trinydex
02-28-14, 16:22
this thread will contain my review of the jm custom kydex aiwb holster for my glock 26.
i have previous experience with the gcode incog and the cane and derby pardus for the same glock 26. there are posts of mine in various threads detailling my reviews and opinions on those holsters and i will contrast my experience using the jm custom kydex against those previous experiences.
initial impressions:
customer service: jm custom kydex has the best customer service i've ever experienced when dealing with a custom kydex manufacturer. i'm not actually sure how the two people i spoke with multiple times on the phone had the time to speak with me on the phone, because i imagine they have an endless amount of orders they have to fill. the customer service was so astoundingly good that _they called me_ first! not only that they called me back after one missed phone call, _twice_! this is something that i've never ever heard of with any company, let alone a custom kydex operation.
holster construction: the holster is superb and i will enumerate the reasons why i think so upon initial impressions.
the architecture is very well thought out. i chose this holster as my next evolution in the pursuit of the best appendix holster because the muzzle end of the holster was minimalistic and round. when appendix carrying, everything on the muzzle end of the holster body has potential to contact your pelvic crease and other parts of your upper groin. having this area smooth, round, minimalistic and free of attachment devices is critical to appendix carry comfort. this becomes even more true when the wearer has low rise pants or chooses not to wear pants up to naval.
the design has an allowance for tucking the butt end of the grip toward the body, a belt tuck if you will. this is accomplished by using a stand off in the mold of the actual hoslter body to position the belt loops by elevating them away from the gun in such a way that as the belt tightens it rotates the butt end of the grip into the body. cane and derby used a yoke attachment to the holster body to achieve a similar end goal. the jm custom is superior because it's less bulky.
the taco fold over of the holster is not symetric across the longitudinal bisection of the gun. the body side of the taco fold is larger than the pant side of the fold. this is very important because this enables more smooth folded over lines acoss the muzzle and trigger guard areas of the holster body. this means less kydex edges that touch skin/undergarment.
the holster features holster tension adjustment screw. i don't find this particularly important because i never had to mess with the tension in either my incog or the pardus, but i'm sure this feature is important to some people.
the double soft loops are thin in both width and in thickness. the thin width this is very nice when trying to achieve the perfect placement of the holster on centerline when contending with different types of pants. i will say the spacing of these loops will not allow the bridging of a pant belt loop that is thick/heavy duty like on the vertex pant belt loops. if you try it there will be some fabric mangling, which isn't a game ender, but it is a consideration. i personally wear holsters more centerline of the 2 o clock (10 o clock if you're left handed) belt loop on the pants so this is a nonissue for me. the thin thickness of the loops is very nice because the belt loops end up being easier to work with when donning and doffing the holster.
the holster has an option for extra tuck hump. this is a feature that offers displacement in the form of holster body volume near the muzzle of the holster in order to push the back end of the slide and the heel of the grip into the body. representatives from jm custom kydex phoned me and told me most people do no prefer this feature on a firearm as small as the g26. i had extensive experience with the cane and derby pardus which lacked such a feature and i wanted to test out the feature. the representatives from jm custom kydex offered to let me test out the holster with the extra tuck feature and if i was not satisfied they would send me a tuckless holster. this was totally unsolicited and sounded like a regular part of doing business for them. it was much appreciated, but i like the extra tuck for where i position the holster on my body. the bottom line is that it does not add any discomfort for me. i would say the biggest factor in firearm fupa when appendix carrying is the size of one's own belly and the angle that forces the holster to sit at. i am fairly thin, but my belly distends after large meals and this creates a larger imprint of the firearm at times. the extra tuck does help slightly, but by far the biggest contributing factor is how much my stomach is pushing things out.
the overall holster body is the lowest profile even with the displacement volume added by design in the belt tuck and the grip tuck. this means i get to tighten my belt (or eat larger meals) compared to both the incog and the pardus.
there are two minor issues with the holster from a first impression perspective.
the first is that i have a vickers tactical extended slide catch on my g26. this item is a little higher profile than the regular slide catch. i had to head up the area that interfered with the holstering and bend it out of the way. not a big deal. i did this by choice, i'm sure they would have made it right if i bothered to send it back to them, but i'm a very practical person and i always do minor tweaks to my equipment to get it working flawlessly.
the second incredibly minor issue, is that the corner of the belt loop closest to butt of the gun interferes with obtaining master grip on the gun during draw stroke. there is a lot of adjustment in the belt loop, so the unused portion of loop can be fairly long. in the factory configuration the ride height was fine for me, there is about a half inch of belt loop that extends past the holster body. the corner of material on this loop basically pokes into where the middle finger and its corresponding hand webbing wants to go on when diving for a master grip. clip this corner off and problem is solved.
