I’ve been carrying a g19 every day with a Raven Phantom holster since '09. I seem to need a new holster every year- they seem to eventually fail via cracking at the section near the top of the front of the trigger guard.
My second holster (sent for free after I mailed them pics of the crack on my first- very pleasant to deal with) was made of thicker sheets of kydex than the first, so I thought the issue would be solved. However, this one cracked in less time than the first one.
The holster has spent all of its time either in my waistband during the day while walking and sitting, or sitting empty on a shelf at night. I live in a subtropical climate, so it hasn’t been exposed to extremes of temperature.
I’m starting to assume this may just be the cost of using a kydex holster for IWB carry. The stuff doesn’t seem like it tolerates flexing as well as some other plastics.
i cracked a G19 raven over the summer. Had it a bit over a year i believe. LOTS of draws, i guess kydex has a finite lifespan.
raven got me a new one inside of a week, just emailed them pics and the new one showed up literally days later. the old one was usable for awhile after the cracks started as well.
Same here…G19, Phantom cracked at the trigger guard area near the retention divot. Holster was still usable, retention still tight enough for carry. Sent pics and Jay sent me out a new one.
Have also had cracks form on the Phantom tuckable hooks mounting ear.
Don’t take it as a knock on RCS as I’ve never had a Kydex holster that did not eventually crack somewhere.
My first kydex rig was a Sidearmor IWB that developed a crack in the belt loop area. Good thing it was a replaceable part.
Then got a CTAC. This one had welds break loose so one of the loop attachment points fell off. Comp Tac fixed it under warranty and I have since converted it to appendix carry and it’s still going strong.
The aforementioned RCS holsters I use for strong side IWB and OWB.
They seem to crack at the places that flex the most in my experience.
This is interesting. I would like to have the damaged holster back here, we have yet to see one of the thicker ones crack. There were a few issues from the older holsters made of thinner material, but we’ve stepped up the thickness in Jan of 2010 and haven’t had one fail yet. If yours has, we’ll replace it free of charge. Our unconditional lifetime warranty covers everything we make.
Like D90King, I’m still wearing my gear that’s three and a half years old, that I ordered before I worked here.
At your convenience, please call/email/pm me and I will get you squared away.
I absolutely didn’t intend this as any sort of a bash. I was just beginning to think that a year was the life expectancy for a kydex holster and wanted to get some input from other kydex holster users to confirm my guess or refute it.
Thanks for taking the time to comment here Mr. Fineis. I’ll get in touch soon to get the holster back to you for examination.
That is fantastic! Not that anyone in this thread brought it up but with the talk about how long it takes to get a Raven holster this would appear to be on more reason why it’s worth the wait. I have two Raven holsters and it’s nice to know I don’t have to worry about them.
I honestly like the Raven holster so much I was considering just replacing it every year. It’s the only holster I’ve used that lets me get away with wearing just a tshirt and jeans. The leather holsters I’ve tried are just too thick, and I didn’t feel like trying to get by on colostomy bag explanations.
I’m small and skinny- I just don’t have much real estate to hide stuff on.
All of our products are covered under our unconditional lifetime warranty. If you have experienced a breakage, please email us at gearinfo@ravenconcealment.com and we will arrange for you to return your broken item for a replacement at no charge. It’s a very quick turn-around to get your gear back to you.
If you have further questions about our product line, I’d be happy to answer them for you.
There is a reason that RCS has become the go to place for kydex holsters. I have an older black G19 holster (circa early 2008) that I picked up on the second hand market. The guy I bought it from failed to mention that the kydex was tight enough that when I holstered the gun it would push the slide slightly out of battery. One email to RCS about a possible homebrew fix due to me being the second owner but they would not hear it. They asked for the holster to be shipped to them for repair. Within 14 days I had the holster repair and back on my side with no charge for the work.
Tom and Michael are good people who bend over backwards to look after their end users. Hands down the best CS in the business. Like Tom mentioned I have seen one older thinner kydex crack but not the newer ones. My thinner holster and mag carrier are still going strong. Even if the items do wear or crack they will get fixed with no questions asked. RCS gear is definitely worth any wait they have, and even that is shrinking considerably.
Tom and Michael thanks for everything you do and for being the gold standard in the industry.
I have 2 RCS phantom holsters (and awaiting my 3rd), all for a duty carry M&P. The first I ordered has seen daily OWB and frequent (weekly) range use. No sign of wear, although I’ll keep a close eye out for it.
I’m wondering if the stresses placed on the kydex where the OP describes it might be a result of specific torque (forward or outward) on the draw stroke rather than material or manufacturing wear. Or am I just being Captain Obvious here…?
I won’t use any Kydex other than RCS and NOT just because I have found it to be the best Kydex in the industry after trying many others, but because of both Mike and Tom. Great gear and great guys who also just happen to be great shooters. I believe the last part has a lot to do with the quality of their products.
