Kydex holster issues, any info appreciated

[TacWick]

I recently purchased a custom kydex holster for my mp 9 from personal security holsters. This is my first custom kydex holster, normally I use leather or safari land. I am having problems with drawing my weapons, when I try the holster, belt, and my pants come up to my chest. Is this normal for a new holster? Is it because it's too tight. Also I am wearing a standard store belt, not a gun belt. I know this doesn't help and I plan on getting a ranger belt from ares soon but it still seems that the holster should work without having to spend an additional 80$ for a belt. Is there something I can do? Untighten screws, warm the holster, ect. I sent psh.com a message a week ago about this and still no answer so I'm hoping anyone here can help. Thanks

[Rattlehead]

I recently purchased a custom kydex holster for my mp 9 from personal security holsters. This is my first custom kydex holster, normally I use leather or safari land. I am having problems with drawing my weapons, when I try the holster, belt, and my pants come up to my chest. Is this normal for a new holster? Is it because it's too tight. Also I am wearing a standard store belt, not a gun belt. I know this doesn't help and I plan on getting a ranger belt from ares soon but it still seems that the holster should work without having to spend an additional 80$ for a belt. Is there something I can do? Untighten screws, warm the holster, ect. I sent psh.com a message a week ago about this and still no answer so I'm hoping anyone here can help. Thanks

Kydex holsters in general have break-in periods; this would appear to be normal. Spend time practicing your draw and it will gradually smooth/loosen up over time.

[specopsscout]

No, you shouldn't have to give yourself a wedgie to unholster, particularly with a Kydex holster, at least not a properly fitted quality piece.
The pistol should "click" in and out, and not rattle around when holstered. Sometimes they come from the manufacturers a bit on the overly tightened side of things. It doesn't take much to take a holster from perfect to overly tight, sometimes as little as a quarter turn on the tension screw.
A small adjustment on the tension screw can pay big dividends. Too loose and the pistol will rattle around inside, which means it won't consistently be in exactly the same place every time you go for the draw,and will likely increase wear on the pistol's finish. Too tight, and it will require two hands, and your belt line at your nipples to get it out.
Look for a happy medium. Having used many over the years, mostly from Blade-tech, but also FIST and a few others, a fairly simple test, while working with an UNLOADED FIREARM, is to set the adjustment to the point that when you holster the pistol and invert it, the pistol doesn't fall out. For a concealed carry pistol, this should be more then sufficient. If you IWB, you may need to make a slight additional adjustment, as the belt wrapped around the outside of the holster will add additional tension to the holster, as it compresses it against your body.
As an additional point, if you are carry IWB, and using a substandard belt, that might be part of your problem. With a weaker/ flimsy belt, folks tend to really cinch them down tight to try and support the weapon. As pointed out above, this will increase the tension of the holster and might be part of the problem. With a quality belt, this becomes less of a problem as the belts are designed not to roll over and flex, so they don't need to be tourniquet tight.
I hope this helps...

[JSantoro]

It doesn't take much to take a holster from perfect to overly tight, sometimes as little as a quarter turn on the tension screw.

:rolleyes:

And just where, precisely, on a Personal Security Systems holster (as identified in the first sentence of the OP), is one going to find a tension screw...?

Allow me to answer: NOwhere.

OP, your first steps are to get pants that fit, start wearing your belt the way a belt is supposed to be worn. A type-specific gunbelt can help, but won't do a damned thing for you of you're wearing gangsta-pants with the belt at its largest possible adjustment.

One can carry virtually any gun on them with the choice of the right holster and dressing like a bit of a slob....but not like so much of a slob that your clothes are hanging off of you like the clothes on a scarecrow. For the holster to release its payload correctly, it needs to remain as stationary as it may when the gun is gripped and pulled.

If your pants and belt end up at your chest....even accounting for the obvious level of exaggeration, in lieu of an accurate description...your clothes and the way you wear them are football-bat f#$ked-up, to begin with.

....which doesn't mean that the holster won't require some work to smooth out. If you manage to fix the pants/belt problem, and the holster remains tight, that can be fixed by something as simple as putting your gun in a Zip-Loc bag, jamming it into the holster and leaving it that way when it's not being used.

[Atchcraft]

^^^ this.
Get a real belt and wear it properly and I think you'll be surprised. When I first pulled my PS out of the box, I thought I might have an issue with too much retention. That completely went away when I hit the range. Great holster.

[Steve S.]

We are making some changes to email addresses, new computers, etc. so things are a bit hectic. There is an auto reply on the main email to contact the Invoicing address until we get everything sorted out. Im not sure if the reply will work while the email address is down, however. Things should be back to better than normal within a couple weeks.

The draw could be the issue, the belt could be the issue, or it may just be too tight. All M&P9/40/45 holsters are tested with an actual gun, not just a blue gun, but retention is still subjective. I definitely wouldn't want you to keep something you aren't happy with, especially since it's a few minutes to tweak it to your liking.

There's always the option of sending it back to be fitted. We will pay the shipping both ways, so there's only time that is lost. For a tension adjustment, it's only a day or so in the shop.

Communication is kind of poor right now. The Invoicing address isn't being messed with, but we are going to a new mail server and new email addresses. So there's been some issues that cropped up with that. This month of chaos will pay off with a better communications system in the very near future.

Best wishes.

