BehindBlueI's
Grandmaster
- Oct 3, 2012
- 25,897
- 113
I posted my initial thoughts here:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...89491-got_my_crossbreed_initial_thoughts.html
As there has been some interest, I'm going to do my full review a bit ahead of schedule. This is reference the Crossbreed Super Tuck for the Sig P220, ordered without the Combat Cut.
I had very high hopes going into this. People tend to talk about the Crossbreed in very superlative terms, "the most comfortable" and "most concealable" come up frequently. I waited the 9 weeks it took for it to be made and delivered because of those reviews. Its a fine holster, don't get me wrong, and I'll continue to use it but if I had it to do over again I would have stuck with High Noon Holsters, as I will explain.
I will be comparing the Super Tuck to two High Noon offerings.
For comparison purposes, I have also carried a Glock 22 in a Split Decision and a gov't sized 1911 in a Tailgunner, both IWB offerings from High Noon Holsters. The Split Decision is tuckable. While the pistols are not the exact same dimensions, I believe they are close enough to warrant comparison. I will not be including the Galco Summer Comfort, as its for a 3" barrel GP100 and wouldn't be close enough to draw reasonable conclusions, but I will eventually get around to a separate review for it.
COMFORT
The Super Tuck is comfortable after the break in period molds the leather to your body and softens the backing a bit. I also needed to adjust the cant and ride depth. When both hooks were in the next to the bottom holes, the front of the leather would dig into the top of my leg when I sat. This was more of an issue in some of my jeans than in dress pants, where the belt line is a bit lower. I ended up putting the front hook in the bottom hole, getting less cant and a higher ride up front and its comfortable now.
I find the Super Tuck is slightly more comfortable with a full sized pistol, as the leather backing spreads the pressure from the slide against more of your flesh compared to the two traditional shaped holsters. If you don't wear an undershirt, the Split Decision lacks a flap to keep the slide off your skin, which isn't as comfortable.
1st place: Super Tuck (after break in)
2nd place: Tailgunner
3rd place: Split Decision
Ease of Draw
As shipped without the Combat Cut, it sucks. Drawing is a two stroke process, as you can't wrap your fingers around the grip. Your fingernails will impact the leather back first, so you must pull your pistol up, then assume grip, then finish your draw. That is unacceptable to me, as I don't want to bobble around with a gun under an adrenaline dump. Certain deep concealment holsters may mandate a two step draw, but for a holster with this much bulk it shouldn't be considered. Either order the Combat Cut, cut it yourself, or steer clear.
This is the back of the holster and shows how much I trimmed off. Note the extra little scallop at the bottom to help my fingers clear the leather. This isn't as dramatic as the factory Combat Cut, and I really like the level of comfort vs grip.
The high noon offerings both allow a full grip immediately without any modification.
All offerings allow for a smooth draw stroke once broken in properly. The Kydex breaks more audibly and requires heating to be adjusted. The leather holsters just give you the gun smoothly and can be adjusted by a tension screw with no muss or fuss.
Part of "ease of draw" is also stability. You want the gun where you put it, same place all the time. You don't want the cant rocked too far forward or too far back, etc. The Split Decision will move if you don't use a quality belt. The Tailgunner will really resist rocking or moving with even a half decent belt. The Crossbreed sticks, period. The two clips are more stable by design. This is really the biggest advantage the Crossbreed offers, rock solid stability.
1st place (tie) Modified Super Tuck or Tailgunner
2nd place: Split Decision
3rd place: Unmodified/cut Super Tuck
Concealability
The Crossbreed is slightly less thick, since the clips are off to the sides instead of stacking thickness with the body of the weapon. The Split Decision adds a bit of bulk with three thicknesses of leather plus the clip, making it a bit wider. The Tailgunner is in the middle.
For "tucked" carry (shirt tucked in behind the clips but over the pistol and remainder of the holster), the Tailgunner must be eliminated as its not capable of this method. Here's where the Split Decision really shines. The single flat black clip is easier to hide and doesn't draw the eye in the way two evenly spaced glossier black clips with a cross embossed on them do. I had my own observations, but to double check I have lent holsters out to a friend with his family unaware. His family immediately "made" him with the Crossbreed. The next week he wore the Split Decision when they went to church and his wife asked him why he wasn't carrying that Sunday. When told he said he was carrying a gun and to find it, she checked his ankle before a pat down discovered it on his hip, with a black belt and the clip next to a belt loop the Split Decision was never noticed.
