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Product Review: Blade Tech AIWB Klipt Appendix Holster - SIG P232

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  • SIG_Fiend

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    Feb 21, 2008
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    11162880503_409497a85c_c.jpg

    IMG_0625 by Dillo Dynamics, on Flickr​


    What: Blade Tech IWB Klipt Appendix Holster
    Where to buy: Blade Tech
    How much: $39.99-44.99+
    Production time: 6-8+ weeks
    Attachment: 1.75" clip only
    Cant: Straight drop only


    I picked one of these Blade Tech holsters up in the search for a better holster for my SIG P232. I'll get right to the point. The holster is very well fitted and very minimalist. That is one feature I like about this holster, and a feature I'm generally a fan of with some other holsters. In a day and age where everyone makes pancake style holsters that are the size of a shovel head, I'm all about minimalist.


    Retension


    Retension on this holster is excellent. Retension is accomplished through an indentation on the trigger guard area. The gun clicks in to the holster positively, and is definitely not coming out without any effort.


    Attachment Method


    The only option available at this time is a 1.75" polymer reinforced belt clip. It is a very easy on/off belt clip, which is great for convenience. Here's where I started to run into problems. I normally wear a 1.5" belt. With this clip, it allowed the gun to cant nearly a full 45 degrees in either direction, which is pretty substantial. Worse yet, with the holster being able to cant forward that much, it can easily slip the clip over the belt. I had this happen a couple times to me from simply being seated at a desk, and had I not quickly adjusted, the holster would have basically completely come off. This reinforced clip is a nice concept but, for my own personal preferences I found it alone to make this holster an absolute NO GO. A 1.5" clip option might help, but I'm generally not a fan of any single clip systems unless it's using something like the Ohio Travel Bag spring steel belt clips that have a retention indentation and basically make anything practically welded to your belt. Another unfortunate aspect of this clip design and it's propensity for movement/cant is that the gun actually conceals fairly poorly for it's size. In fact, it doesn't conceal any better than my G19 in a Blade Tech Nano.


    Sweat Guard


    There isn't one. For some guns, not a big deal. For something like a Glock or other guns with squared off or rounded rear slide sections, not really a big deal. For a blued gun, NO GO, you're going to get sweat on it and it will rust. For guns like the P232 with a very angular and sharp rear frame/slide section, again, it's a NO GO. Basically that pointy rear section of the gun will be poking you in the side all day long. It would be nice if a sweat guard was an option.


    Production Time


    This one honestly kind of took me by surprise. Blade Tech makes no conspicuous mention on their site, or at least not under this specific product section, of a general production time. It's my fault for making assumptions but, for a large manufacturer that is carried by many distributors and large national chain stores, I guess I just kind of figured that they couldn't be far off from Comp-Tac's typical production time of ~3-5 days. Boy was I wrong. A couple weeks pass by, I call to check on my order. I forget the response I got on the phone, but it was not very definitive. I believe about 1 week after that, I sent an email. Only at that time was I told it was a 6-8 week production time.... Are you kidding me? This is not what I expect when buying from a major manufacturer that has the market share of the industry that they do. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of their products, but this is certainly going to make me consider buying any Blade Tech products from dealers that have them in stock (not usually an option if it's an uncommon gun or configuration though) or auction sites where I won't have to deal with this.


    Summary


    I still like Blade Tech. They make great products. Unfortunately, this particular holster for this particular gun just doesn't work well. It's uncomfortable. Surprisingly, because of the clip design, the holster actually doesn't conceal very well relative to the size of the gun. For convenience, it is definitely a very easy holster to put on and take off, so there are some definite advantages there if those are some of your primary concerns. For me, the end result is either going to be selling this holster if I ever sell the gun, or more likely, I'll end up cutting the clip off this holster, doing a bit of surgery to it, and adding a better and more effective attachment method.




