Kydex Part II

Fobus Holster and Mag Holder

(part of my Kydex-type review series)
My first foray into kydex, er plastic, just like many out there I'd expect.  Fobus pretty much defined the plastic gun holder genre.  Made of injection molded plastic, their stuff is affordable ($20 neighborhood) and is very durable.  The standard setup comes in either paddle or belt loop variety, and uses simple passive retention.  The holster is molded to the contours of the gun, and has primarily grips the front of the trigger guard.  It has a slight forward cant, which I like (some may not).  There is an adjustable roto version available for a bit more.  Overall it has an even matte finish, and only comes in black as far as I know.

The paddle is pretty comfortable, and is secure, although it could be a little shorter.  It's textured on the front, and has a thin rubber coating on the inside to keep it from moving around.

The holster snuggles up to your body pretty well, and carries the gun pretty well.

The draw is smooth, the inside is mostly slick(more on that in a second) and has a nice wide sight track, and reholstering is not much of a problem, the inside half of the holster is slightly flared at the top helping to funnel the gun into the holster.  The holster grips the gun pretty well when it's inside, it's difficult to actually pull the gun out if the holster's not on your belt, and it tends to bind up if the gun is not pulled straight out, aiding in retention.  The mag holder could be a little tighter for my tastes for the single stacks though (no experience with their double stack holders.)

The downsides of it are of course the lack of any active retention (may or may not be a big deal for you) and, at least on the 1911 holster, due to the "one size fits as much as possible" way they're made, the front end of the gun, including the front sight, is exposed on a full size 5" barreled 1911 since the holster's made for 4" or 5" guns.  Fobus holsters are also known to mar the finish on some guns, like my Kimber for example:

It turns out the model number is molded on the inside of both halves of the holster.  I don't know if Fobus has gotten around to doing anything about it, seeing as it's a pretty well known problem in the gun community, but I picked mine up three or four years ago.  I also have one for my Walther P22, but the finish on that gun is holding up just fine.

Overall, I'm not disappointed with the Fobus goods.  They're fantastic for their price, and make great range holsters if nothing else, let alone as a spare just incase your primary holster goes down for whatever reason.


Part III - Blackhawk! Serpa
Part IV - Raven Concealment Systems
Part V - Conclussions