Blackhawk! Night-Ops Xiphos?

[Oscar 319]

Does anyone have any experience with these lights? Any thoughts or input is appreciated.

http://www.blackhawk.com/images/catalog/NOP_XIPHOS.jpg

http://www.officerstore.com/images/xiphos.jpg

I need to replace my tired Safariland 6285 w/Glock light combo. I know, get a SF X300.

There are good deals to be had on Serpa's with the Xiphos light for both my M&P 45 and Glocks.

I had a little "incident" with my Safariland a while back which is discouraging me from buying a new one. But thats another story.........

[Abraxas]

What happened to your Safariland?

[Oscar 319]

What happened to your Safariland?


Long story, short.....

The 6285 has the 1.5" drop. I had a suicidal guy barricaded in a small bathroom. After "negotiations" with him failed I breached the door and rushed him. When I did this, I noticed two things:

1. My gun/holster was on the floor.
2. So was my suspect.

When I went blazing through the door my holster hit the door jam and snapped the bracket holding it to my belt. Luckily I was on him fast, cuffed him and tossed him out and away from my (gulp :o ) weapon. I then had to pick up the gun in it's holster, with my tail between my legs and return it to my vehilce.

Anyway, after getting my ass chewed (much deserved) for rushing the guy, I took the holster home and removed the broken piece and replaced it with another bracket from another Safariland 6something or other, making the holster a mid-ride.

Now, about a week ago I went to pull my weapon to check it and it would not come out! Holy shit. It worked in the morning, and I just came off the road. Turns out the cap on the bottom protecting the light somehow got jarred loose and hooked somewhere on the gun. While trying to fix it, the som' bitch popped out. Now the light is voulnerable from the bottom. So no, I will not be getting a new one.

I will have to take pics of the broken bracket some day and post them. Bad feelings my friend....

[Abraxas]

Wow that sucks. I can understand you feelings. I guess I simply have not hit mine hard enough yet.

[NCPatrolAR]

I havent seen anything the Xiphos offer that I want. The light is offset slightly which greatly limits your holster options. Also, the light is only pushing about 65 lumens (unless they have up'ed it recently) which isnt enough for LE work (IMO). I think you'd be better served with the TLR-1 if money is a concern right now.



Does anyone have any experience with these lights? Any thoughts or input is appreciated.

http://www.blackhawk.com/images/catalog/NOP_XIPHOS.jpg

http://www.officerstore.com/images/xiphos.jpg

I need to replace my tired Safariland 6285 w/Glock light combo. I know, get a SF X300.

There are good deals to be had on Serpa's with the Xiphos light for both my M&P 45 and Glocks.

I had a little "incident" with my Safariland a while back which is discouraging me from buying a new one. But thats another story.........

[nickdrak]

If your holster seperating from the belt attachment is a serious concern for you, I would stick with Safariland. Your incident as described above is a rare one. However, the same cannot be said about the SERPA holsters. I have seen two of them seperate from the belt attachment. One on a SERPA duty holster, and the other on a CQC concealment holster. I have personally ripped one from its belt attachement by hand while mounted on a friends belt with only my hands by grabbing the grip of the pistol and ripping it away. There are other reports of the same issue on 10-8 forums and elsewhere with the SERPA.

I see alot of guys at work get the SERPA's because they are cheap, or they "Got a good deal on it". Not a good reason to buy sub-standard junk to wear on-duty in my opinion, but hey, what do I know....

Safariland is by far, the most widely used duty holster in use with both Military & Law Enforcement, and based on shear numbers of them in-service, yours is the exception by far.

Another thing to take into consideration, is depending on which model Glock you have, you may be stuck with the GTL (Glock Tactical Light). The .40S&W Glocks dont function properly with weapon lights attached other than the GTL. The most widely reported issues are with the G22/Surefire X200/X300 combo. The 19,17,21, and apparently all other Glock non-40cal pistols appear to be UN-affected by this issue regardless of which light is mounted.


There was also recently a widely reported recall by Blackhawk on the CQC SERPA for the M&P. I responded by destroying the one I bought last year in the manner I described above. Guys still insist on buying them though:confused:

ETA: The damage/issues with you Safariland 6285 described above should most certainly be covered by Safarilands warranty, so it should not cost you anything to have it replaced.

