Sidearmor vs. Comp-tac IWB. Please help.

[NuBee]

Hi there fellow Texans. I have narrowed my holster search down to 4 holsters for my G23.

I need recommendations and honest comments about my choices please for I am new to all of this.

They are:
1) The Sidearmor for Glcks
http://www.sidearmor.com/cart/catalog/p ... lster.html

2)CompTac Pro undercover
http://www.comp-tac.com/ct_pro_uc.html

3)CompTac The Infidel
http://www.comp-tac.com/ct_infidel.php

4)CompTac C-T.A.C
http://www.comp-tac.com/ct_ctac.html

I chose Kydex because of Spring/Summer sweat and ease of re-holstering. I cannot imagine sweating in leather everyday and my holster getting soaking wet.

Also all 4 of the above have sweatshields. I wonder if the sweat shields poke you or are uncomfortable??
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/26 ... 4031BaCRIV

But my number 1 concern is "printing"

Please advise. Thanks in advance.

NuBee

[longtooth]

My IWB holster is the Infidel. I rote a report on it & it hasa been back up in the last few days. Mine is the Gurkha set up. I carry a full size 1911A1 Springfield. Cover it w/ a poloshirt, untucked cotton, or Hawaiian. No trouble w/ print.
I have had the Pro Undercover. Same results. It is a good holster. I find the rear strut on the Gurkha to better stablalize the holster than the Pro.

C-TAC - There is no one indifferent about this holster. You will either love it or hate it. I had one & did not love it. Poked me bad & I could not get the gun high enough on my belt & never enough cant. If you are going to tuck it, spend the extra money & get a Tucker, "THe Answer".

Other one I have not worn.

Printing:
Printing is a worry of new carry.
I tell folks that start to remember rule #3/
Good gun belt. Quality holster.
Put it on cover it up & leave it alone.
No one knows it is there so quit worrying.

[HighVelocity]

Of the ones you've listed, I prefer the sidearmor. I have owned them all EXCEPT the Infidel.
The only reason I prefer the Sidearmor over the Pro undercover is the ability to change attachments. Otherwise, they're about the same imho.

[yerasimos]

Not a Texan here, I just happen to live in Texas to avoid Yankee taxes and gun control . . . but I do have experience with both Sidearmor and Comp-Tac holsters.

The Sidearmor is generally a pretty good design, but the Sidearmor holster I bought had a kydex belt attachment whose design was flawed such that after two or three months of non-abusive wear, the attachment would start cracking badly. Furthermore, when ordering spare attachments, I found their customer service rather inconsistent (had to wait over a month for replacement belt attachments).

I have tried a few different Comp-Tac holsters, but I have not yet tried a Pro Undercover or Infidel. In my experience, the Comp-Tac CTAC was OK as long as the holster was filled with gun (like it is supposed to be, not when ditching the iron in the car to eat at Taco Cabana or something like that). Comp-Tac's customer service crew is second to none; JB in particular has always been accommodating and straight-talking.

I would also point out that the C-TAC belt attachments can be changed with the help of Vise-Grips or strong thumbs, and Comp-Tac has a variety of attachments to choose from as well as an open ear to listen to your ideas about what you would like. The C-TAC uses leather tabs between the holster body and belt attachments; these too can be replaced for a nominal fee.

Both needed a few minutes of Dremel work to grind down the top of the sweatshield so it did not bite the base of my thumb during repeated rapid draws (dry fire, training classes, IDPA).

Hope this helps!

[NuBee]

Thank you very much for the rapid response guys. I got distracted but I'm back.

Concerning the flawed attachments for the Sidearmor Yerasimos are any non- kydex belt loops available that you know of?

[yerasimos]

Thank you very much for the rapid response guys. I got distracted but I'm back.

Concerning the flawed attachments for the Sidearmor Yerasimos are any non- kydex belt loops available that you know of?

I recently looked at Sidearmor's web page after a long hiatus; all belt attachments were formed from Kydex. I only have experience with the full belt loops; I suspect their J-hook attachment may not sustain the same failure I saw (personally, I would never use J-hooks).

Let me clarify/summarize my opinion on the Sidearmor: it is very comfortable, but not very durable.

Because of my experience with both the Sidearmor holster and Comp-Tac's CTAC, I am a strong believer in having flexibility between the belt attachments and the holster body (reduces stress on the Kydex), as well as having the belt attachments fore and aft of the holster body (less printing, and no crushing of belt attachments between gun and things you may bump into in normal day-to-day activity, which doomed the Sidearmor).

Curiously, I was unable to find a page dedicated to Sidearmor's 4th generation Glock IWB (very C-TAC like) as I distinctly remember seeing a few years ago. I am just speculating here, but possibly it was too much like the C-TAC . . .