Crossbreed does offer alternate clips which would likely change this, but I haven't had the opportunity to test them so that's speculation on my part. Crossbreed says that this trades stability for concealment, and the stability is really the main selling point of the Crossbreed over other offerings, IMO.
Concealability (untucked)
1st place: Super Tuck
2nd place: Split Decision
3rd place: Tailgunner
Concealibility (tucked)
1st place: Split Decision
2nd place: Super Tuck
Scratched: Tailgunner.
Cost:
1st place: Split Decision @ $40-ish
2nd place: Super Tuck @ $70-ish
3rd place: Tailgunner @ $110-ish
Conclusions
All 3 are viable choices, and which one "wins" really boils down to how you plan to carry.
The Super Tuck is a good value at the price. If you plan to carry with an untucked shirt and are willing to fiddle with cutting and adjusting, it may be the best choice for you.
The Split Decision is the least expensive and you get a lot of quality for the money. I'd say its an excellent value. If you plan to carry tucked, with an undershirt behind the gun and a dress shirt or tucked in t-shirt over it, it may be the best choice for you. However it is also the most sensitive to belt selection, so figure in the price of a good belt (such as the Daltech offerings) if you go this route.
The Tailgunner is the most expensive, and is custom boned for your gun. Its a reasonable value but not a bargain. If you plan to always carry untucked and don't want to fiddle with adjustments and cutting, or you don't like kydex and want all leather, this might be the best choice for you.
For me, if I had it to do over again, I'd order another Split Decision. Its shortcomings are easily corrected with a quality belt, it ships faster, its cheaper, and the categories where the Super Tuck beat it the margins were slim. In the category of concealabliity (tucked) the Split Decision blew the Super Tuck out of the water, even with the handicap of a double stack pistol vs a single stack.
*************************************************************
Link To Original Thread: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...plit_decision_and_tailgunner.html#post4164062
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...89491-got_my_crossbreed_initial_thoughts.html
As there has been some interest, I'm going to do my full review a bit ahead of schedule. This is reference the Crossbreed Super Tuck for the Sig P220, ordered without the Combat Cut.
I had very high hopes going into this. People tend to talk about the Crossbreed in very superlative terms, "the most comfortable" and "most concealable" come up frequently. I waited the 9 weeks it took for it to be made and delivered because of those reviews. Its a fine holster, don't get me wrong, and I'll continue to use it but if I had it to do over again I would have stuck with High Noon Holsters, as I will explain.
I will be comparing the Super Tuck to two High Noon offerings.
For comparison purposes, I have also carried a Glock 22 in a Split Decision and a gov't sized 1911 in a Tailgunner, both IWB offerings from High Noon Holsters. The Split Decision is tuckable. While the pistols are not the exact same dimensions, I believe they are close enough to warrant comparison. I will not be including the Galco Summer Comfort, as its for a 3" barrel GP100 and wouldn't be close enough to draw reasonable conclusions, but I will eventually get around to a separate review for it.
COMFORT
The Super Tuck is comfortable after the break in period molds the leather to your body and softens the backing a bit. I also needed to adjust the cant and ride depth. When both hooks were in the next to the bottom holes, the front of the leather would dig into the top of my leg when I sat. This was more of an issue in some of my jeans than in dress pants, where the belt line is a bit lower. I ended up putting the front hook in the bottom hole, getting less cant and a higher ride up front and its comfortable now.
I find the Super Tuck is slightly more comfortable with a full sized pistol, as the leather backing spreads the pressure from the slide against more of your flesh compared to the two traditional shaped holsters. If you don't wear an undershirt, the Split Decision lacks a flap to keep the slide off your skin, which isn't as comfortable.
