As I so much appreciate others sharing a new holster that they just bought, I thought that I'd do the same. I found PJ Holster through Faliaphotography on YouTube. It appeared that it checked most of my boxes in terms of what I want in a holster (listed in order of preference); I will further describe each one below.
- Adjustable retention (I feel that retention is a very subjective matter).
- Ride height (I prefer as deep as possible while still allowing a positive grip).
- Concealability (it has to hide).
- Cant (I prefer at least the "FBI cant" of 15 degrees...maybe even more).
- Availability (I want it now; more on this...uh...later).
- Cost (I don't want to spend an arm and a leg).
Adjustable retention. I think this is right up there with that old adage: "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". PJ Holster is the fourth holster I've tried, and some of the previous holsters were a "no go" for me due to the inability to customize the level of retention. It seems that I prefer my holster to have somewhat less of a grip on the gun than others do. I certainly don't want the gun to fall out, but I also don't want my holster to fight me on the draw. Retention is at the top of my priority list because I recognize that I'm apparently a bit of an outlier in terms of what I like. So I've got to be able to adjust it. Paul's product has a very nice, very simple retention screw. And it works perfect.
Ride Height. I like it low. I like it as low as physically possible while still allowing my entire middle-ring-pinky finger trio to grip the gun with the 8-round mag (which is my primary carry mag). Some holsters hold the gun to high for me; Paul's holster is perfect.
Concealability. I didn't care about concealability this morning. I could hide my kids' Nerf revolver under the tweed coat I wore to church. Concealing the Shield is a piece of cake anyway, but an overcoat is just cheating. So I carried under a polo shirt later on today and took some pics. The PJ Holster holds the gun tight and hides it great. This holster is thin -- REAL thin. It'll hide anywhere; it adds as little to the gun's width as physically possible.
Cant. I like it angled forward. 15 degree "FBI cant" is fine. Even a little more is okay. This holster has a 20 degree cant. I bought it from Paul's list of in-stock holsters. Someone must have ordered a 20 degree and canceled or he made a right-hand holster for a lefty or something. Paul can customize anything on his holsters because he hand-makes each one. I got lucky with this one.
Availability. I tried three other holsters (Hidden Hybrid - too big; N82 - too thick; 4cornersconcealment - too thick) because it takes so long to get a PJ Holster. His wait-list is about 9 weeks. I guess it means that he's making great holsters. I stalked his "in stock" page until I found what I wanted. It took a week or two of checking back. He has a number (usually between 5 and 10) of Shield holsters he's made where an order was canceled or he "mis-customized" it, meaning he had to start over with a new one.
Cost. It's not the absolute cheapest holster out there, but it's far from the most expensive. 50 bucks including shipping is very fair for what amounts to the most comfortable holster I've personally used and one with the level of available customization and/or adjustability built-in.
Anyway, pictures to follow. Bravo to Paul for his fine holsters. I'll be a return customer for sure.
(And no, the cat wasn't about to "get it". It does make for a comical picture, though.)
(And no, the cat wasn't about to "get it". It does make for a comical picture, though.)
