Craft Holsters Leather Paddle Holster Review [2018]
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
The Craft Holsters lt. 183 [link] in mahogany leather is a well-made paddle holster manufactured by Slovakian firm Falco (not Galco). In many ways, leather holsters are a fairly generic product, but this particular holster gets special marks for a beautiful color, solid 3mm leather construction, a sensible pricepoint, and a range of handgun fit options that even covers uncommon marques such as Zastava, Charter Arms, and IWI. The paddle is well executed, cant-adjustable, and can be swapped for a number of other belt attachments, if desired. We used this holster for several months and beat it up, a lot, and it’s come through just fine. While we can only speak to this one model, if you’re looking for “a fine leather holster” then the Falco lineup from Craft Holsters are quite likely money well spent.
Review Contents
This review is organized as shown below. You can read the whole thing, or just use the below guide to find to the section that’s most interesting to you.
- Overview and Tabletop Handling Observations
- Function
- Buying Through Craft Holsters
- Wrap up
- Overview and Tabletop Handling Observations
- Function
- Buying Through Craft Holsters
- Wrap up
Overview and Tabletop Handling Observations
Note: The specific model we were sent for testing was ‘lt 183’ - Leather Paddle Holster w/ Tension Screw.
This holster has been on our various hips for every range trip of the last few months. We’ve kicked it around, put it away wet (literally), and drawn from it more times than we can count. We’ve never touched the retention screw but our Glock still slots in tightly, requiring a decisive snatch for a successful draw. About a week ago we stepped on it, kicked it, and ground it into the dirt and snow under our boots, and after an hour or two, all the nicks and gouges faded away and the holster looked, frankly, good as new. The leather is well-treated, richly colored, and thick enough to last and last.
We did our best to take pictures of the scratches and nicks, but most of them completely disappeared after a few hours. They only visible mark is the one deep gouge on the back.
This holster has been on our various hips for every range trip of the last few months. We’ve kicked it around, put it away wet (literally), and drawn from it more times than we can count. We’ve never touched the retention screw but our Glock still slots in tightly, requiring a decisive snatch for a successful draw. About a week ago we stepped on it, kicked it, and ground it into the dirt and snow under our boots, and after an hour or two, all the nicks and gouges faded away and the holster looked, frankly, good as new. The leather is well-treated, richly colored, and thick enough to last and last.
We did our best to take pictures of the scratches and nicks, but most of them completely disappeared after a few hours. They only visible mark is the one deep gouge on the back.
The image on the left was supposed to be of a holster covered in scratches, but they faded before we could take pictures
~3.0mm thick gunleather, according to our calipers.
Like any leather holster, this one required break-in. Rub-off was sighted on the Glock’s ejection port when first put into service, but to be frank we’d be upset if we didn’t see this on a brand-new leather holster.
No harm in a little rub-off between friends
The included cant-adjustable paddle is perfectly functional, and can be swapped out for a range of other belt attachments available on the Craft Holsters website.
Function
Craft Holsters claims the leather is molded to the gun by hand and from the factory, and its certainly a snug fit - no wobble to speak of. With no tension screw adjustments, pulling on the handgun will only pull up your pants – you need a quick, decisive snatch in order for the gun to release. This is a good middle-ground amount of retention that will serve most shooters well, and more importantly, the holster’s grip on the gun hasn’t loosened even after several months of use.
When faced with the “steering wheel test” (getting out of a car and having the pistol catch on the steering wheel), the holster did surprisingly well. This is a test more aimed at active-retention holsters but over the course of five tries, this holster kept its hold on the gun three times, which is really a pretty good result that speaks to the holster’s close fit.
When faced with the “steering wheel test” (getting out of a car and having the pistol catch on the steering wheel), the holster did surprisingly well. This is a test more aimed at active-retention holsters but over the course of five tries, this holster kept its hold on the gun three times, which is really a pretty good result that speaks to the holster’s close fit.
Buying Through Craft Holsters
Craft Holster stocks a fair amount of Kydex®, nylon, and plastic holsters, but their selection of leather goods is downright dizzying. They have tons of styles, from chest holsters to cross-draw CCW holsters, in various shades of leather and for almost any gun model you could want. Even after filtering by style, material, and gun model, it’s a robust inventory, so it helps to browse their website with a few key facts in mind:
Multiple Holster Manufacturers
They sell holsters from a variety of manufacturers, and from what we have seen, holsters from the Slovakian firm Falco and the Italian firm Vega make up the bulk of their inventory. This means that when you go looking for a particular type of holster, you may see several nearly-identical models. This is because the holsters from various manufacturers are being presented side by side, but without their brand names to distinguish them.
English Translation
Craft Holsters seems to deal exclusively with European manufacturers, so most-if-not-all of their product descriptions are translated into English. The translations are pretty good, by and large, even when dealing with the varying industry terms (such as carry position) surrounding CCW holsters. The only time we found the product descriptions confusing was when dealing with duty holsters or other specialized rigs. For example, it’s difficult to know if “Security Level II” means what we in America would call Level 2 retention. Some holsters also use brand-specific locking or quick-draw mechanisms, but their descriptions of these features were only somewhat helpful and comparing features across similar duty holsters from different brands was particularly difficult. Ultimately, we didn’t feel confident that we really understood what we would be getting if we ordered one of the specialized duty holsters, and stuck to good old gunleather.
Multiple Holster Manufacturers
They sell holsters from a variety of manufacturers, and from what we have seen, holsters from the Slovakian firm Falco and the Italian firm Vega make up the bulk of their inventory. This means that when you go looking for a particular type of holster, you may see several nearly-identical models. This is because the holsters from various manufacturers are being presented side by side, but without their brand names to distinguish them.
English Translation
Craft Holsters seems to deal exclusively with European manufacturers, so most-if-not-all of their product descriptions are translated into English. The translations are pretty good, by and large, even when dealing with the varying industry terms (such as carry position) surrounding CCW holsters. The only time we found the product descriptions confusing was when dealing with duty holsters or other specialized rigs. For example, it’s difficult to know if “Security Level II” means what we in America would call Level 2 retention. Some holsters also use brand-specific locking or quick-draw mechanisms, but their descriptions of these features were only somewhat helpful and comparing features across similar duty holsters from different brands was particularly difficult. Ultimately, we didn’t feel confident that we really understood what we would be getting if we ordered one of the specialized duty holsters, and stuck to good old gunleather.
Wrap-up
The lt 183 is a good holster – well-made, durable, and with good fit to the gun. The price is reasonable and it’s quite fine lookin’ too.
Although figuring out exactly which model you want can be quirky, Craft Holsters nonetheless seems to provide access to top-quality European gunleather at realistic prices. There are many sources for leather holsters, but few that offer as many fit options combined with superb durability and reasonable pricepoints. If you’re in the market for leather, or are struggling to find a holster for your oddball pistol, then Craft Holsters is worth a look. Here's a link to their offering for just the Glock 17.
Although figuring out exactly which model you want can be quirky, Craft Holsters nonetheless seems to provide access to top-quality European gunleather at realistic prices. There are many sources for leather holsters, but few that offer as many fit options combined with superb durability and reasonable pricepoints. If you’re in the market for leather, or are struggling to find a holster for your oddball pistol, then Craft Holsters is worth a look. Here's a link to their offering for just the Glock 17.
And that’s it. Happy shooting.
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