1st place: Super Tuck (after break in)
2nd place: Tailgunner
3rd place: Split Decision
Ease of Draw
As shipped without the Combat Cut, it sucks. Drawing is a two stroke process, as you can't wrap your fingers around the grip. Your fingernails will impact the leather back first, so you must pull your pistol up, then assume grip, then finish your draw. That is unacceptable to me, as I don't want to bobble around with a gun under an adrenaline dump. Certain deep concealment holsters may mandate a two step draw, but for a holster with this much bulk it shouldn't be considered. Either order the Combat Cut, cut it yourself, or steer clear.
This is the back of the holster and shows how much I trimmed off. Note the extra little scallop at the bottom to help my fingers clear the leather. This isn't as dramatic as the factory Combat Cut, and I really like the level of comfort vs grip.
The high noon offerings both allow a full grip immediately without any modification.
All offerings allow for a smooth draw stroke once broken in properly. The Kydex breaks more audibly and requires heating to be adjusted. The leather holsters just give you the gun smoothly and can be adjusted by a tension screw with no muss or fuss.
Part of "ease of draw" is also stability. You want the gun where you put it, same place all the time. You don't want the cant rocked too far forward or too far back, etc. The Split Decision will move if you don't use a quality belt. The Tailgunner will really resist rocking or moving with even a half decent belt. The Crossbreed sticks, period. The two clips are more stable by design. This is really the biggest advantage the Crossbreed offers, rock solid stability.
1st place (tie) Modified Super Tuck or Tailgunner
2nd place: Split Decision
3rd place: Unmodified/cut Super Tuck
Concealability
The Crossbreed is slightly less thick, since the clips are off to the sides instead of stacking thickness with the body of the weapon. The Split Decision adds a bit of bulk with three thicknesses of leather plus the clip, making it a bit wider. The Tailgunner is in the middle.
For "tucked" carry (shirt tucked in behind the clips but over the pistol and remainder of the holster), the Tailgunner must be eliminated as its not capable of this method. Here's where the Split Decision really shines. The single flat black clip is easier to hide and doesn't draw the eye in the way two evenly spaced glossier black clips with a cross embossed on them do. I had my own observations, but to double check I have lent holsters out to a friend with his family unaware. His family immediately "made" him with the Crossbreed. The next week he wore the Split Decision when they went to church and his wife asked him why he wasn't carrying that Sunday. When told he said he was carrying a gun and to find it, she checked his ankle before a pat down discovered it on his hip, with a black belt and the clip next to a belt loop the Split Decision was never noticed.
Crossbreed does offer alternate clips which would likely change this, but I haven't had the opportunity to test them so that's speculation on my part. Crossbreed says that this trades stability for concealment, and the stability is really the main selling point of the Crossbreed over other offerings, IMO.
Concealability (untucked)
1st place: Super Tuck
2nd place: Split Decision
3rd place: Tailgunner
Concealibility (tucked)
1st place: Split Decision
2nd place: Super Tuck
Scratched: Tailgunner.
Cost:
1st place: Split Decision @ $40-ish
2nd place: Super Tuck @ $70-ish
3rd place: Tailgunner @ $110-ish
Conclusions
All 3 are viable choices, and which one "wins" really boils down to how you plan to carry.
The Super Tuck is a good value at the price. If you plan to carry with an untucked shirt and are willing to fiddle with cutting and adjusting, it may be the best choice for you.
The Split Decision is the least expensive and you get a lot of quality for the money. I'd say its an excellent value. If you plan to carry tucked, with an undershirt behind the gun and a dress shirt or tucked in t-shirt over it, it may be the best choice for you. However it is also the most sensitive to belt selection, so figure in the price of a good belt (such as the Daltech offerings) if you go this route.
The Tailgunner is the most expensive, and is custom boned for your gun. Its a reasonable value but not a bargain. If you plan to always carry untucked and don't want to fiddle with adjustments and cutting, or you don't like kydex and want all leather, this might be the best choice for you.
For me, if I had it to do over again, I'd order another Split Decision. Its shortcomings are easily corrected with a quality belt, it ships faster, its cheaper, and the categories where the Super Tuck beat it the margins were slim. In the category of concealabliity (tucked) the Split Decision blew the Super Tuck out of the water, even with the handicap of a double stack pistol vs a single stack.
*************************************************************
Link To Original Thread: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...plit_decision_and_tailgunner.html#post4164062
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