Thursday, February 25, 2021

Craft Holster IWB for a Sig P365-- review

The guys at Craft Holsters were nice enough to send me another holster to try out and review. This one is their IWB holster (again) for a Sig Sauer P365

This time, it shipped FedEx. It arrived in just a few days and in perfect condition. That's always nice.



The box, opened.


Finally, to the good stuff! 



The holster looked smaller than I expected, compared to the holsters I have for the other, larger, guns. Obviously, that makes sense! The Sig Sauer P365 is surprisingly small, and may be the perfect concealed carry gun

Here's the gun resting in the holster for the first time. Doesn't it look comfy?


As I have come to expect, this holster is very nice looking and well made. At first, the fit was very tight. That has been the case with the others as well, with the one for the S&W revolver being tighter than the one for the 1911. It took a bit of work to get it in the holster and get the strap snapped the first time, but it loosened a bit overnight (I used their break-in kit), and continued to get easier to get in and out over the first week. It has now settled in to a good snug fit.

I would recommend giving this a week or so before using it for your defensive carry, so it could be drawn from without difficulty.

Did I mention this thing is small? And that's what I was looking for, but size means compromises.

As a consequence of its size (the gun/holster unit), the center of gravity is very low. At first, the gun felt like it wanted to flip upside down, out of my waistband. The steel clip that holds the holster to your pants isn't going to let go unless you want it to, though. Experience gives me confidence about that.

But, over the course of a couple of hours of being worn, the holster cants so that the clip is diagonal on my pants. Usually, it tips so the grip is pointing nearly straight up, even though that seems to go against gravity. That may be due to unconscious adjusting on my part, or due to my clothing pushing it. But, whatever is going on, the muzzle doesn't want to be pointed down.

I balanced the other guns in their Craft Holsters and found they were only a little better balanced, but maybe the amount of holster inside my pants was enough to keep them in place better. The size of the gun dictates some things, and the placement of the clip is one of them. Any higher (making the gun lower) and the grip of the gun would be partly below the edge of your pants and harder to acquire when you need to. That could be a problem, but I think it would be worth it to try.

Because of the way I wear my belt-- not in belt loops but slung lower on my hips-- the belt presses the muzzle end of the holster into my skin sometimes. Or, it bothers me sometimes. Not all the time, but when it happens it can suddenly sting and I'll need to readjust things.

I realize both of these issues may be unique to me. It seems I may be the first person to mention them. You might not have the same issues if no one else is experiencing them.

Anyway, I have 2 suggestions for future improvements to this holster: raise the clip a half an inch (which might require widening the leather above it) and-- at least for me-- adding a little length on the skin side below the muzzle. I've crudely tried to illustrate these suggested alterations:




I passed along the suggestions to the guys at Craft Holsters. I think if they would make these adjustments, this would be the perfect P365 holster for me-- maybe for everyone. As it stands, it's completely acceptable, but not quite perfect.

As always, I truly appreciate the opportunity to test and review these holsters. I learn something new every time. Thank you to Craft Holsters!

Addendum:
I decided to modify my own holster to the specifications I outlined above. I also redyed it to cover the spot where the clip used to be, but my dye was darker.
Here is the result.



It is no longer top-heavy, no longer tips on my waistband, and no longer digs into my skin. So far, it works just as well as I had hoped. It's now perfect, as far as I can tell.

-

Thank you for helping support KentForLiberty.com
Get a Time's Up flag or two