Now if you’ll recall from the last gear review, which I KNOW you read(Click here if you didn’t.  It’s ok, I’ll wait), we did a review of a range bag from 5.11.  After reading this review, Comp-Tac actually agreed to let us do a review of some of their gear.  This company is not only THE name in competition belts, holsters and mag pouches, they are also very brave.  They happen to have none other than Randi Rogers, one of the true luminaries of our sport on their team.  That should tell people they’re doing something right, but I wanted to test it for myself.

They sent one of their Deluxe Pro Competition Kits, which has a 1 1/2 “ wide Kydex Reinforced Contour Belt, a Twin Mag Pouch, and an International model holster.  They sent a long a couple of Tek-lok Single Mag Pouches too, so I could compare and contrast the Twin Mag Pouch vs. the singles.

What’s that knife, you ask? A future review, perhaps?

Nice try, Comp-Tac. Nice try.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the package was that the pouches and holsters had the same sized tensioning screws.  The second thing I noticed was that they sent an Allen wrench with a set of instructions in a separate bag along with a pack of Smarties candy.  Well played, Comp-Tac, but I will not be tempted by my favorite non-chocolate candy.  Ok, yes I will, but it still won’t sway the review.  That would have required some M&M’s, and maybe a bottle of Jameson.

The belt was thick, and wider than the normal belts I’m used to wearing.  It was also kind of heavy for a belt.  It makes sense when you consider that not only is this belt holding up your pants, it’s also holding up a gun and a number of magazines, and is expected to do so with out sagging or twisting.  I can report that the belt did it’s job well.  The holster and magazine pouches stayed upright and close to my body, and the belt didn’t twist or sag under the weight of the equipment.  It fit properly, to the point that the belt kind of disappeared into the background.  It was just something I didn’t have to think about once I put it on, which is exactly what you want in a competition belt.

The International Holster and the mounting attachments

The International series of holsters comes with different attachments so you can have a paddle holster, belt holster, drop offset holster, or paddle drop offset holster.  The holster also has multiple options for cant in each configuration.  All this leads to a very configurable holster, which is pretty nice.  Be forewarned, though.  While the International is USPSA legal in all configurations, there are a few set ups that are not IDPA legal.  Check the rulebooks to be sure.  Comp-Tac was kind enough to put that same warning on the bottom of the International product page.

The instructions that came with the holster said I should test it and make sure the fit is correct before use.  With the level of professionalism you’ve come to expect, I did no such thing.  I strapped the belt on, put the holster on, MADE SURE MY GUN WAS UNLOADED twice, and holstered.  Drawing turned out to be a little problematic, in that the gun not only didn’t leave the holster, the overly enthusiastic draw, over tight holster, and really strong belt loops all combined into me giving myself a wedgie that would have lifted my feet off the gound had I been a cartoon character.  Turns out, those instruction manual things are actually kind of handy sometimes.

Pulling your belt halfway up your ribcage is a good sign of a bad draw. Or tensioner screws that need adjusting.

Aah, much better. My outfit doesn’t match my belt!  And my wife can’t stop me! BWAHAHAHAH!

I called Matt Burkett, and told him what I had done.  He laughed at me.  For about 5 minutes.  Solid.  Well I’m sorry, not all of us can be world class shooters, or have nice hair, or read instructions.  After he regained his composure, he gave me some tips to help fit the holster to the gun(basically how tight was too tight), and how to position it on the belt for the best draw.

I put the belt on, put the gun on with the belt attachment  in a no-cant, vertical position.  I tried drawing a few dozen times, and learned a couple very important things.

First was that this holster can be a cruel mistress. If one does not draw the gun perfectly straight along the holster until the muzzle clears it completely, the holster will not let go, and you will give yourself another wedgie.  This holster demands a good draw, and will get it, or you will not get your gun.

The holster can also be very rewarding.   When one draws the gun correctly, the gun slips out of the holster, feeling like a hand just let go of the slide.  There’s no scraping and no sensation of dragging the gun along the inside of the holster on the way out.  It just glides out with what feels like no resistance.  It’s actually really neat.  You know when you’ve done a good draw, because it feels like there’s not even a holster there.

