything. This holster is a perfect fit for me, and I doubt I'll be using any other holsters of mine for quite a while.

My only drawback was that my clothes accommodated the holster and gun fine, but did not have room for the extra mag. The extra mag carrier is removable on mine, so I just took it off for now. But the fact that it is removable also means you can place it anywhere on the belt you like, so you can carry the extra mag weak side or whatever you like.

[baldeagle]

I've been wearing mine all week. Some observations. The holster is very comfortable. As comfortable as anything I've worn before. I like how it's independent of my belt and pants. So I can just move the holster up toward my chest if I need to sit down in the rest room. I don't like the mag holders. They make me nervous. I wish they had bottoms. I worry that the mags will fall out the bottom. So far they haven't though, so maybe my worries are overblown. I wear the mags at about 11 o'clock. To unload them I push the mag up from outside of my pants until it "breaches" the beltline and then pull it out the rest of the way. I think this would make them fairly accessible in a gunfight, so I'm happy with that aspect of it.

The truth is I could probably add two or three more mag holders with no problem. I don't even notice the weight of the mags. Wonder if they'll sell extra mag holders. At 7 rounds each, I could carry 35 on body plus 8 in the weapon.

At night I take it off by putting one arm through, lifting it over my head and then putting the other arm through. So, once I got it set the way I wanted it, it has stayed like that.

Positioning of the firearm is important, just as it is with my MTAC. Too far forward or too far back the grip becomes obvious. At about 3 o'clock, it disappears. I wear it so that my belt is helping to hold it against my body by pressing on the grip. Drawing is about the same as the MTAC.

Overall I think this belt may be a winner. It works well no matter what I wear.

[RJGold]

I've been wearing mine all week. Some observations. The holster is very comfortable. As comfortable as anything I've worn before. I like how it's independent of my belt and pants. So I can just move the holster up toward my chest if I need to sit down in the rest room. I don't like the mag holders. They make me nervous. I wish they had bottoms. I worry that the mags will fall out the bottom. So far they haven't though, so maybe my worries are overblown. I wear the mags at about 11 o'clock. To unload them I push the mag up from outside of my pants until it "breaches" the beltline and then pull it out the rest of the way. I think this would make them fairly accessible in a gunfight, so I'm happy with that aspect of it.

The truth is I could probably add two or three more mag holders with no problem. I don't even notice the weight of the mags. Wonder if they'll sell extra mag holders. At 7 rounds each, I could carry 35 on body plus 8 in the weapon.

At night I take it off by putting one arm through, lifting it over my head and then putting the other arm through. So, once I got it set the way I wanted it, it has stayed like that.

Positioning of the firearm is important, just as it is with my MTAC. Too far forward or too far back the grip becomes obvious. At about 3 o'clock, it disappears. I wear it so that my belt is helping to hold it against my body by pressing on the grip. Drawing is about the same as the MTAC.

Overall I think this belt may be a winner. It works well no matter what I wear.

Awesome!!!

If you find out he'll sell mag holders separately, let us know.

Thanks for the review...

[baldeagle]

If you find out he'll sell mag holders separately, let us know.

Thanks for the review...

Turns out that they are selling extra mag holders now. http://www.tactipac.com/magazine-holders/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; You can buy two for $21.95.

[baldeagle]

I've been wearing the holster for a while now, and I'm fairly happy with it. I have one problem that bothers me. Twice I have had a cartridge fall out of a magazine. Both times were at home (thank God), so troubling but not embarrassing. I'm thinking about adding some fabric to the mag holders to keep the magazine enclosed. I haven't yet figured out what's going on, but I think the mags pressing up against my body when I sit down dislodge the cartridges a little and then the spring pops them out when I stand up. I'm trying putting them in a different position (closer to 9 o'clock to see if that resolves the issue. I'm also checking the seating of the top cartridge more regularly, and I have found more than once that they have moved a little in the magazine.

[Robert*PPS]

I haven't messed with my mag holder yet as I was afraid that I would push the mag through by sitting down or something. I was also thinking of putting some kind of fabric closing on it. If you come up with a good mod, let us know.

[HoosierTexan]

So their website says it will take 25 days (Ordered on November 26). Is this realistic?