5.11 Thumbdrive Holster - Initial impressions

[SSG Surf]

Below was a review I was asked to do on the new 5.11 Thumbdrive holster. I figured I might as well share the info here.

OK, sorry was a busy week. I got to use the holster briefly. Again this holster is for a Glock Gen4 G17, but does fit my Gen 3 G19. It is a no go on a G34, but a dremel can solve that issue I am sure. This is the G19 and as can be seen the end of the holster can probably be altered or cut to fit the longslide variants. This is a Blade Tech kydex made for 5.11.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/Tactical/IMG_38731.jpg

My first impression was that the thumb drive shroud needed to go. Didn't want to take it off, but even though I have med sized hands it didn't seem like my thumb wanted to fit well into the thumb drive area especially when depressing the thumb release. Not enough room.

My next impression was that you really need to sink the weapon, or drive the weapon down into the holster to get it to release which is a good thing. It is a design of the holster and that is OK as I like to drive the weapon downward to establish my good shooting grip. It is also a nice safety feature design of the holster.

The problem, at least for me with the Glock is that to get high on the backstrap and in order to sink my hand and contact the grip deep into the web of my hand my thumb looks like this

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/Tactical/IMG_39171.jpg

However in the above picture I cannot depress the drive. It looks like I can but the drive is pretty stiff and needs a good, firm, straight down push. I cannot do that with a good seated, normal grip.

[SSG Surf]

Continued....

Now if I position my thumb in a manner to be able to press the release all the way down my thumb looks like this.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/Tactical/IMG_39131.jpg

With my thumb in a position that I can press the "drive" release all the way in, the release bottoms out long before I can get a positive seat of the pistols backstrap in the the web of my hand. Just because of the bodys mechanics, the thumb does not bend enough when the drive is fully depressed to allow the web of my hand to positively contact the backstrap and grip of the weapon. Because of this I don't get a solid downward push on the pistol which I like and which is also needed to release the pistol. What does this cause? The pistol not releasing with consistency.

This is what my grip looks like when I can consistently depress the drive release. Notice the gaps and the lack of a solid grip. Which I invariably need to adjust during the draw to presentation, which is less than an ideal thing to need to do.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/Tactical/IMG_39121.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/Tactical/IMG_39151.jpg

At least for myself, my initial impressions is that the drive release needs to be lower so that I can get the backstrap solid into the web of my hand. Notice I use a Gen 4 with no backstrap and a standard Gen3 and still have the issue. Maybe a larger grip might work better.

I do not want to alter my grip once I seat my hand on the pistol in the holster. I have medium sized hands and I cannot reliably maintain (90%+) accuracy in my draw. At first my accuracy for releasing the pistol was low. Even after practice, at least 10% of the draws that I do, I do not get the pistol to release on the first attempt and I need to "double clutch" my draw. To achieve 90%+ when I depress the release with the tip of my thumb, I need roll my hand pretty far to the rear to push the weapon down with the very back or the heel of my hand which causes a very unnatural feel for myself.

I have tried to sink my grip first then hit the thumb release, but it is just too high. I do like the system and it is more secure than the Safariland 6320 that I am testing, but IMO the thumb drive needs to be set lower on the holster. Again I have medium length fingers and I have maybe only a couple hundred draw presentations and a few hundred rounds fired using this holster. I very much like the concept but IMO it needs to be tweaked a bit. I will also say that if you look at my draw, it looks very natural and normal. Heck when I hit the draw well, it is indeed very quick and fluid looking. But it is nowhere near the consistency that I require.

This is still probably not a good idea for a duty style holster, but may have tactical applications.

[GackMan]

Does your grip improve if you grasp and press at the same time - establishing your grip and releasing the gun in one motion?

[The91Bravo]

In the first picture of post number 2, did the slide hurt like hell when it took the chunk of flesh out of your hand?? ;-)

Great review. It is good to read these things from someone whom you trust before you sink some cash into a piece of kit.

[SSG Surf]

Does your grip improve if you grasp and press at the same time - establishing your grip and releasing the gun in one motion?If I get a proper high on the backstrap grip, where I sink the tang into the web of my hand, my thumb is way too high to do a simultaneous release of the "thumb drive" unless if I bend my thumb but that doesn't allow me to contact the grip and get a "positive" downward push to release the gun from the holster. In other words with a correct grip I cannot release the pistol from the holster in the same motion.

This is a proper high on the backstrap grip, but my thumb needs to be in this position to release the pistol. But now I am not contacting the backstrap and cannot drive the pistol down into the holster because my thumb doesn't bend any more than this. This photo is very uncomfortable of a thumb position.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/Tactical/IMG_39121.jpg

If I were to contact the backstrap of the pistol and do a simultaneous release with the thumb drive, the photo chop below shows where my hand needs to be. Now if my hand is in this position notice how low I would be on the grip. This would not work at all.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd60/SSDSurf/Tactical/IMG_39173.jpg

For myself at least, either the thumb drive needs to be lower down on the holster (towards my knees) or it needs to be more aft or towards my backside. Again if I hit a good draw, it looks very smooth and fast. So if I were to shoot some video, I could easily edit it to look like this holster is amazing. For me at least it isn't consistent enough. I double clutch too much or need to adjust my grip on presentation far too much for my tastes.

I haven't given up on it yet and would like to get a few thousand rounds and several hundred presentations before I make a final decision. As I sit here right now I am fooling with it and for the life of me I cannot figure out a method that will work.

[SSG Surf]

In the first picture of post number 2, did the slide hurt like hell when it took the chunk of flesh out of your hand?? ;-)

Great review. It is good to read these things from someone whom you trust before you sink some cash into a piece of kit.lol, it does look like a nice slide bite. :biggrin:

Long story short, we were doing our Benelli new guy course and someone added a side saddle. They cut off the bolt at the nut but it left a sharp edge and did not smooth it over. I was doing malfunction demo as a lefty and I did a knife blade rack of the slide and that friggin edge cut right through my glove. Good thing I had a glove on or it would have been worse. :smile: