Kydex or Leather?

Noticing the Milt Sparks holster in the photo with the SP2022, someone asked on Facebook "Back to leather for any particular reason?"

The short answer would be holster availability. Most of the kydex manufacturers I work with on the regular, like PHLster, Dark Star Gear, and Henry Holsters, only catalog for the most common of guns for practical reasons. And sadly neither JM Custom Kydex nor Custom Carry Concepts, who support a comparatively large range of models since they're still bending the old-fashioned way (at least last I checked), have an SP2022 amongst their mold guns.

I'm Facebook friends with the owner of Milt Sparks and he offered to make me a holster, so here we are. I have a Keepers Concealment AIWB holster on indefinite loan from Cecil Burch, but I gotta lose the Covid Nineteen (pounds) before that's going to be in the cards.

As far as having a strong preference between kydex or leather, I really don't have one. I like good holsters and I don't like janky ones, and there are good and bad holsters made out of both materials.

They both have their strengths and weaknesses. Kydex is easier to get a fast, consistent draw, since it releases the gun all at once. With the molded kydex holster the gun is held in by a mechanical lock, usually on the front of the trigger guard; once it "pops" there is nothing keeping the gun in the holster.

Incidentally, in a rolling grapple for a holstered gun, this complicates the retention problem; a well-fit leather holster will provide plenty of friction rather than letting go all at once like a kydex rig. Also, a quality leather holster, especially a horsehide one like this Sparks Summer Special, is going to be more durable over the long run than a kydex holster. Kydex holsters are more likely to break when exposed to the kind of forces encountered in weapon retention training, and will eventually fail even just from the normal use of drawing and re-holstering if you have a serious dry-fire regimen.

You pays your money and you takes your chances.
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