A little background; I've been carrying a pistol for 20 years (a Glock 20 for most of that time) and have seen more and more of these plastic holsters everywhere. I take a firearms course every 5 years or so just to brush up and stay current and almost everyone at the course had a Fobus, Blackhawk or some other kind of knock off plastic holster.
I wasn't impressed. I'm kind of oldschool and arrived at Glocks late (grew up with 1911 style pistols) so my "oldschooness" shows up with my choice of holsters; almost always high grade leather, leather belt, friction retention (I don't like thumbreaks). I've mastered breaking in leather holsters and the closest thing to non leather I have is an IWB Shepherd holster that has Kydex for great retention (I bought it on Amazon and love it, it's inexpensive and high quality).
There were so many of these plastic holsters that I started asking questions and the instructor of the course recommended Blackhawk Serpa (he used one for his Glock 22) so I finally broke down and bought one.
It arrives with assembly required, so have a flat head and phillips head screwdriver. The belt clip has plastic hooks that connect with the flathead screwdriver and they're adjustable depending on the width of the belt you attach them to. All my gun belts are 2" so it went straight to the bottom. A quarter turn and the hooks are locked in.
The paddle connects via 3 phillps screws, and there's a variety of holes that allow you to cant the holster, which I noticed nearly nobody does (almost all the pictures on Amazon including this one shows the holster straight up and down). For concealment, ease of draw and comfort I always get a holster with a cant, so I played with the adjustments and canted it in the middle position which looks to be about 10degrees. I wear my holsters at 4 oclock and use heavy gunbelts because the best holster in the world is useless without a good belt.
So I popped this one and was immediately impressed with how comfortable it is. No sharp edges I could feel and no flop once it's secured to the belt and in place. The little screw in hooks are deep enough that the grabbed my belt just fine and the paddle has another hook on it that grabs whatever is nearby to lock the holster in place, a real plus for a paddle style holster. It's hard to remove this one you have it one, so that gets good marks from me.
Holstering the pistol was nice, an audible click once it's in place, and no amount of grabbing or tugging brough it out. There's very little flop (there IS some, but it's not terrible) so it was made well and formed well. Drawing is where this holster REALLY shines; the lock is right in line with your index finger and it's very intuitive and easy to learn how to draw safely with this holster. Your finger just naturally goes to the slide after you unlock the pistol, and it doesn't take a lot of pressure to unlock the latch either. Once it's unlocked, the pistol glides out of the holster effortlessly. There's nothing rubbing, no friction and no pressure points anywhere so fast drawing with this holster once you get muscle memory going with the latch is easy. I spent an afternoon walking around my house doing chores drawing and holstering enough that I got used to it very quickly. There is an adjustable tension screw but I haven't touched it because I like where the draw is right now and have no intention of messing with it.
Overall very impressed with the quality and fit. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the plastic is durable. My only complaint is that I don't have any hips at all and the holster holds the pistol out away from my body enough that it pulls my pants down unless I really cinch the belt tight, which isn't much to complain about since it should be snug and tight anyway, but it's annoying to have a tight belt when you go out to eat and have to move the belt back a notch when you're full. I also didn't notice when I ordered this that it's listed as "gunmetal gray." I wish I had been paying attention and gotten black, but it's not a dealbreaker for me. The gray is dark enough that it's only slightly noticeable.
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 7.2 x 5.12 x 2.68 inches |
|---|---|
| Package Weight | 0.31 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 7.3 x 5.9 x 3.5 inches |
| Item Weight | 4.8 ounces |
| Brand Name | BLACKHAWK |
| Warranty Description | See manufacturer |
| Model Name | 413510BK-R |
| Color | Gunmetal Gray |
| Suggested Users | unisex-adult |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Manufacturer | Blackhawk |
| Part Number | 413510BK-R |
| Model Year | 2015 |
| Style | Traditional |
| Included Components | Serpa Sportster Belt Holster S&W 5900, Right Hand |
| Size | Size 10 - S&W 5900/4000 Series including TSW |
| Sport Type | Hunting |
| Hand Orientation | Right |
