serpa holster not worth the money

Slavex said:
Not the internet, Subject Matter Experts, such as Craig Douglas, the late Todd Green, FLETC and hundreds of others, whose job it is to train the best of the best, and even just train regular people. Your personal anecdote is meaningless compared to the information gathered by people and agencies who actually know what they are talking about.
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I will argue that my agency and hundreds of others safely use them.
But clearly, it isnt pissible because some people have had problems with them.


I bet there are problems with every holster out there given enough use .

Anyways, I wont engage further in a pissing match , I personally carry safely in a Serpa every day and will continue to do so. Feel free to use whatever your ageny authorizes you to use.
 
Slavex said:
Not the internet, Subject Matter Experts, such as Craig Douglas, the late Todd Green, FLETC and hundreds of others, whose job it is to train the best of the best, and even just train regular people. Your personal anecdote is meaningless compared to the information gathered by people and agencies who actually know what they are talking about.
Click to expand...

I will argue that my agency and hundreds of others safely use them.
But clearly, it isnt pissible because some people have had problems with them.


I bet there are problems with every holster out there given enough use .

Anyways, I wont engage further in a pissing match , I personally carry safely in a Serpa every day and will continue to do so. Feel free to use whatever your agency authorizes you to use.
 
Leg said:
I’m clearly not going to be swaying anyone’s opinion but I’ve personally witnessed a Serpa where the gun couldn’t be withdrawn because the mechanism became jammed. That #### will get you killed and is a good enough reason for me to not use them.

I don’t give a damn who uses them. Just because some SOF guy is wearing one in a photo doesn’t make it GTG.

Safariland and GCode for this guy.
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Couldn't agree more with this post.

And to close my arguement, because pictures on the internet now trump hard factual subject matter from numerous industry professionals.

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I will argue that my agency and hundreds of others safely use them.
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Yeah. I see plenty of cops in different cities using them.
And I doubt they would be using them if staff were shooting themselves in the foot daily.

But bear in mind that these guys don't normally draw their gun while working.
It just stays on their belt, while they hand out traffic-tickets or whatever.

They do however need to carry that gun for 12 hours a day, every day that they work.
Getting in and out of a car 700 times a day. Occasionally having pin someone down to arrest them.

Their main concern is having a gun get pulled out by a seat-belt snag, or a gun falling out when cuffing someone.

What they look for in a holster is completely different than what any competitor would look for.
 
guncrazy5606 said:
Some keyboard warriors know more! Lol.
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I would not get so cocky. Just because The SEALS, SAS or any other government org uses them is no comment on their quality or whether they are safe or not. Buying what the bean counters in the Britsh Gov't bought for their troops is no reason to ignore reality. Troops use what they are given so too LEO Departments. As a civilian you have the choice in a free market.

Accidents can happen no matter how safe you are or how safe you think you are. They happen because one or more things go wrong not when they most assuredly should have gone right. Using the Serpa is fine if every thing goes right. Unfortunately time has shown that things go wrong more frequently with this holster than others so why risk the odds when you don't have to? A bullet in your knee or foot will give you a permanent limp. One in an artery will end your life. The orgs mentioned that have banned it's use didn't ban them because of rumour or because of internet banter they ban them primarily because bullet holes in their clients is bad for business to say nothing of their insurance premiums.

If you are single and nobody is dependent on your ability to earn a living fly at it. But if you have a wife and children relying on your paycheck to get them through life, you might want to rethink your choices. It really is no more complicated than that.

Take Care

Bob
 
Like Daver and others have said, different organizations use this holsters for different reasons compared to what the average range shooter does. It's a great retention holster. That's why a lot of police and military use them. If you're going into a known hostile situation, a pistol is a back up weapon and is very rare to have to use it. But the last thing you'd want is it falling out or being taken from you. Retention is of a very high importance to them. I have a feeling that the average range shooter has a hard time understanding this mindset.

As for some of the comments of the 'lowest bidder' theory... Do you really think the SOF units of the world fall under the same procurement constraints as their standard military counterparts? Or that only issued kit is allowed? This isn't a service battalion guys.

