By Brandon Martin
Brandon gives us his take on the Alien Gear Cloak MOD Outside The Waistband Holster for everyday carry…
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- I must admit that I am fairly new to the world of holsters and holster design. Most of my previous experience mainly comes from the leather type holsters associated with surplus firearms, but recently I purchased a Springfield XD and the holster that came with that particular firearm wasn’t something I felt that I could use in a crisis situation.
While the Springfield holster was made fairly well, it held the gun in a vice-like grip that forced me to wrench it out with a lot of force, which then affected the fractions of a second it took to level my gun to its intended target.
On the advice of a friend I decided to try Alien Gear Cloak MOD Outside The Waistband Holster and boy was I impressed.
Alien Gear Cloak MOD Outside The Waistband Holster Design:
The first thing I noticed when my holster arrived was how well it was molded to my XD and how tough the outer shell was. The inside featured a soft and flexible thermo elastomer membrane, which stands in between the gun and the spring-steel flex plate which gives it its form. But, the true test was when inserted my XD into it. I had expected some kind breaking in period so I really held no expectations for first time use; my XD slid right in sat securely and it was amazing smooth to draw from as well.
No having to wrench the gun loose with a herculean feat of strength, no having my belt 3 inches above my waste because of force exerted was a great feeling.
Almost everything in Alien Gear’s design seemed to be considered, from the durability of the product to the holster clips to your belt for easy removal. My only criticism in the design is the fact that there isn’t a feature to prevent someone from drawing the weapon out of your holster. This personally doesn’t affect me as much as it would potentially others, but in any case I feel that it should be known. According to Alien Gear’s website this holster design was in development for over a year and it shows.
Alien Gear Cloak MOD Outside The Waistband Holster Retention:
As I said above the Alien Gear Cloak MOD Outside The Waistband Holster fit securely and tightly from the first use to the 500th use. There were a few times where I would take the holster with the gun inside off of my belt and give it a few hard shakes to see if the gun would dislodge and it never did once. But, one of the greatest features of this holster is the ability to customize it to your wants and needs.
Need more retention? You can do that. Need less retention? They have that covered too. I found that the standard preconfigured retention works best for me.
Alien Gear Cloak MOD Outside The Waistband Holster Comfort:
Comfort is another big area for holsters. I’m not going to lie, the day my holster came in the mail I pretty much wore it all the way until it was time to turn in for the night. I had expected from my previous limited holster experience to eventually start pressing into my side and become all around uncomfortable in a short amount of time, but this wasn’t the case at all. The holster doesn’t really have that many harsh angles so nothing really bothers you even after extended use, even the clip itself is rounded. Being an outside the waistband holster you do have to watch doorways to make sure you don’t snag, but even then that seems minimized due to the design.
Alien Gear Cloak MOD Outside The Waistband Holster Durability:
While this holster worked amazing well out of the box, I couldn’t help but ask myself if this product would be able to keep it up a year from now the same way it does now. Since I lack the ability to see the future I figured the best way to test this out was to simulate a year’s worth of use. My calculations were such: minimum 2 draws a day (putting it in the holster in the morning and taking it out at night) X 365 (days in a year) = 730 draws. This entire process took the greater portion of a week to complete, but the holster held together amazingly and still functions as well as it did when it first came out of the box with the only discernible wear going to the interior membrane.
Alien Gear Cloak MOD Outside The Waistband Holster Customer Service:
In a lot of the reviews of various products I’ve seen, I often see customer service overlooked as part of the review itself, because let’s face it, no company is perfect and things happen from time to time. All of my dealings with Alien Gear’s customer service were second to none. Even just going to Alien Gear Website the user is prompted to chat with customer service. Another great thing is that if you ever change carry weapons all you have to do is send them your old shell and request the new one for your new carry piece and they send it to you. The only cost you incur is shipping.
Final Thoughts:
At $48.00 you really can’t go wrong with this holster. Between the amazing customizable design to the apparent durability, if you are in need of a holster, this would be my first choice and probably will be my first choice in the future.
About Brandon Martin
Brandon Martin has been a follower of all things collapse related for well over a decade, an avid firearms enthusiast, a husband, a father of four, and Brandon can often be found in the warmer months in parks learning to identify wild edible and medicinal plants growing around him. Twitter: @BrandoTheNinja