I met Mike Barham during my recent training at Gunsite. Galco Gunleather spinmeister grabbed a chair and talked leather and Kydex. As kinky as that sounds, it pretty much is. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate the appeal of slipping a hot gun into a well-made holster should pay close attention to those TV commercials about low-T. Mike gave TTAG the scoop on their new-for-2011 products, and Galco’s new variation of their ever-popular Summer Comfort IWB holster. Now ready for lights . . .
Galco created the Summer Comfort weapon light holster for the Crimson Trace’s new Lightguard. Ninja planner that he is, Crimson crusader Iain Harrison gave Galco just over a two-weeks to design, build, and launch this new addition to their product line.
The holster performed flawlessly throughout the course, I could hardly tell it was there. but it was. Along with my gun. As it should be. The Summer Comfort weapon light edition holster held everything securely in place—even during prone and roll-over drills. It provided easy access to the firearms and light-em-up accessory we’d been tasked with evaluating. Now, if only I had the pistol to go with the holster . . .
The new V-Hawk is an inside the waistband holster with slideguard and interchangeable C-hooks, metal clips, or leather belt loops. I wore one of these back-ordered holsters whilst carrying S&W’s Pro Series 1911 in 9mm for 24 hours. Designed for wear between Three and Five O’clock, the V-Hawk sports an aggressive forward cant—something I look for as a non-bobtailed 1911 guy. The holster carries the pistol close hold; I carried the brand new S&W Pro Series through a course of prone and roll-over drills without so much as a scratch or nick to the pistol.
You’d think American gun owners would rebel at anything that smacks of royalty, But Galco’s new King Tuk is a hybrid holster for everyone. The Kydex and leather holster features a slide-guard to assure ride comfort. The USP: King Tuk accommodates multiple barrel lengths of the same model pistol. The holster seems solid enough; Galco didn’t rate my status highly enough to deem this Armed Intelligentsia proxy a full test.
The TacSlide is another hybrid holster, a forward-molded design of steerhide / Kydex construction. It’s also designed with an open-ended barrel port to allow for multiple barrel lengths. Maintaining a neutral cant, the TacSlide is ideally worn cross-draw between Ten and Eleven O’clock. Galco also advertises it for strong-side wear at Three O’clock.
And now for something (not so) completely unexpected: a full on Kydex offering. Their first foray into hard shell construction takes shape in the form of the Stryker, another neutral canted holster with the same recommended wear positions as the TacSlide. The unique feature on the Stryker: adjustable belt-slots. The Stryker fits various width belts and will accommodate your 1 1/4″ dress belts as well as the standard 1 3/4″ “gun” belts.
In the law enforcement realm, there’s a new product in the M series of holsters: the slightly forward canted M4X ALH (auto locking holster). Made of injection-molded polymer, the M4X features a locking device on the body-side of the holster operated by the thumb during the draw motion. Designed specifically to be worn at the Three-Thirty position, the M4X ALH looks like it means business.
Rifle folks, did you think you’d been forgotten in 2011 like Cindy-Lou-Who 350 days out of the year? Fear not, there are presents for you, too. Namely, the Field Grade MSR Case. Yes ladies and gents, that’s MSR as in “modern sporting rifle.” The case coddles black rifles up to 40″ in length which may now ride in their own sheep-skin lined enclosure. A pocket on the outside of the flaps holds up to three magazines. Stain stick and Scotch Guard not included.
Galco’s introduced a metal-free Nylon-web belt called “TSA belt” (Top image). No more stripping at the security counter for you my friend, unless of course you happen to be selected for some random additional screening; at that point, no utility belt can keep you safe. In that case, may we recommend you stick with a more traditional belt, such as their SB14 “Dark Havana” leather belt. The less you scream “tacticool” at the security line, the better.
TTAG will be testing Galco products in the coming months. If there’s a particular holster you’d like our reviewers to put to the test, let us know.
