Center of Mass kydex holster

I just got my Center of Mass holster in the mail yesterday. I ordered it June 27 from the vendor at the USPSA Area 1 Championship in Idaho Falls. (Center of Mass is based in Idaho.) July 23 the owner called me for final confirmation and to take my credit card and began making it. I got it in the mail July 28.

It's a strong-side, 1.75" belt loop, no-cant, standard holster for a Glock 17, which I intend to use for open carry. The top is cut down to the junction of the barrel and slide and the muzzle is fully covered. Construction is solid, with rubber bushings and screws to adjust tension. There is no other retention. The only thing I don't like about the construction is an oval kydex badge of sorts glued on over the trigger area, with glue visible.

The belt loops aren't oversized too much and don't allow too much play, which was my biggest fear and something I checked when I tried demo models at the vendor tent. There are two loops in the holster so I was able to integrate the holster to a loop in the pants (shorts, actually) for a solid, immovable holster. But it also was solid when not married to a pants loop, just on the belt.

The gun rides close to my body but doesn't hug it like a pancake holster. There's enough room to get my thumb into position when drawing without having to lean or push away fat. The holster is plenty fast, despite some inititial tension. I didn't use a timer when I was running some unweighted dry draws last night but I think it's fast enough for reliable 1.5 second draws at 7 yard targets. Range report to follow.

No offense...

But a friction holster is not adequate retention for OC. Glue, or a logo for that matter, being visible on a custom holster is unacceptable. Return it for another, w/o logo glued on.

This Center of Mass guy concerns me--three clicks on his site takes me to three completely different-looking pages of different levels of quality. Still, none of the pictures has the glued-on badge that you describe, and glue does not stick to Kydex very well at all so that will probably come off after a short time anyway and look even worse. Return it. I won't comment on the feasibility of having a friction-fit-only holster for OC since I have no experience with carrying yet (haven't taken classes yet so I don't feel comfortable carrying open or concealed at the moment).

By glue I mean some kind of high-tech epoxy adhesive. Indeed, the logo/badge isn't pictured on the web site and wasn't on the demo holsters at his vendor table.

Yeah, his holster making skills are better than his web site building skills.









Video of some dry fire draws from hands at sides and from surrender with a 1.0 second par time on the timer, including slo-mo at the end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig7zd8Zmgjo

simmonsjoe said:

But a friction holster is not adequate retention for OC.

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No offense but I call BS!
Please state facts as to why.

If/when the BG's start snacthing guns from OC'er on a regular basis than I might (BIG MIGHT) agree, and than only if the person OC'ing doesn't feel they can (physically or by other means) defend an attempted gun grab.

If you believe I'm wrong please consider this your invite to be my training partner/tackling/crash test dummy.

A retention holster will not keep a BG from getting your gun if he wants it bad enough.


BOT:

That Holster's logo looks like BUANO, I'd send it back for a full refund.

To bad you don't carry a G20/21 etc... I have a nice holster that I no longer use, listed on vaguntrader.

Agent19 said:

No offense but I call BS!
Please state facts as to why.

Click to expand...

Nobody said anything about gun grabs. I'm one of the first to say they are extremely rare. If you carry OC daily, eventually your grip is going to get caught on something. Your steering wheel when you exit the car. Maybe you sit down at a cafe seat with arm rests. Perhaps your leaning over and someone hits it with a box or bag they are carrying. What if your in a car wreck or accident? Just like your cell phone in your shirt pocket, it's going to fly away. Unless that pocket has a button...(i.e. a retention pocket)

In April I walked into a ******* hole 2' diameter and broke my leg. I was CC at the time, but if I'd been OC w/o retention, I am positive I'd of lost my gun. And I mean it would have been at the bottom of the hole.

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Return that holster for a refund. I'd tell you to have him exchange it, except it is so egregious that you should take your money elsewhere. www.comp-tac.com

Oh I thought the comment about retention was about gun-grabs so I didn't reply.

This holster has enough friction retention that it's not coming out in a trip-and-fall or simple snag. If you OC on a motorcycle and get in a race tuck then crash into a solid, immovable object at high speed, I can see the momentum of the pistol defeating the friction retention of the holster.

Good "It'll never happen to me" mentality

PS CC under the shirt is way different.

simmonsjoe said:

illegal ≠ immoral ::: legal ≠ moral

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I haven't seen this before, but I agree completely.

Thanks.

sultan62 said:

I haven't seen this before, but I agree completely.

Click to expand...

It's a simmonsjoe original.

Range Report

Live fire was pretty much as expected. Started out a little slower than dry firing, engaging multiple targets, but I was soon making sub-second draws. w00t!

Looking at the pictures of the G17 in this holster on my hip vs. in my Cen-Dex holster on my hip, it's higher up. Funny, I never noticed, and got no sensation of drawing to my armpit. (I hate that!) I guess because of the low cut.