[Deoje]

I carry this at work. I really like the holster, but I don't care for the light. It's not bright enough. Unfortunately, you have to use the light to use the holster.

[Oscar 319]

If your holster seperating from the belt attachment is a serious concern for you, I would stick with Safariland. Your incident as described above is a rare one. However, the same cannot be said about the SERPA holsters. I have seen two of them seperate from the belt attachment. One on a SERPA duty holster, and the other on a CQC concealment holster. I have personally ripped one from its belt attachement by hand while mounted on a friends belt with only my hands by grabbing the grip of the pistol and ripping it away. There are other reports of the same issue on 10-8 forums and elsewhere with the SERPA.

I see alot of guys at work get the SERPA's because they are cheap, or they "Got a good deal on it". Not a good reason to buy sub-standard junk to wear on-duty in my opinion, but hey, what do I know....

Safariland is by far, the most widely used duty holster in use with both Military & Law Enforcement, and based on shear numbers of them in-service, yours is the exception by far.

Another thing to take into consideration, is depending on which model Glock you have, you may be stuck with the GTL (Glock Tactical Light). The .40S&W Glocks dont function properly with weapon lights attached other than the GTL. The most widely reported issues are with the G22/Surefire X200/X300 combo. The 19,17,21, and apparently all other Glock non-40cal pistols appear to be UN-affected by this issue regardless of which light is mounted.


There was also recently a widely reported recall by Blackhawk on the CQC SERPA for the M&P. I responded by destroying the one I bought last year in the manner I described above. Guy still insist on buying them though:confused:

ETA: The damage/issues with you Safariland 6285 described above should most certainly be covered by Safarilands warranty, so it should not cost you anything to have it replaced.


Good info Nick. Yes, I use the Glock light with my G22 for those reasons and it has been flawless. By the way, it did not seperate. The plastic completely snapped from the front belt loop on a 45 degree angle all the way off, breaking it in half.

I just heard about another of our officers breaking his Safariland bracket as I did, though his was left hanging and did not come completely off. I never had any issues with the non light bearing Safarilands.

The light bearing models are so "clunky". That is the only way to describe it and the draw sucked, but I learned to live with it (the slide sticks on the draw even with loose tension). The weapons mounted light is a must have. Looks like I'll scratch the Xiphos and stick with the cheesy GTL-1. It seems all our new guys have Serpa level 3's and like them, though none have lights (FNG's! ;) ).

The only other option in a duty holster with the Glock light I know of is Blade-Tech. This has turned into a holster discussion. But thats what got me looking at the Serpa/Xiphos. Any experience/thoughs on the Blade-Techs? Any one, any one?

[sff70]

Not bright enough.

Offet limits holster options to Serpa (a no-go, IMO).

Bladetech holsters are good, but they employ a thumbsnap. Difficult to resecure quickly when going hands on during reholstering, and easier for perps to undo.

I would stick to Safariland.

[nickdrak]

Take a look at the 6360/6365 series ALS holster from Safariland. I currently have the 6280 as my duty holster, and im not crazy about the draw on it either.

The ALS holsters I have tried are much improved over the 6280 in my opinion. The ALS device locks the pistol in the holster even with the rotating hood opened, and is very natural to disengage while obtaining your grip on your pistol.

Of course the only problem is that they have not made the ALS duty holsters available for the M&P45 with weaponlights attached yet.:(

The BladeTech WRS duty holster looks interesting, but I dont want to drop the money to test one out. I may be forced to if Safariland doesnt hurry the hell up and make the ALS 6360 w/SF X300 attached soon!

Here's a video link of the Bladetech WRS holster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiKOXgAXhfs

[Oscar 319]

Not bright enough.

Offet limits holster options to Serpa (a no-go, IMO).

Bladetech holsters are good, but they employ a thumbsnap. Difficult to resecure quickly when going hands on during reholstering, and easier for perps to undo.

I would stick to Safariland.

