Getting one’s hands on a relatively new to the market pistol is in some ways a mixed bag. On one hand, one gets to experience the new features and maybe understand some of the decisions behind the design. On the other hand, one may end up dealing with some of the quirks that haven’t been quite ironed out in the first few batches to make it through the manufacturing process. Another part of the overall experience is hunting for accessories and supporting equipment necessary to try the pistol in specific applications. For example, it took me nearly three months to find a holster manufacturer or maker that supported the Heckler & Koch VP9 Match which delayed my plans to run that pistol in a local match. As frustrating as that was, learning about Weber Tactical and their line of USPSA/IDPA Holsters was a sort of silver lining.
As I inferred, my first exposure to Weber Tactical’s USPSA/IDPA holster was one made for the VP9 Match. The ordering process was straightforward. I specified the handedness. Spent quite some time picking out the Kydex color and patterns for the inner and outer layers which ended up being carbon fiber orange for the outside and a zombie green interior. There were three options for mounting: drilled for popular mounts without a mount, a DOTs mount, or QLS mount. Next step consisted of selecting between the VP9 L and the VP9 Match variants Finally picking between one or both of the retention screws to ensure compliance with IDPA or USPSA holster rules. There really wasn’t much to it and the turnaround was quicker than I expected with a lead time just over two weeks.
The holster arrived with the DOTs mount unattached and included the mounting hardware. Attaching the DOTs mount only took a couple of minutes and it was off to the races. The fitment to the gun was excellent and the retention screws provided a wide range of adjustment from gravity retention only to good luck drawing the pistol retention. In other words, I found it to be a well-built highly-functional competition holster with plenty of personalization options.
I have nothing negative to say about that holster. In fact, I was so satisfied with it that I decided to order one of their 2011 Series holsters for a Staccato P a couple of months later. Process was basically the same with the exception of having to specify the 2011 pistol barrel length instead of a VP9 variant. I also changed things up with the colors and went with a carbon fiber red exterior and black interior.
Just like the first holster, this one arrived with the unattached DOTs mount and mounting hardware. Also just like the first holster, assembly was quick, fit was great, and retention adjustment range was plenty.
One difference between the two holsters is that the drilled mount attachment pattern was quite different. I’m not sure why this was the case or if this presents any mount compatibility issues. Unfortunately, I haven’t attempted to use any of the popular mounts used with competition belts to confirm one way or the other. However, I don’t suspect there will be any mount compatibility issues since these holsters are intended to be used for competition purposes. Regardless, I figured it was worth noting before folks invest into one or more of these holsters with the expectation that it will work with their favorite mount only to potentially learn afterwards that it doesn’t.
Given that Weber Tactical was batting 100% for me and my holster needs so far, I took the plunge and ordered yet a third holster from them. This time around I opted for one of their CZ Series holsters with a green carbon fiber exterior along with a purple interior for a CZ Shadow 2.
This third holster experience deviated from the status quo. The first thing I noticed was that the included mounting hardware consisted of two screws instead of three. I didn’t think anything of this at first especially since there was another problem with it, but I do bring this up now because two screws with the drilled mounting hole pattern is not sufficient and I’ve experienced a shift in the mounted angle and position during matches. This can be easily remedied by introducing a third mounting screw.
The second problem that I ran into was that the retention adjustment range went from “the gun won’t go into the holster” to “the gun will go in but won’t come out”. Given this was a show stopper, I contacted Weber Tactical and they promptly sent me a different set of retention screw hardware that alleviated the problem at no additional charge. While this resolved the retention adjustment range issue, another problem revealed itself when I started using the holster – that is the gun gets hung up in the holster during the draw when I introduce any rotation to the pistol while establishing the master grip and before pulling the pistol out of the holster. I haven’t quite figured out how the pistol gets hung up in the holster and I’m fairly certain the remedy will involve simply removing a little bit of material. Nevertheless, getting this holster working the way I need it to work has been a bit of a hassle. I want to emphasize that Weber Tactical has been committed to helping me get the holster working right for me and their customer service has been extremely responsive and supportive thus far which is very important because no matter how well quality control is executed it is impossible for every product to be perfect every single time.
Overall, I’d say Weber Tactical makes a solid USPSA/IDPA competition holster. While I am not yet completely satisfied with one of the three holsters, all signs point to complete satisfaction being on the horizon. The two holsters I’m happy with are working out really well for me so far and I plan to continue using them heavily. Along those lines, I plan on trying at least one popular mount in the near future as soon as I get around to getting a competition belt. That means I am likely to revisit these holsters in a future review.