[TacWick]

Thanks for all the replys. I will attempt to solve the problem myself before sending it back for adjustments. I love the holster aside from the before mentioned draw issue. I will use it as much as possible to break in and try the zip lock baggy technique. As far as my belt and pants go, I do not wear them as you do "gansta" style so that is not part of the problem. My belt is a Nike leather belt I got at the local mall so it is not that still and strong. But even with a weak belt, my pants correctly worn, and holster proper, it still gives me grief but I'm sure this is a solvable issue for a new kydex holster. Psh I appreciate your reply, I will let you know if/when I solve my problem. Thanks again

[CaptainDooley]

Steve - I'm glad I saw this and now know you're having email issues... That said, I need you to contact me about the replacement holster that was due around the end of August...

Thanks,

Kevin

[specopsscout]

:rolleyes:

And just where, precisely, on a Personal Security Systems holster (as identified in the first sentence of the OP), is one going to find a tension screw...?

Allow me to answer: NOwhere.

OP, your first steps are to get pants that fit, start wearing your belt the way a belt is supposed to be worn. A type-specific gunbelt can help, but won't do a damned thing for you of you're wearing gangsta-pants with the belt at its largest possible adjustment.

One can carry virtually any gun on them with the choice of the right holster and dressing like a bit of a slob....but not like so much of a slob that your clothes are hanging off of you like the clothes on a scarecrow. For the holster to release its payload correctly, it needs to remain as stationary as it may when the gun is gripped and pulled.

If your pants and belt end up at your chest....even accounting for the obvious level of exaggeration, in lieu of an accurate description...your clothes and the way you wear them are football-bat f#$ked-up, to begin with.

....which doesn't mean that the holster won't require some work to smooth out. If you manage to fix the pants/belt problem, and the holster remains tight, that can be fixed by something as simple as putting your gun in a Zip-Loc bag, jamming it into the holster and leaving it that way when it's not being used.

My apologies. I misread his question about loosening screws to read it as the model in question having a screw to adjust tension, ALA Bladetech and others. After a quick web search, I see that I was in error.

[Steve S.]

Steve - I'm glad I saw this and now know you're having email issues... That said, I need you to contact me about the replacement holster that was due around the end of August...

Thanks,

Kevin

Already on its way, brother. I think i had a bad address on it the first time, since it came back. When I got my email address straightened out late last week, I pulled the address from your latest email string and had it resent.

We are changing email providers, along with myself switching from PC to Mac, so it's been a learning curve. I messed something up while trying to set up forwarding.

I do think the main email account lost some emails from the past couple weeks, so if anyone didn't see a response - it's definitely not intentional.

[CaptainDooley]

Awesome. I assumed it went to the wrong address given the delay. If there's any kind of tracking on it - could you email or PM me the info?

Glad to hear things are back on track. We'll have to catch up on the custom project soon.

Sorry for the derailment. Back to your previously scheduled thread…


Already on its way, brother. I think i had a bad address on it the first time, since it came back. When I got my email address straightened out late last week, I pulled the address from your latest email string and had it resent.

We are changing email providers, along with myself switching from PC to Mac, so it's been a learning curve. I messed something up while trying to set up forwarding.

I do think the main email account lost some emails from the past couple weeks, so if anyone didn't see a response - it's definitely not intentional.

[Steve S.]

TacWick - did you end up deciding the retention was proper, or send it in for an adjustment? Just making sure everything turned out well, given the recent craziness associated with the new website.

Hope all is well, brother.

[TacWick]

Thanks for the interest and checking up on me. I appreciate that. I ended up placing my firearm in plastic bags and letting it sit when not in use and also began practicing my draw as much as possible. It seemed all the retention was the trigger guard and not the rest of the holster. It only took 2 to 3 days to get it where I wanted and is very nice now.

[.308holes]

I ask, because I have never heard of the "Zip lock baggie break-in" procedures on a kydex holster, especially one that you paid for, not made in your garage.
Somebody want to elaborate?

[TacWick]

I ask, because I have never heard of the "Zip lock baggie break-in" procedures on a kydex holster, especially one that you paid for, not made in your garage.
Somebody want to elaborate?

I heard about this "technique" only here when trying to resolve my holster issue. My holster when great but just too much retention not actually tight because I could move it a little while holster so I new it was just the trigger guard which is what retains the firearm anyway. I placed my firearm in two plastic baggies when I was not using it, and folded the baggies over concentrating on the trigger guard making it thickest on the trigger guard verse the rest of the gun since as stated the rest of the holster was fine and not tight. A couple days later it had "loosened up" I guess you would say. I'm not sure if I will have to repeat this down the road if it molds back or if it will stay as is through use. All I know is it draws nice now with a good clean quick draw.

[Steve S.]

I heard about this "technique" only here when trying to resolve my holster issue. My holster when great but just too much retention not actually tight because I could move it a little while holster so I new it was just the trigger guard which is what retains the firearm anyway. I placed my firearm in two plastic baggies when I was not using it, and folded the baggies over concentrating on the trigger guard making it thickest on the trigger guard verse the rest of the gun since as stated the rest of the holster was fine and not tight. A couple days later it had "loosened up" I guess you would say. I'm not sure if I will have to repeat this down the road if it molds back or if it will stay as is through use. All I know is it draws nice now with a good clean quick draw.

Interesting. This is a common technique with Leather holsters, since Leather deforms. But Kydex requires heat to deform. Life has shown me stranger things though.

If at anytime you want me to take a look at it, just let me know, dude. My company covers shipping both ways, so you're only out a few days without a holster. To get ahold of me direct, its steve@persecsystems.com.

Best wishes, TacWick.