    11162747214_26135e923e_c.jpg

    IMG_0643 by Dillo Dynamics, on Flickr



    11162741344_5450d5957c_c.jpg

    IMG_0644 by Dillo Dynamics, on Flickr



    11162889043_db49786640_c.jpg

    IMG_0649 by Dillo Dynamics, on Flickr



    11162862343_64c790c5ab_c.jpg

    IMG_0646 by Dillo Dynamics, on Flickr



    11162731824_a4be423f0a_c.jpg

    IMG_0647 by Dillo Dynamics, on Flickr
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    I carried it at 3:00. Also tried carrying it at 4:00 and several places between 1:00-2:30. Problem is the clip design just doesn't lend itself well to keeping the gun in place. With something like snap on belt loops, or one of those tough spring steel clips like I'm talking about, the clip really holds the holster back. I'm thinking about cutting it off, maybe using a little heat to pull a couple small spots out of the front of the holster, and drilling a couple holes for a couple belt loops. In another few weeks I should be receiving a FIST Inc leather IWB holster for the gun, which should be a nice improvement.
     

    Charlie

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    I'm glad to see an honest review of something from a known, major company. Forty dollars is waaay too much, IMO, for a simple IWB holster, especially if it doesn't work well! Sweat bands are a must on any holster. They could have least put the right size belt clip on it! I've notice a great deal of over pricing based on what I believe is a "name brand" thing. One cannot go by name brand alone.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    I'm glad to see an honest review of something from a known, major company. Forty dollars is waaay too much, IMO, for a simple IWB holster, especially if it doesn't work well! Sweat bands are a must on any holster. They could have least put the right size belt clip on it! I've notice a great deal of over pricing based on what I believe is a "name brand" thing. One cannot go by name brand alone.

    Personally, I don't feel that $40 is unreasonable. Yes, it may be a "simple" design, but most good quality holsters usually start around $40, so it's not an abnormal price. Blade Tech's prices in general are reasonable IMO, and fairly standard when compared to most other manufacturers.

    In general, I think the holster would have done better if they pretty much used the tried and true Nano holster design of theirs, and maybe slightly altered the clip to have some sort of "hook" that grabs clothing more positively so that it won't accidentally slip off. As it is currently, I'd recommend the Nano over this holster, as far as a low profile holster, and you can mod the Nano's to work fairly well as an AIWB holster with the addition of some velcro and a hard foam wedge on the backside to cant the gun inward.

    Also, as far as the clip size, personally I think it makes the most sense going with a 1.5" clip as standard, considering the vast majority of us wear 1.5" belts normally. I have considered getting a 1.75" belt to try out with this holster, just to see what difference it makes.

    As far as the knife, I'll be doing a review on it soon.
     

    Charlie

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    Personally, I don't feel that $40 is unreasonable. Yes, it may be a "simple" design, but most good quality holsters usually start around $40, so it's not an abnormal price. Blade Tech's prices in general are reasonable IMO, and fairly standard when compared to most other manufacturers.

    In general, I think the holster would have done better if they pretty much used the tried and true Nano holster design of theirs, and maybe slightly altered the clip to have some sort of "hook" that grabs clothing more positively so that it won't accidentally slip off. As it is currently, I'd recommend the Nano over this holster, as far as a low profile holster, and you can mod the Nano's to work fairly well as an AIWB holster with the addition of some velcro and a hard foam wedge on the backside to cant the gun inward.

    Also, as far as the clip size, personally I think it makes the most sense going with a 1.5" clip as standard, considering the vast majority of us wear 1.5" belts normally. I have considered getting a 1.75" belt to try out with this holster, just to see what difference it makes.

    As far as the knife, I'll be doing a review on it soon.

    I disagree with the cost of all those types of holsters. Although the initial form is somewhat expensive, once the form, mold, etc. is made for blowing out those types of small holsters, is paid for itself, the holster form (by itself) cost pennies to make. Those holsters shouldn't cost more than $25 and at that price would still deliver a good profit. This is just my opinion and based only on having worked closely with folks in the "form" making business many years ago. Twenty-five years ago the forms were made by hand and were extremely expensive because of the polishing, etc. Now the forms are made with CNC machinery. Initial cost of the CNC equipment is high, but it pays for itself quickly. Just my two bits.
     
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