And FoxAlpha, my pic is of a real sof member using it during an operation, not a self made picture to try to put down others that you know nothing about. Real classy buds. Make sure you forward this thread to CANSOFCOM so they can learn this valuable life saving info from the CGN "industry professionals"
 
A couple of random points to add to the discussion:

--The Serpa "Level 2 Duty Holster" and the Serpa "CQC" and "Sporter" holsters Are *not* the same product! i.e. The $35 Amazon special, is not the same as issued to many agencies.

--Duty-carry and Concealed-Carry Are *not* the same thing! Look at all the pictures linked to earlier in the thread, and you'll notice that *all* The CANSOF people, The SAS People, are carrying *Dropped* and *Offset!* *Not* "High and Tight."

--Any retention holster can fail in the locked format. Hell, I've had a simple leather thumb-break bind up a 1911 so badly, I had to completely remove it from my belt. (Jammed the retention strap under the hammer.)

I would argue, historically, the Serpa "Duty" holster existed first. In a dropped and offset format, where the butt of your gun is level with, or below you upper belt line, it's not terrible. It's made of some pretty decent material, and can facilitate a nice draw. The Serpa "CQC" and "Sportster" Models that came later, were a poorly thought-out concept, made of much cheaper materials.

To put a finer point on it, In "Duty" Format, the gun in positioned low enough that your elbow can move straight to the rear. In "carry" format, there is a much higher chance of your elbow swinging outboard of your body-- Driving your trigger finger inwards. Dynamic tension, and all that. Unless you have arms like a T-Rex. Then you're probably fine. :D

So! Can you get to the point Mr. Drake? Why yes, yes, I can. The holster itself isn't the only thing. Just like the most expensive Safariland holster ain't worth a thing hanging from a $10 Wal-Mart belt. And for a myriad of reasons, Dropped and Offset, Thigh-rig, et all are a totally different animal than "high and tight" 4 O'clock concealment carry.

(...And simple leather thumb-breaks are perfect for everything. Basket-weave makes it better, and as always Hev niyece dey.)
 
As a dupe who purchased a Serpa CQC based on the incredible praise back in the day....is there a recommendation for better? Solely Canadian yes, but what of us who crave leather? I have enough thermoplastic and kydex to last a lifetime. Some souls only burn bright with leather.

I'm thinking galco pancake next....
 
Galco is likely the best of the mass produced leather holsters. De Santis, Milt Sparks and Alessi Leather are also good commercial brands. There are a billion small mom and pop leather holster makers who are excellent but their turnaround time is long and the rig is usually expensive. I’m talking concealment styles here, not duty or competition designs. Safariland and Bianchi are arguably the best for open carry duty styles.

As a long time user of leather and resistor of Kydex, I’m now a complete convert. The draw is faster, smoother, more consistent with a good Kydex. Wear on gun is at least equal to leather. Reholstering is way easier, predictable and safer. No moisture retaining issue and no break in period. Longevity of holster is similar and most good Kydex holsters now have some kind of life time warranty.
 
curseyou said:
As a dupe who purchased a Serpa CQC based on the incredible praise back in the day....is there a recommendation for better? Solely Canadian yes, but what of us who crave leather? I have enough thermoplastic and kydex to last a lifetime. Some souls only burn bright with leather.

I'm thinking galco pancake next....
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If you want a quality level 2 holster, look no further than the safariland ALS. Great retention, well made holsters and with practice the draw is just as quick and easy as a level one/no retention holster. Again, with training.
 
I used a pair of serpas in a crappy environment for a couple of months and had no issues with them at all. In and out of a number of vehicles and left/right hand drive vehicles. I'd have no issue using them again...better than my old ACE Case holsters
 
1riot1ranger said:
This.

I got a tiny piece of gravel trapped under the release buttton of my Serpa (years ago - before the Tex video) and couldn’t get my loaded G22 out without disassembly. That was all of the evidence I needed to abandon the Serpa.
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Been there - done that. If Blackhawk really wanted to make money, they'd sell T shirts to folks who've had their crappy holsters sh*t the bed on them.
 
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