Got too much gear to carry that puts a traditional hip holster in the way?
Why not try a drop leg holster?
I got a chance to test out the Alien Gear Cloak Mod Drop Leg Holster and Cloak Mag Carriers to see how well they perform.
There you are out in the woods with a heavy coat on. Danger springs upon you! Well your holstered pistol is riding on your belt under the bulky coat. How quick can you draw it and not snag it on the coat itself?
Another scenario for you. Your are wearing your tactical vest with armor. Where does your sidearm go? That vest might ride low onto your belt area.
With the two thoughts in mind I contacted Alien Gear Holsters to review their Cloak Mod Drop Leg Holster. I was looking to test a holster that would allow a hard hitting Glock 20 in 10mm to be accessed instantly. This would be very useful for the above predicaments we might face as handgun carriers. Also requested was the Alien Gear Cloak Mag Carriers that mount directly to the holster. This way two extra magazines are available right with the pistol itself in a neat out of the way carry option.
Right out of the package a Glock 20SF in 10mm fits the specified holster perfectly. If it wasn’t the case and you wanted more or less retention it is quite easy to adjust for that. If you purchase this size the Glock 21 in .45 ACP. will also fit (same size handgun). Next I attached the two Alien Gear Cloak Mag Carriers to the Drop Leg Holster itself. They are quick on and quick off. The Cloak Mag Carriers adjust for retention by the small Allen key cleverly attached out of the way to each mag carrier itself. With a couple small adjustments the Glock magazines fit snugly but still were easy to extract. Time for the ultimate test on how it actually performs.
First off before you even put any holster on make sure you are wearing a rigid gun belt. That way the weight of the load will not be carried at the wrong position causing discomfort. I chose the Bigfoot Gun Belts Steel Core Tactical Belt to hold up the whole system. Below you can see the actual belt clips slid onto the belt and can be attached or detached to the holster itself in a hurry. No fumbling this way when you need that holster on now and not in a few long minutes.
Well the holster and mag carriers are all attached and accounted for ready for testing. First off is there are many adjustments that can be made to the holster itself for height adjustment and even cant. User adjustable retention obviously is a big plus when it is as easy as Alien Gear makes it. Extra hardware supplied gives even more adjustable options if wanted.
How well does it carry anyhow? Well with a Glock 20 Pistol and two fully loaded mags in the mag carriers I set out for testing. When the leg straps were secured I was quite surprised by how well the fit was. On a moving leg a drop leg holster needs to work as part of the leg instead of flopping around like cheap drop leg holsters I have used in the past. Running up and down stairs the Alien Gear Cloak Mod Drop Leg Holster stayed perfectly in place. Impressed? Quite so and both the holstered weapon and the spare mags stayed in place even after rigorous movement.
How is the speed also in drawing? Well at a rest your drawing hand is essentially right by the holstered pistol. There is no need to raise your hand up as with a conventional holster to make a draw. Quick as the old west holsters? Try it out and you will definitely be surprised.
