Anyone using Haugen holsters?

[padwan]

I've been searching for an Askins Avenger/Nelson Professional type holster that doesn't ride too high and saw the Haugen Equalizer 07. Hard to judge the ride height but it looks to have a slight relief at the front to help with the pistol clear leather a little earlier.

I've searched around for reviews of Haugen's products but nothing really helpful surfaced.

Anyone using their products? Have they held up well over the years? My reference right now is Kramer's horsehide IWB3 but I can't carry IWB anymore.

[kaltblitz]

I've carried both a BHP and Glock 19 in Haugen pancake rigs in the past. I don't like to slam small businesses, but I'm not that impressed with their work.

Depending on the model they ride fairly high. The best word that comes to mind to describe their leather is "floppy." They are somewhat soft and do not seem as durable as other custom manufacturers and their dye does not seem to be that great either.

For the price and the six month wait I would take a strong look at either the Milt Sparks 55BN or the Tauris High-Ride.

[padwan]

They are somewhat soft and do not seem as durable as other custom manufacturers and their dye does not seem to be that great either.

For the price and the six month wait I would take a strong look at either the Milt Sparks 55BN or the Tauris High-Ride.

Kaltblitz,

Thanks for the heads up.

The last time I heard of Tauris holsters was in the mid 90s. Never had any of their holsters either but I heard the late Lou Alessi thought highly of Taurisano's work. You have any of his stuff too?

I had Sparks leather for a 1911 when that was what I carried. Excellent stuff but 7 months is just too long a wait for me. :(

Three or four months wouldn't be too bad.

[kjdoski]

Padwan - I don't have any experience with the Haugens, but I've bought LOTS of holsters in the past, and here are some thoughts.

Currently, my Glock rides in an Alessi CQD pancake. The Alessi is a BEAUTIFUL piece of work, and the carry angle is perfectfor concealing the Glock (which can be problematic - too much cant and the back of the slide will "print" like crazy). The Alessi is pricey, and the wait time is getting longer, but I still think it's a good piece of kit. My only gripe with it is that the holster is molded TIGHT - and it has taken a lot of work to get anything close to a quick draw from it. When it first arrived, it was so tight that, literally, I could not get the pistol out of the holster at all when the holster was on my belt. 72+ hours of the pistol in a heavy plastic bag in the holster got it to where I could just barely draw the pistol. I tried leather lightning, with no change. I finally got to the point where I just had to spend an hour or so every night for a week doing draws (which isn't a bad thing at all, but was annoying in the long run).

If you're looking for a more affordable option that is available quickly, I've had great luck with Desantis Speed Scabbards. They're "softer" than most true custom holsters, but I had one which, after three years of daily hard use by me (including deploying in the immediate aftermath of 9/11) I gave to a buddy. He carried it daily through three extended deployments (two to Iraq and one to Afghanistan). The holster looks like hell, but it still provides good retention, and the draw is lightning fast. Probably the best $40 I ever spent on a holster, bar none. These are now my default choice for any pistol EXCEPT the Glock (again, they have a little too much cant to conceal the Glock really well).

It's almost impossible to go wrong with Milt Sparks or Kramer, either, and Mitch Rosen certainly makes some great leather. I've been less impressed with the slew of "new" holster makers who are copying the classic designs - most of them are great guys, but the quality of the product doesn't match. Most of the holsters I've seen have either been "soft" (as described by Kev), or INCREDIBLY thick to avoid being floppy...

Regards,

Kevin

[kaltblitz]

Kaltblitz,

Thanks for the heads up.

The last time I heard of Tauris holsters was in the mid 90s. Never had any of their holsters either but I heard the late Lou Alessi thought highly of Taurisano's work. You have any of his stuff too?

I had Sparks leather for a 1911 when that was what I carried. Excellent stuff but 7 months is just too long a wait for me. :(

Three or four months wouldn't be too bad.

I've lost count of how many of Mike's holsters I have. He is my all time favorite holster maker. He's getting up there in years and is a little known treasure.

Holsters take a bit of experimenting. Different holster makers fit different body types and different designs work good for some and not for others. Most of us that are serious about carrying our guns for a living end up with a whole box (or barrel) of holsters. I think I've probably invested well in excess of $5k on holsters. I probably should start selling some. Even if I don't wear them I often enjoy them as art.

Almost any good holster will have a decent wait time. Six or seven months isn't bad at all when you consider a Del Fatti takes years.

The Nelson design has never worked well for me. For belt wear I have always preferred the pancake with an FBI cant worn at the 3 o'clock. I do own a few of the Nelson design though since I've played with it in the past a bit.

The 5Shot (John Ralston) CBS that is an absolute work of art. That would probably be my first choice if I were you. I'm not sure what John's current wait time is, but his stuff comes up for sale often enough on Louderthanwords.us.

[padwan]

Currently, my Glock rides in an Alessi CQD pancake. The Alessi is a BEAUTIFUL piece of work, and the carry angle is perfectfor concealing the Glock (which can be problematic - too much cant and the back of the slide will "print" like crazy). The Alessi is pricey, and the wait time is getting longer, but I still think it's a good piece of kit. My only gripe with it is that the holster is molded TIGHT - and it has taken a lot of work to get anything close to a quick draw from it. When it first arrived, it was so tight that, literally, I could not get the pistol out of the holster at all when the holster was on my belt. 72+ hours of the pistol in a heavy plastic bag in the holster got it to where I could just barely draw the pistol. I tried leather lightning, with no change. I finally got to the point where I just had to spend an hour or so every night for a week doing draws (which isn't a bad thing at all, but was annoying in the long run).

If you're looking for a more affordable option that is available quickly, I've had great luck with Desantis Speed Scabbards. Probably the best $40 I ever spent on a holster, bar none. These are now my default choice for any pistol EXCEPT the Glock (again, they have a little too much cant to conceal the Glock really well).


Regards,

Kevin

Thanks Kevin. I am familiar with Alessi's work at least when Lou was still alive. I had a couple of his IWB's (one for a CZ75 and another for a BHP) and they were really well made, and tight as you noticed.

I don't know what the products from the surviving companies (the new Alessi holster company and Ritchie Leather) are like though.

Never owned a DeSantis but a couple of friends do and they have no complaints.