A quick word on the belt mounting attachment: There was no rattling it.  It was not like some cheap holsters, where the holster can bounce around a little because the way it hooks to the belt is too loose for the belt.  It was snug and secure.

I lucked my way into a few correct draws, and wondered if I hadn’t loosened it up too much, since the gun was coming out of the holster so smoothly when I did it right.  I put on a pair of running shoes, stretched, and started running around my yard to see if the gun would rattle around or fall out of the holster.  This is where I learned a couple more things, which I will lay out below.

1)      The local Police Department becomes very interested in you very quickly when you start running around with a gun on your hip.

2)      As innocently as you may mean it, the conversation with the local Police Department should not include the phrase “This holster has a really smooth draw, wanna see?”

3)      Tasers really hurt.  A lot.

I did also learned with the jumping around and cutting back and forth that the gun was secure in the holster.  The draw was just that smooth when done correctly, straight up along the long axis of the holster.

Draw the gun along the axis of the barrel channel, as show here with this expertly drawn red line.

My only complaint about the holster was that it left marks on the top of my Glock slide.  It’s not exactly a safe queen, so it really doesn’t matter that the holster left a streak that was completely removed with a swipe of the thumb.  But, it was there.  I’m sure that over time that would go away as the holster broke in a little or my draw got better. (Note: After a couple days of drawing, the marks stopped showing up on the gun.)

Twin Mag Pouch on top, individual Tek Loks on the bottom

The magazine pouches were actually kind of interesting in a geeky, attention to details kind of way.  The double mag pouch attached to the belt using a pair of sturdy clips, while the single pouches used a system called Tek-Lok, which I’m sure you’ve seen before.  There are a pair of black plastic locking bars on the back, which allows you to adjust the size of the Tek-Lok to fit your belt width.  Pretty ingenious, I’d say.  The back of the mechanism hinges closed, and two pressure clips snap into place.  The back of the mechanism is further secured by an additional hook that keeps the locking mechanism in place.  That magazine pouch is going nowhere.  Where is that mag pouch going?  Nowhere.  By the way, that was a Boondocks Saints reference.  If you haven’t seen it, shame on you.  Click here for the youtube link.

The belt clips on the Twin are above, the Tek-Lok system is below.

Another thing I found kind of interesting was that on the Twin mag pouch, there were two tensioning screws on the rear pouch, and only one on the front pouch.  Having learned my lesson from earlier, I checked the tension on each magazine pouch before putting any of them on my belt.  One of the single pouches was loose, one was tight, and both required some adjustment.  The Twin mag pouches didn’t require any adjustment.

Having learned another lesson from earlier, I put the pouches on and ran around my back yard, trying to see if I could get the magazines to fall out.  No such luck.  They stayed where they were supposed to stay until I drew for a reload.  The magazines, like the gun, drew smoothly when called into service.  A magazine pouch doesn’t have as much to grab onto, so you could twist or pull to one side and the magazine would still come out.  It was more difficult, and I could feel the corners on the magazine scraping the wall of the magazine pouch on the way up, but they would come out with out me yanking my pants half way up my ribcage.

Now you may be asking yourself why on Earth I asked for the Twin Mag pouch and a pair of singles. Probably not, if we’re being honest, but there was a method to my madness.  I wanted to see how the Twin would fair against a pair of single pouches.  The single pouches gave me a much higher level of adjustability.  They could go exactly where I wanted them on my belt, and you can adjust the cant on them too.

The Twin magazine pouch is not adjustable for cant, and you don’t really have any say on how far the magazines are spaced apart on your belt.   As it turns out, that wasn’t an issue for me.  The spacing on the Twin was right where I needed it, and the draw of the magazine was fine with out any adjustment to the cant.  It’s a pretty good set up as is, no complaints.

The single Tek-Lok pouches ended up going about where the Twin was, and I found that the cant was fine at vertical.  You may have to mess with it more due to about a billion different factors in how you’re built and what you’re used to, but that’s why it’s adjustable.

At Predator Tactical, we run on the theory that you should buy something good once, instead of buying cheap things multiple times, or having to upgrade your gear as your skill level improves.  Just buy the best, and spend the rest of the money you would have spent replacing or upgrading cheap crap on ammo and training.  The Deluxe Pro Competition Kit falls squarely into the category of something you purchase once.

Equip, Train, Dominate!