New MLS System

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I was just browsing the Safariland website and ran across this:

http://www.safariland.com/duty/mls.aspx

The MLS system puts a "locking fork" on the back of the holster. This fork can securely slide into a receiver plate that is mounted virtually anywhere you want it. This way, you can easily switch from paddle to belt slide without turning any screws. You can take your holster off at the end of the day and attach it to your night stand. You can slide it off your belt and secure it on the dashboard in your vehicle, then put it back on your belt when you get out, without ever taking the weapon out of the holster. You can quickly move your holster to molle gear, thigh rigs, and duty gear. You can place your holster under a desk at work. You could probably even find a way to mount it on a motorcycle.

Can you tell I'm excited? lol This system seems pretty dang kool. I'll be calling them shortly and getting a set-up so I can let you guys know exactly how well it works.

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I think I'll get one of those for my car.

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marshaul wrote:

I think I'll get one of those for my car.

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Keep in mind they're designed to work with Safariland holsters.

Anyway I just got off the phone with one of their reps. My initial description in my first post was pretty much dead on. She was a little leery of the motorcycle idea, though . At the moment I'm trying to decide exactly how many mounting plates I will want/need. I probably wont need to go back and forth between a paddle and belt holster quickly. Rather, I'll just stick with the one that I prefer. I may try to mount it in the car, but I'm concerned about the sun beating down on the holster and weapon. I may also use the system to switch from a "trouser" belt to a "duty" belt. I dunno lol.

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I've seen one of these, and they are kinda fragile. A good bump from the bottom, and the whole thing comes apart.

It's a great concept, but it needs a little work. I think a different material would help a lot.

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superdemon wrote:

I've seen one of these, and they are kinda fragile. A good bump from the bottom, and the whole thing comes apart.

It's a great concept, but it needs a little work. I think a different material would help a lot.

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Was the one you saw a Safariland product? Did you actually touch it, or just see it? You say they are fragile, so how much force was required to break it? Did the break cause complete failure, i.e. a lost sidearm, or simply pieces that broke off? A good bump from what? To what part of the bottom? How hard? The whole thing comes apart? Are we talking it separates into the two individual pieces? Or It breaks into multiple pieces? Or does it structurally fail at a molecular level? Which model did you "see"? Where did you see it? Was the failurecaused by design, or a factory defect that only affected that specific item?

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DreQo wrote:

marshaul wrote:

I think I'll get one of those for my car.

Click to expand...

Keep in mind they're designed to work with Safariland holsters.

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Fairly self-evident...

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marshaul wrote:

DreQo wrote:

marshaul wrote:

I think I'll get one of those for my car.

Click to expand...

Keep in mind they're designed to work with Safariland holsters.

Click to expand...

Fairly self-evident...

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That was a statement more for everyone than just yourself. It could be fairly easy, even for an intelligent individual, to get caught up in the fact that there's this kool new platform system and forget that you'd need the holster, too lol. There are a lot of platforms out there that are designed to accommodate standard belt holsters. So yeah, that wasn't a jab at your intelligence .

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Good to know. :monkey


:lol:

Edit: I might even stick a plate on my nightstand, too.

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DreQo wrote:

superdemon wrote:

I've seen one of these, and they are kinda fragile.  A good bump from the bottom, and the whole thing comes apart. 

It's a great concept, but it needs a little work.  I think a different material would help a lot.

 

Click to expand...

Was the one you saw a Safariland product?  Did you actually touch it, or just see it?  You say they are fragile, so how much force was required to break it?  Did the break cause complete failure, i.e. a lost sidearm, or simply pieces that broke off?  A good bump from what?  To what part of the bottom?  How hard?  The whole thing comes apart?  Are we talking it separates into the two individual pieces?  Or It breaks into multiple pieces?  Or does it structurally fail at a molecular level?  Which model did you "see"?  Where did you see it?  Was the failure caused by design, or a factory defect that only affected that specific item?

 

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I'd like to hear some answers, myself.

Edit: Also, I currently use a Blackhawk Serpa CQC for my 1911s. I really like the ride height. Any idea which Safariland ride height would best approximate the height of my Serpa?

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My first answer got lost somehow, probably my fault, but I'll try to recap...

The main problem seems to be locking fork. The tines on the one I looked at bent easily.

When bumped from the bottom, the holster came off the mount. It wasn't a hard bump, easily one that could come from attempting to draw the weapon in sloppy fashion. It didn't break, but the holster came out of the mount. It went back together after it came apart. The mount that was used is the one that is supposed to mount it to a wall or other flat surface, which in looking at the website, seems to be the MLS17, but I could be wrong. Maybe that MLS18 with the "guard" would fix this problem, but I can't advise...

When the whole thing is assembled, there seems to be a lot of play in the finished system. Maybe the fit and finish of this particular item could have been comprimised, or it could be a problem with the system as a whole.

The weak point seems to be the locking forks. They seem to be what has the most amount of play, as that is where the slack seems to be. The holster mount seemed fine.

I would not have been comfortable using this as a duty holster system. The play and slack in the mount made me think I would not want to run with it on my hip, it would seem to be likely to fall off.

The wall mount, though seems like it would work if it was someplace that didn't get moved a lot, like the side of a dresser, like on the website.

Now, take this as a caveat... there were about 6 of us looking at this thing, and with all the confusion, grabbing, and stuff going on, we may well have not been assembling the thing correctly (instructions be damned!).

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Well then, DreQo, I guess I'll be most interested in your experience once your gear arrives.

