Blackhawk
One of the things I’ve not mentioned yet from the ParaUSA event was Blackhawk. They provided us with holsters, belts, magazine carriers and more. Two cool things:
Their holster brand manager’s name was Chuck Buis, which is a cool name for a guy in the gun industry.
They have intentionally bought facilities that were shipping operations overseas and retained the workforce in the US. In other words, companies were moving overseas and Blackhawk bought their facilities and kept the existing staff on hand to keep jobs in America. That’s a helluva way to enhance customer loyalty.
The gave us each two holsters: a competition type holster without a retention lock and a SERPA holster. The SERPA is pretty slick because in order to draw the weapon, your index finger has to exactly where it should go to ensure a safe draw. That is, to draw, your finger must go along side the trigger guard of the gun.
I liked the holster a lot. It was fast and lightweight. I plan on buying another SERPA for my Glock 30. Currently, they don’t make one for the G30 but Chuck said a G21 holster will work.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:28 am
I, too like the SERPA holster – but my G30 doesn’t fit in the G21 SERPA holster. Try B4 U buy..
September 10th, 2008 at 9:39 am
My G22 fits nicely in the SERPA. In cooler months or scenarios where concealment isn’t a concern, it’s my holster of choice. I like knowing no matter how fast I run or climb trees or jump fences or get tackled from behind or get jumped on by the dog, the Glock isn’t coming out of the holster unless I want it to.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Looks like everyone loves the Serpa holsters. I can’t say anything bad about mine.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I wish I could feel the love the rest of you do for the SEPRA. Personally, I think it’s a bad design. I have heard from some instructors where they have had students get debris under the mechanism and jam it.
I’m also trying to track down a case where a deputy sheriff shot herself in the leg using one of these holsters. Apparently from what I understand, she drew the pistol under stress and as the pistol cleared the holster her finger continued to contract causing the discharge.
Hey, if it works for you great but I just can’t see where the big advantage is.
September 10th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Based on blogger reports from The Big Weekend I ordered a SERPA for my 1911 and some mag carriers, so Blackhawk made a few bucks from the blogger event.
Blackhawk, however, needs some process engineering work: they shipped the mag carriers and two-mag frame on one day, the holster a day later, both from different facilities. The packing list for one didn’t reference the other, or list the entire order, leading me to believe they missed shipping the holster. That generated a call to Customer Service to find out something that should have been explained on the packing lists. That consumed my time and handling those non-productive calls costs Blackhawk money.
All that aside, I’m quite pleased with the SERPA and the mag carriers. I wish they made one for my 3″ 629 because it has a bobbed hammer and regular thumb breaks don’t work. (Tam – any suggestions?)
September 10th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Well, they do have several facilities and the facilities that make one item probably don’t make the other. I had the same issue with a recent cheaperthandirt.com order.
September 10th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I would think the squeak of plastic on plastic would get annoying….
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist making such a rude, untrue, and intentionally inflammatory statement in the vein hopes of starting a debate – err – flame war….)
:runs away:
September 10th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Squeak? No squeaks with mine (G23 & G21) not even a rattle.
They also come with BOTH the paddle and belt-loop pieces, so you can decide for yourself what you want to do. The paddle works well, and mine is more secure than the belt-loop (because of the surface area against your side).
My G30 doesn’t fit the G21 SERPA because the front of the G21 frame tapers upward, while the G30 does not, and the G30 therefore stops before it is fully inserted.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Homer,
I use a pancake holster from PWL Leather.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Sounds like user error, not holster malfunction. You can do that with just about any holster.
As for jamming it, I’d have to see it to believe it. What would jam it? Sand? Dirt? Mud?
September 11th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
googling “serpa holster jam OR jammed” returns no relevant hits…
September 11th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Crap, never mind. I didn’t notice that this computer was using MSFT Live Search instead of Google…
Good hit: http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/gear-accessories/3-blackhawk-level-2-serpa-holster-review.html
Claim is it’s unlikely to jam, but may scratch up your slide if you abuse it.