i will continue to update this thread with more information as i carry with this holster daily. this is only the initial impression, but i am fairly pleased so far.
i have previous experience with the gcode incog and the cane and derby pardus for the same glock 26. there are posts of mine in various threads detailling my reviews and opinions on those holsters and i will contrast my experience using the jm custom kydex against those previous experiences.
initial impressions:
customer service: jm custom kydex has the best customer service i've ever experienced when dealing with a custom kydex manufacturer. i'm not actually sure how the two people i spoke with multiple times on the phone had the time to speak with me on the phone, because i imagine they have an endless amount of orders they have to fill. the customer service was so astoundingly good that _they called me_ first! not only that they called me back after one missed phone call, _twice_! this is something that i've never ever heard of with any company, let alone a custom kydex operation.
holster construction: the holster is superb and i will enumerate the reasons why i think so upon initial impressions.
the architecture is very well thought out. i chose this holster as my next evolution in the pursuit of the best appendix holster because the muzzle end of the holster was minimalistic and round. when appendix carrying, everything on the muzzle end of the holster body has potential to contact your pelvic crease and other parts of your upper groin. having this area smooth, round, minimalistic and free of attachment devices is critical to appendix carry comfort. this becomes even more true when the wearer has low rise pants or chooses not to wear pants up to naval.
the design has an allowance for tucking the butt end of the grip toward the body, a belt tuck if you will. this is accomplished by using a stand off in the mold of the actual hoslter body to position the belt loops by elevating them away from the gun in such a way that as the belt tightens it rotates the butt end of the grip into the body. cane and derby used a yoke attachment to the holster body to achieve a similar end goal. the jm custom is superior because it's less bulky.
the taco fold over of the holster is not symetric across the longitudinal bisection of the gun. the body side of the taco fold is larger than the pant side of the fold. this is very important because this enables more smooth folded over lines acoss the muzzle and trigger guard areas of the holster body. this means less kydex edges that touch skin/undergarment.
the holster features holster tension adjustment screw. i don't find this particularly important because i never had to mess with the tension in either my incog or the pardus, but i'm sure this feature is important to some people.
the double soft loops are thin in both width and in thickness. the thin width this is very nice when trying to achieve the perfect placement of the holster on centerline when contending with different types of pants. i will say the spacing of these loops will not allow the bridging of a pant belt loop that is thick/heavy duty like on the vertex pant belt loops. if you try it there will be some fabric mangling, which isn't a game ender, but it is a consideration. i personally wear holsters more centerline of the 2 o clock (10 o clock if you're left handed) belt loop on the pants so this is a nonissue for me. the thin thickness of the loops is very nice because the belt loops end up being easier to work with when donning and doffing the holster.
the holster has an option for extra tuck hump. this is a feature that offers displacement in the form of holster body volume near the muzzle of the holster in order to push the back end of the slide and the heel of the grip into the body. representatives from jm custom kydex phoned me and told me most people do no prefer this feature on a firearm as small as the g26. i had extensive experience with the cane and derby pardus which lacked such a feature and i wanted to test out the feature. the representatives from jm custom kydex offered to let me test out the holster with the extra tuck feature and if i was not satisfied they would send me a tuckless holster. this was totally unsolicited and sounded like a regular part of doing business for them. it was much appreciated, but i like the extra tuck for where i position the holster on my body. the bottom line is that it does not add any discomfort for me. i would say the biggest factor in firearm fupa when appendix carrying is the size of one's own belly and the angle that forces the holster to sit at. i am fairly thin, but my belly distends after large meals and this creates a larger imprint of the firearm at times. the extra tuck does help slightly, but by far the biggest contributing factor is how much my stomach is pushing things out.
the overall holster body is the lowest profile even with the displacement volume added by design in the belt tuck and the grip tuck. this means i get to tighten my belt (or eat larger meals) compared to both the incog and the pardus.
there are two minor issues with the holster from a first impression perspective.
the first is that i have a vickers tactical extended slide catch on my g26. this item is a little higher profile than the regular slide catch. i had to head up the area that interfered with the holstering and bend it out of the way. not a big deal. i did this by choice, i'm sure they would have made it right if i bothered to send it back to them, but i'm a very practical person and i always do minor tweaks to my equipment to get it working flawlessly.
the second incredibly minor issue, is that the corner of the belt loop closest to butt of the gun interferes with obtaining master grip on the gun during draw stroke. there is a lot of adjustment in the belt loop, so the unused portion of loop can be fairly long. in the factory configuration the ride height was fine for me, there is about a half inch of belt loop that extends past the holster body. the corner of material on this loop basically pokes into where the middle finger and its corresponding hand webbing wants to go on when diving for a master grip. clip this corner off and problem is solved.
i will continue to update this thread with more information as i carry with this holster daily. this is only the initial impression, but i am fairly pleased so far.