http://www.productwizard.com/safarilandholster-retention-levels-explained.html
Friction is NOT a locking mechanism that must be bypassed. A holster that requires nothing more than a vertical pull on the firearm to draw is essentially Retention Level 0, since there is nothing you have to do to draw, other than DRAW. Blackhawk is going against the already established Retention Level System by claiming that the friction caused by their tension screw on the holster is in and of itself a locking mechanism. This is wrong.
. The problem is, it all comes down to the fact that, asfar asI know,the retention levels are not written in a book anywhere as an officialguideline for all holster manufacturers. Rather, it is simply a widely known and understood theory that most people go by.Well the "block" is nothing more than a contact point for the friction to take place. See, a true locking mechanism that justifies a retention level is one which, while activated, completely prevents the handgun from being drawn. Any sort of "tension" just makes it more difficult to draw the handgun, but it does not prevent it.
I do realize that the package, website, and everything else falsely represent the retention level. That's why I'm not very happy about it
EDIT TO REPLY TO MOST RECENT POST:
The Safariland designs that require the gun to be rocked in order to draw are physically locked into the holster by a mechanism. If the gun is pulled directly up, it will not come out no matter how much force you apply (until something breaks). It cannot be drawn until the mechanism is unlocked by rocking the weapon rearward. THAT is what constitutes a retention level. Some action must be performed to deactivate the locking mechanism before the weapon can be drawn.
The Safarilandholster I use has an ejection port lock that must be moved with the thumb before drawing. It also has a tension/friction system that allows theholster the be tightened in order to hold the weapon in place whether the ejection port lock is engaged or not. Going by Blackhawk's theory, this would be a Level 2 holster, and would meet the minimum requirement for many law enforcement agencies. Safariland, on the other hand, will tell you right away that it is Level 1, and they would strongly suggest it not be used in a "duty" environment.
Umm no, it doesn't! :banghead: The retention screw does nothing more than make it more difficult to pull the weapon out. It does not lock the weapon in the holster thereby preventing the weapon from being drawn. I don't know how many different ways I can say that.
It's not pulled backwards than forwards, it's rocked backwards then drawn. I don't use this type of holster, mind you. The point is that the gun is completely locked into the holster unless you move it around the locking device, unlike the CQC, where it is NOT locked into the holster, and requires only the force of a normal draw to remove it.
lol I'm not sure that it is incredibly important to me, honestly. It's a really simple issue here. Any mechanism that prevents the weapon from being drawn until said mechanism is deactivated constitutes a Retention Level. I just don't understand why blackhawk feels that they need to call their holsters something that they're not.
I think maybe I'm gonna go tighten down the screws on my holsters to the point where it takes both hands to pull it out. What is that, like retention level 7?:celebrate
LMAO.
Try contacting Blackhawk. Lots of people have had great results with warranty issues.
Actually I already did. The lady on the phone was great, sent it out via UPS today, they will ship me a new one as soon as they get this one- no questions, no proof of when I purchased it - nothing. That's great customer service!
I usually give a company one shot at making things right- second failure = loss of business. We'll see- I hope they get it right because the Galco Matrix I'm using is not nearly as comfortable as the Blackhawk was.