Comp-Tac - C-T.A.C
Comfort
To begin this review I'll start by covering the what
I consider the 3 most important features of any holster.
I found that the C-T.A.C holster was very comfortable once I found the
place my body likes most for this holster which is about the 3:00 position.
My bodystyle is 5'6" 200lbs, so I'm a little heavier around the middle.
This holster was also comfortable at 4:30-5:30 position. I found for my
personal bodystyle that from what I can tell the most forward cant worked
best for me.
I was able to comfortably sit with a 4" service pistol on without being
uncomfortable. It did take a little adjusting to find the perfect sitting
position in a car that felt good while standing up as well but that's
to be expected.
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Durability
A holsters durability is about as important as the
guns durability.
I found that this holster has no major weaknesses. The body is composed
of a sturdy but not too thick piece of Kydex. The leather attachments
were not thin or likely to break. They are durable, one side is finished
leather the other side was a little rougher than suede.
The Kydex and leather are both mounted using a nut that has barbs. These
nuts will not move on thier own. This nut is actually dug into the leather
or Kydex so it cannot work its way loose as a standard nut could.
Street clothes
How a gun conceals is very important to any who CCL carrier who carries their pistol; Since a picture is worth a thousand words I'll let the pictures do the most talking. As you can see below the picture on the left is a frontal shot and the picture on the right is a shot from behind. The C-T.A.C prints very little and makes carrying very comfortable wether your a slacks, jeans, shorts/t-shirt person or not.
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For people who wear a more professional attire the next set shows the pistol carried with slacks and a tucked in button-up shirt. Now I personally prefer to wear the button-up shirts untucked as its nicer looking than a t-shirt and it conceals better in my opinion.
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Now most people will never need to wear a pistol in this clothing configuration but I will still cover that in this review. As you can see a tuxedo conceals a full size service pistol and is almost undetectable. The best explanation for this is the stiffness of the tuxedo fabric and it resists printing unless your carrying a desert eagle. ;)
Retention
Holster retains the pistol well I was able to take then holster and hold it upside down and it didn't come out. I was forced to make several shakes to get the pistol to come out while inverted. The holster utilizes a dimple in the kydex and 2 tension screws to adjust the amount of pull required to draw.
Draw speed
This is my first use of a kydex holster. I can really can tell this stuff IS faster on the draw. The draw is smooth and doesn't catch. I have not gotten caught or hung up on the draw with the holster.
Tactical Reholstering
I was able to smoothly and quickly reholster without using both hands. I did have some trouble with the shirt edge getting into the holster and having to pull the shirt out and reholster. However, I do need to get a larger t-shirt than what I had at the time was tighter than what I'd normally choose to wear.
As I thought, I tried switching to a larger button-up short sleeve shirt and did not have any trouble reholstering.
Grip Presentation
For drawing I found that I was able to get a good grip without having to adjust. The holster presents full access to the grip so you don't have to move your hand after drawing to get a better grip.
Features
Ease of Removal
The holster did not come with any permanent/semi-permanent
mounts that would require the unfastening or partial removal of the belt
to remove the holster. So for anyone who wants or needs the ability to
remove the holster for visits to places that don't allow firearms, this
holster is loaded with good features.
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Mounting Options
The holster comes with the option of up to four different types of belt attachments:
Standard Belt Clip - Available in multiple colors.
J-Hook - Black Only
C-Hook - Black Only
V-Mount - See manufacturers web site for more details on this option.
Each of these options offer varying levels of concealability. The Standard Belt Clip, which is what I am using right now for my review consists of a piece of clip shaped Kydex to attach the holster to the belt. This option allows a majority of the guns weight to be carried on the belt.
While this option provides a slightly lower level of concealability this option provides a tight attachment to the belt and prevents the holster from moving much at all. Of course a good belt is extremely important here as well.
I would not recommend buying a cheap "pants" belt, while it will keep the gun roughly where its supposed to be it WILL NOT properly support the weight of a gun for long. I would recommend spending the extra money to get a belt that is intended to do what your are intending to use it for.