Btw, never use an OWB Kydex holster in a training class; I keep hearing of this unnamed instructor who gets off on mauling and wrecking his students' Kydex holsters while they are wearing them, under the guise of teaching them to resist gun snatches. (Dunno whether he is in league with a leather holster maker . . . ) I am not going on experience here, but I figure that IWB Kydex holsters, worn with sturdy belts, may be more resistant to this abuse, whether from an enthusiastic instructor in a class or a thug/malandro you are unable to avoid in the real world.

Hope this helps!

[NuBee]

Muchos thanks gents for all of your help.

I am(WILL BE) the new owner of an Infidel with belt loops. Just ordered it

I went with the leather loops because they can never crack like Kydex and can be replaced easily if needed.

I had done a lot of research before(so many brands and models) but made my final decision based mostly on the practical info and experience that you gents shared.

Thank you!!

NuBee

[longtooth]

You picked a good one.

[NuBee]

Thanks for the congrads. I cannot wait until it gets here. :

I've been wearing a t-shirt under a t-shirt using the 1st layer as sort of a sweat shield . I'm 6'1", 240lbs and have been using the Glock-made OWB holster.

The top half of my G23 always presses/lays against my side. A leather holster would get ringing wet on me and it has not even the hot season yet.

This is not how I want to lose weight.

I am assuming the Kydex can just be wiped down with a soapy towel once in a while.

NuBee

[longtooth]

Yes it is easy to wipe down.

[rbraughn]

I see you have already ordered, but I felt I should respond to yerasimos post about the Sidearmor.

I have had 2 Sidearmor IWB's with the J hooks for at least over 7 years. One for a Glock 27 and one for a Glock 30.

I have never had any issues with it cracking or its durability Even the rubber grommets for the retention screws are like new.....I have been a very satisfied customer. The Kydex on the Sidearmor doesnt seem to mar the finish like on some cheaper holsters like the Fobus (no flames please ) also you can easily change from J hooks to belt loops with an allen wrench.

I can't speak to their customer service since I have never had to use it, but they used to have a steller reputation over at Glocktalk.com.

[Mike from Texas]

I can't speak fro teh Sidearmor but my Comp-Tac Infidel with the belt loops and Ghurka strut is much more comfortable than my Blade Tech IWB. I also have a belt clip and shirt tucker attachment on order for it as well.

[amcit]

Hi NuBee,

How's the Infidel working out for you?
I have a lot to learn about gunleather.

I've heard good things about Blade-Tech, and that's who I'll go with next:
http://www.blade-tech.com/home.php

My experience with Sidearmor ("SA") has not been as positive as the friends of SA on GlockTalk. For what it might be worth, if I recall correctly, SA is, or at least has been, one of GlockTalk's advertisers.

I ordered an adjustable-angle IWB holster from SA. The model I purchased doesn't appear to be on their website anymore.

Instead of J-hooks or solid loops, the holster I bought uses open "belt loops": it hangs on the belt/waistband using hooks that are open but slightly crimped out toward the end of the hook to give it a little more grab.

I want my pistol to stay securely in the holster when I'm not drawing. With the Sidearmor holster, I find that the attachments aren't sufficiently secure to reliably overcome the holster tension. What I mean is this:
When I tighten the holster to the point where it securely retains the pistol, the holster will occasionally keep its grip on the pistol during a draw and come free of waistband still firmly in place covering the pistol. This doesn't happen very often, but far too often for peace of mind.

Sure, this could be remedied by loosening the pistol in the holster, but as stated I want the holster to hold, not just carry. I don't want the pistol to come bouncing out when I drop for cover.

Similarly, I found the attachment insecure even when not drawing. I had one especially bad moment in a stall while adjusting my trousers: the holster let go suddenly under its own weight and plunged down my pants leg. Happily, I managed to trap it at the ankle before it went skittering across the tile floor under the partition.

For any Sidearmor partisans reading, yes, I did attempt to work this out with their customer service, without success.

I tried to order it with J-Hooks, but those weren't available--they would not sell them to me, which I found bizarre. I recall the explanation being that there had been cracking issues.

I sent them the holster. They were unwilling to do anything for me, saying the holster was not in a re-saleable condition due to tarnish on the screws and visible wear on the pivot. This disappointed me: I can't say I'm impressed with any merchant who backs their product only if they think they can convince someone else to buy a specific unit that a customer tells them is defective if not poorly-designed. I completely agree it wasn't in a re-salable condition, but then I don't think it was in salable condition in the first place. Imagine ordering a steak, finding something disgusting a few bites in, and having the manager shrug at you because they can't re-sell the steak.

Since they no longer offer the holster in question, I infer that the holster hasn't been profitable for them and that I'm not the only one who was dissatisfied.

They sent my holster back, though I told them they were free to keep it.

Next time, Blade-Tech.