Leather or Kydex?


Dreadbeard

New member
IWB rig. Pros and Cons of each type - Leather or Kydex. Thanks for your input.
 

It's a personal thing. I actually have a leather and kydex IWB holster from Kholster.

Leather will form to you but get pinched by a tight belt, and is sometimes difficult to put back into its holster. Kydex will keep its form, no matter how tight you tighten your belt.

The Kholster that I have, the leather is against your skin and molds to your body shape, but the kydex keeps its form for a smooth draw. That's my choice.
 
Leather tends to be easier on the firearm but requires a bit more work to keep the leather nice. Kydex keeps its form, tends to be easier to re-holster, but also tends to be a little harder on the finish of the gun.
 
Kydex will surely rub the finish off a gun. I like leather myself. It's been at the forefront for hundreds of years. Guess I just don't like change. Leather holsters are kind of a work of art by artisans. Keydex looks like the remnants of burned Coke bottles, stamped into a mass production product. It has no character.
 
I've made a few Kydex holsters. My Kahr shows zero wear from the Kydex holster. But my friends 1911 that I made one for, almost immediately started showing wear. His was just the standard blued GI model.
Retention on a Kydex can't be matched by leather.
Best thing to do is try different ones and see what you feel most comfortable with. I have a homemade full Kydex OWB pancake for when it's colder out and have a Kohlster IWB hybrid for summer.
 
Both. I like my Alien Gear... the leather is very comfortable, and the kydex keeps it easy to both draw and re-holster.
 
There is no one answer. Over time you'll have a selection of holsters based on the need of the day. For example: at work I use a Kydex at 2 or 3 o'clock because I'm in dress or casual dress attire and it tucks easier and more completely. It also only has one belt clip making it less curious. Also at work I sometimes use a sof-tuc leather for appendix carry at 1:00 with a j-hook to really hide as much as possible. When I'm working at my lake home property, I wear a hybrid Alien Gear at 4:00. I do that because I'm doing a lot of bending and other activities. Holsters are tools. Use the one that best fits the task at hand.
 
Cant go wrong with alien gear its 30 bucks and just as good as crossbreed or king tuk I use one 50 percent of the time the other is the galco royal guard probably one of the best iwb holsters made

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I have a friend that uses a Kydex holster, made for his concealed carry gun, but when walking with him, I can hear it rattle. Leather holsters don't do that.
 
I have a friend that uses a Kydex holster, made for his concealed carry gun, but when walking with him, I can hear it rattle. Leather holsters don't do that.

I've used both. If the firearm is rattling in the Kydex holster, it was not made well or wasn't made for that specific firearm. It should 'snap' into place and be held there with Kydex.
 
As you will notice in you own comment I said "made for his gun". So you mean many major brands are not made well?
 
As you will notice in you own comment I said "made for his gun". So you mean many major brands are not made well?

I can't speak for "many" major brands, however your friends isn't made well if it is rattling so much you can hear it while walking next to him.

I know many people that have Kydex holsters (as do I) and I do not hear them. They all snap into place and hold the firearm tightly.

Also, "made for his gun" could have meant he made it. There are many kits out there where people are trying their hand at forming the Kydex themselves.

In fact, if it does rattle that much, he may want to warm the Kydex and try to reform it so it doesn't rattle.

Here's a site on how to work Kydex your friend might find useful: http://www.instructables.com/id/Fun-With-KYDEX/
 
I've got and prefer leather for my 1911, they just seem to go together for me. For my HK USPc I have a Kydex holster that is leather lined.

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Those leather lined Kydex holsters are sweet!
I've thought about trying to make one. I need to find out what they use to bond the leather to the Kydex.
 
Those leather lined Kydex holsters are sweet!
I've thought about trying to make one. I need to find out what they use to bond the leather to the Kydex.

Loctite Heavy Bonding Spray Adhesive. Spraying would be easier than painting the adhesive on. If you prefer not to spray use any type of laminate cement.

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Two options.
 
I have a friend that uses a Kydex holster, made for his concealed carry gun, but when walking with him, I can hear it rattle. Leather holsters don't do that.

I have both leather and Kydex rigs, but like leather best for at least one of the reasons you mention above - the kind of artistic expression inherent in it - but I cannot agree that leather is a more silent option, at least not generally-speaking. I've had (and still mostly have) leather rigs from one-off no-name custom makers, to Milt Sparks, to all the name-brands like Bianchi, DeSantis, Aker etc., and I've never had one that didn't creak and groan from just normal movement like walking, or bending over to tie your shoes or whatever. It's a more natural sound than the kind of sounds Kydex might produce, so people around you might not notice it as being out of place, but it's hardly quiet in my experience. The Kydex rigs that I actually use are both IWB and I've never noticed a sound out of them. They're not nearly as comfortable though, so I don't use them as often as the OWB leather choices I have.

Blues
 
Does anyone find that, since kydex is stiff, it is harder to find a comfortable position for it? Obviously the gun itself is stiff, but it seems like adding material around it that is also stiff would just make things tighter and harder to find a good spot.
 

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