Standard belt clips are available in these colors:
Red
Tan
Black
Olive Drab
Desert Cameo
Woodland Cameo
Cant Adjustability
With the any of the above mounting options you will get 3 clips. The clips allow you to choose between a 0-25 cant. This allows the owner to set the cant to whatever angle you prefer and conceals best. This mounting system is stable and effective. I experienced no breaking of any clips. I was pleased to find that I could change the cant until I found a perfect setting for my body.
I was a little disappointed to find that the clip mounts did not come with instructions for which configuration provides what angle of cant. This process takes a little playing around with and trial and error.
The holster comes with a textured outer shell. This type of outer texturing will cause more friction between your body and the holster, this means your holster should be much less likely to draw with the gun.
Sharp Edges
I looked very carefully and found absolutely no sharp edges all edges have been smoothed down and offer a snag free finish. In an effort to find something to complain about, I did find a couple of VERY minor marks on the bottom most edge of the kydex, but this will have no effect on reliability or comfort.
Product Care.
Product maintenance will be very easy with this holster. The inside of the holster is smooth! Which is good this allows a quick cleaning of the inside using a soft rag or towel to remove any dirt/sand & dust particles that could be hard on a guns finish.
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Now that you've gotten this far I'm sure you still have some questions. First thing that comes to mind when looking at buying a holster is, "Which guns can this holster be used with? This is a critical question for those owners who cannot contain themselves to owning just one variant.
Good news is that with this holster the following guns are supported.
XD Series Pistol |
Compatible Standard Holster |
| XD 9mm Sub-Compact |  |
| XD 9mm Service 4" | |
| XD 9mm V-10 Ported 4" | |
| XD 9mm Tactical | |
| XD .357 SIG Service 4" | |
| XD .357 SIG V-10 Ported 4" | |
| XD .357 SIG Tactical | |
| XD .40S&W Sub-Compact | |
| XD .40S&W Service 4" | |
| XD .40S&W V-10 Ported 4" | |
| XD .40S&W Tactical | |
These holsters might be purchasable in a slide option for customers who have for example a 9mm in a four inch service model, and a sub-compact both can be put into the same holster.
XD Series Pistol |
Slide Holster Available |
9mm |
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.357 SIG |
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.40 S&W |
Remember different variants for example 9mm & .40S&W have slightly different sized slides and a 9mm will fit into a .40 holster, but there may be some play. I did put a 9mm Sub-Compact into this holster for my 4" service .40 and it fit just fine. A 40S&W may not fit into a 9mm holster.
Turnaround Time
My order was placed on 3/19/04 @ 11:30am I was notified they had to start from scratch. General turnaround time was expected to be 5-7 days.
My hat goes off to Comp-tac! I opened my mail around 12:00pm on 3/23/04 and there it was sitting in my mailbox. Taking all of about 4 days including a Sunday to get to Idaho from Texas!
Final Say: Excellent Return Time!
Customer Service
When I placed my order with Comp-Tac I spoke to a very professional gentleman who was happy to answer all the questions I had about this holster. He was quick, and efficiently placed my order and let me know what the expected shipping turnaround time was.
Warranty
I am quoting the warranty as per the web site:
"Comp-tac warranties its products for a period of one year from date of purchase. Failures due to defects in materials or construction will be repaired or replaced at Comp-tac's discretion throughout the warranty period.
The warranty is void in the case of any modification, alteration or abuse of the product by the customer."
This seems to be a standard among warranties with many product manufacturers.
Repairs (If Necessary)
No repairs necessary to date.
Value vs. Cost
Honestly there is no true answer to this question. The value of a holster or anything else for that matter is in the eye of the beholder. I personally find the C-T.A.C holster to be a very promising and well manufactured holster that would be a great benefit to anyone who wants a high quality kydex holster with lots of options.
Comp-Tac