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marshaul wrote:

Well then, DreQo, I guess I'll be most interested in your experience once your gear arrives.

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lol Yeah, I'll bite thebullet and provide a review for you guys. Luckily I get a military discount .

And superdemon, thanks for the answers, and I apologize for being a little sarcastic (ya know, about the whole molecular failure thing ).

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marshaul wrote:

DreQo wrote:

superdemon wrote:

I've seen one of these, and they are kinda fragile. A good bump from the bottom, and the whole thing comes apart.

It's a great concept, but it needs a little work. I think a different material would help a lot.

Click to expand...

Was the one you saw a Safariland product? Did you actually touch it, or just see it? You say they are fragile, so how much force was required to break it? Did the break cause complete failure, i.e. a lost sidearm, or simply pieces that broke off? A good bump from what? To what part of the bottom? How hard? The whole thing comes apart? Are we talking it separates into the two individual pieces? Or It breaks into multiple pieces? Or does it structurally fail at a molecular level? Which model did you "see"? Where did you see it? Was the failurecaused by design, or a factory defect that only affected that specific item?

Click to expand...

I'd like to hear some answers, myself.

Edit: Also, I currently use a Blackhawk Serpa CQC for my 1911s. I really like the ride height. Any idea which Safariland ride height would best approximate the height of my Serpa?

Click to expand...

Marshaul....sorry for a slight hijack, but will the Serpa CQC work if the 1911 has a half light rail? I have a SA TRP Operator Tactical with a half rail and would really like to find something better than the Yaqi slide I currently carry it in!

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marshaul wrote:

Edit: Also, I currently use a Blackhawk Serpa CQC for my 1911s. I really like the ride height. Any idea which Safariland ride height would best approximate the height of my Serpa?

Click to expand...

I am going to assume that the standard ride height from the Safariland belt platform would be the closest. I have never worn a Serpa, so I can only guess.

I'll tell ya what, I have the MLS system on the way to my house, along with a second belt platform with a 1" drop. I'll take some pictures of each platform on my belt so you can get a better idea of the ride heights.

If you want to get technical, you could give me a measurement from the top of your belt to a common point on the handgun, like the grip safety (the point where the hand webbing contacts the grip). I could then compare that to my holster. I have a different handgun (SW99), but it should give us a pretty good idea.

On a side note, when I called to order the MLS system, I asked the rep. about any play in the system. She is always VERY helpful, so she took a moment to acquire the pieces to mess with at her desk. She said it took a rather firm push to get the fork to lock into place (I heard the *CLICK!* over the phone), at which point there was absolutely no play. It was like one solid piece of material.

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Whats the price ?

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Dustin wrote:

Whats the price ?

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MSRP of the MLS-15 fork (the piece that goes on the back of your holster) is $14.00. I don't have the MSRP on the receiver plate, but I'm guessing it's somewhere around $24 for either one (don't quote me on that). They are VERY generous with their military and law enforcement discounts, but they're also very strict about awarding them.

Another thing to note is that a purchase from Safariland is highly customizable. When you order a holster, you can also order a specific platform (belt, paddle, belt-drop, etc.). You can order additional platforms (paddle and belt, for instance) for only the cost of the additional piece. You can also order aholster already set up with the MLS system. They're very fair and upright with their prices. If you don't see what you want on their website, don't assume you can't get it.

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DreQo wrote:

Dustin wrote:

Whats the price ?

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They are VERY generous with their military and law enforcement discounts, but they're also very strict about awarding them.

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What's the % of discount ?

I got my DD214 sitting right here

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ThunderRanch wrote:

Marshaul....sorry for a slight hijack, but will the Serpa CQC work if the 1911 has a half light rail? I have a SA TRP Operator Tactical with a half rail and would really like to find something better than the Yaqi slide I currently carry it in!

Click to expand...

I'm really not sure. The Serpa doesn't leave lots of room around the pistol, but then again it's not exactly a leather concealment holster either. Your best bet is to keep asking around, or see if you can find a shop where you can try it out.

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Dustin wrote:

DreQo wrote:

Dustin wrote:

Whats the price ?

Click to expand...

They are VERY generous with their military and law enforcement discounts, but they're also very strict about awarding them.

Click to expand...

What's the % of discount ?

I got my DD214 sitting right here

Click to expand...

The discount percentage varies slightly based on the item, but everything I've ordered thus far has been discounted by upwards of 50%.

They are currently offering an MLS Kit that contains one of each of the "commercial" items: MLS-15, 16, 17, and 18. The kit's price isa little more than the cost of the MLS-17 and 18 together, if ordered separately. You essentially get the mounting forks for free. I don't know if the kit is available to the public, or just to government customers, but that is whatI ordered so that I can give a proper review of the system.

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Wow, just..wow. I got the kit in the mail today and..wow, lol. Safariland's products never fail to amaze me. The quality of the material is amazing. It's not a hard, brittle plastic. It's a very strong, almost rubberized polymer. There isn't a single piece that could easily snap off. There are also support ridges molded into the pieces to remove any potential weak points.

The fork and platforms fit together extremely tightly. It takes a little muscle to get them together, and once it snaps into place, there's no getting it out unless you intentionally do so, and even then it's a little difficult lol. The only play in the system is about 1/8 inch vertical. It doesn't not wiggle at all, and it takes a real firm tug to get it to move that tiny distance. This clearance is there so the hooks on the locking forks can clear the locking point and snap into place. It does not move when drawing the weapon properly.

I'm going to write a full review with pictures, and possibly even video. I can tell you right now, though, that I would personally recommend this system to anyone that carries a handgun.