Blade-Tech actually makes an automatic hood type holster I was looking at.

http://www.blade-tech.com/product_images/d_379.jpg

http://www.blade-tech.com/-WRS-DUTY-HOLSTER-W-LIGHT-SR-Loop-pr-1033.html#product_images

[Oscar 319]

Take a look at the 6360/6365 series ALS holster from Safariland. I currently have the 6280 as my duty holster, and im not crazy about the draw on it either.

The ALS holsters I have tried are much improved over the 6280 in my opinion. The ALS device locks the pistol in the holster even with the rotating hood opened, and is very natural to disengage while maintaining your grip on your pistol.

Of course the only problem is that they have not made the ALS duty holsters available for the M&P45 with weaponlights attached yet.:(

The BladeTech WRS duty holster looks interesting, but I dont want to drop the money to test one out. I may be forced to if Safariland doesnt hurry the hell up and make the ALS 6360 w/SF X300 attached soon!

Here's a video link of the B;adetech WRS holster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiKOXgAXhfs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiKOXgAXhfs)


You beat me to the BladeTech WRS.....I actually need the holster for the Glock ASAP, the M&P can wait. Do you know if the ALS 63's come with the Glock light option?

[nickdrak]

According to their "Will Fit" chart, that is also a big 'ol NEGATIVE:( : http://www.safariland.com/info/willfit/pistols_dg_lights.pdf

[NCPatrolAR]

I personaly dont care for the 63 series of holsters. We are issued them at work, but I've gone back to a personal 6280. I love the ALS when it is the sole feature on the holster. Add the SLS hood to it and the holster becomes junk to me.

[sff70]

Oscar,

Had no idea BT was offering such a thing. Looks promising. You going to order one and let us know how it works out? :D

[NetJunkie]

I have one. It's a good size and weight. I much prefer the light output on my X200.

[Oscar 319]

Oscar,

Had no idea BT was offering such a thing. Looks promising. You going to order one and let us know how it works out? :D

I actually think I will. I talked to one of my bro's last night who parks his Springfield Operator w/X200 in a Blade-Tech on his duty rig. He loves the holster, all pro's- no con's.

[nickdrak]

I personaly dont care for the 63 series of holsters. We are issued them at work, but I've gone back to a personal 6280. I love the ALS when it is the sole feature on the holster. Add the SLS hood to it and the holster becomes junk to me.

They do offer them without the SLS hood as well. It's the model 6320/6325: http://www.safariland.com/product.aspx?pid=6325

[KellyTTE]

A very brief writeup I did a while back. It echos a lot of whats being posted here.

http://www.ttellc.net/wl.htm

[Oscar 319]

A very brief writeup I did a while back. It echos a lot of whats being posted here.

http://www.ttellc.net/wl.htm

Good info Kelly. I already ruled out the Xiphos. FWIW, I am keeping the Glock light and ordered the Blade-Tech holster. I wonder how the reliablity of the Xipohos is on a G22 (it is polymer)? I have not had 1 malfunction in around 2,000 rounds with the 22/Glock light combo.

[KellyTTE]

Good info Kelly. I already ruled out the Xiphos. FWIW, I am keeping the Glock light and ordered the Blade-Tech holster. I wonder how the reliablity of the Xipohos is on a G22 (it is polymer)? I have not had 1 malfunction in around 2,000 rounds with the 22/Glock light combo.

Can't really go wrong with a Bladetech option. I like the glock light well enough, just not its size or somewhat dated technology. I like the Xiphos in an abstract fashion, but I run a good ole SSL on my carry/bedside gun, so that says a lot I think, the ergonomics are simply better for me than either the Surefire or the Xiphos. Thats even with the FAR better accessory selection and light output of the SF offering.

[Oscar 319]

Can't really go wrong with a Bladetech option. I like the glock light well enough, just not its size or somewhat dated technology. I like the Xiphos in an abstract fashion, but I run a good ole SSL on my carry/bedside gun, so that says a lot I think, the ergonomics are simply better for me than either the Surefire or the Xiphos. Thats even with the FAR better accessory selection and light output of the SF offering.

Dated is right. I wish Glock would make a LED version. One thing I do like is the way the Glock light keeps the lines of the gun....stacked batts instead of side by side.