Bet that got your attention! Friday was a typical August day in East Texas: hot! As I cannot carry at work, I left the new holster in my car until quitting time (about an hour and a half). When I went to take the holster into the house with me, I noticed that the clips that keep the holster on your belt had softened in the heat of my car, and they had opened up considerably. One clip was open about 1/2 inch, and the other had opened up about 1 1/2 inches. I was floored. Brand new $75 holster that couldn't be used.
After a few minutes of calling myself every kind of idiot for leaving it in the hot car, I decided to make sure the holster body was still properly molded to the gun it was designed for, and it was. My first though on putting my wife's G19 into the holster was that it went in way too easily for the holster to provide enough retention. Then I tried to pull the gun out. I had to shift my grip on the holster to hold it better to get the gun out. After several quick holsterings and un-holsterings, The holster has wonderful retention, and the heat didn't affect the holster body, so, at worst, I had ruined a set of easily-replaceable belt clips. WHEW!!
I removed the clips from the holster and decided to see if I could get them warm enough to mold back into place. (I know this was probably stupid of me, as I could have voided the warranty by trying this.) Using a hair dryer, I was able to soften the clips where I could bend them back into place. As they were alittle too hot to handle, I used rubber bands to pull them back in, and then left them to cool at room temperature for a few hours. After that, the clips held in place well. They do not seem to have lost any strength through all of this! I strapped the holster on and inserted the unloaded Glock and practiced a few draws. The clips held the holster securely in place. Hey! I might not have ruined a brand-new holster after all.
I wore the gun/holster for the remainder of Friday night and for several hours Saturday and Sunday. It took a little while to get used to the clips, but I soon stopped noticing them. (My previous CCW holster had loops on the body of the holster instead of on either side.) The C-TAC's leather tabs creaked for a while, but is already much quieter. The holster was quite comfortable, and wasn't as prone as my old holster to twisting slightly out of place when I sat. All in all, I am quite impressed.
Now for the really good news! I e-mailed Comp-Tac this morning to explain what had happened, and see if what I did would be likely to decrease the longevity of the holster. Comp-Tac promptly replied that nothing that had happened should cause their product to wear out any faster. Also, if I was not satisfied with my own job of getting the clips back into shape, they would replace them under the warranty. I am impressed that they are willing to back their product up even after I told them I had, essentially, modified their product.
In short, the holster is a very good product that I have no qualms about recommending. But, if you have to disarm and leave your weapon in your vehicle in the Texas summer heat, don't leave your holster in the car with your gun! Comp-Tac Victory Gear is also, apparently, a wonderful company who stands behind their products. A hearty recommendation for them and their products (even if things did start off looking pretty dire).
