Comfortable IWB for steel 1911 commander

brutus51 said:

... but the best, in my opinion, is the Milt Sparks summer special,

Read a post about the Crossbreed line, in particular the Super Tuck and then Galco's King Tuck.
Never had a Kydex holster but I'm interested to know if the wider spacing of the belt clips aids in comfort and how does Kydex effect gun finishes?

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If you have a Summer Special, you're probably aware of the Versa Max II (VM II) which has the wider spaced loops. Most of the hybrid holsters copied the basic concept of the VM II with the wide space loops. Many find this style more comfortable.

Another vote for a Sparks VersaMax. No kydex holster I've tried compares.

Just as a data point, Greg Ellifritz has a few uncomplimentary articles on hybrid holsters. It's just one man's opinion, but probably worth reading. Here's one.

https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/features-to-avoid-when-buying-an-iwb-holster

Here's a thread where hybrid's are discussed https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/hybrid-holster-failure-nd.867538/

I will vouch for the Crossbreed Super Tuck. It is a very comfortable holster and I carry the full size 1911 Loaded from Springfield. I also have a second one for a 92FS that I use. Great company and customer service too.

brutus51 said:

I have a drawer full of holsters that I've accumulated over the years but the best, in my opinion, is the Milt Sparks summer special, still in all I keep gravitating to the Galco belly band for all around comfort and ease of use as no belt is required and it can be worn with sweat pants and shorts.
Not the greatest for retention or security.
Read a post about the Crossbreed line, in particular the Super Tuck and then Galco's King Tuck.
Never had a Kydex holster but I'm interested to know if the wider spacing of the belt clips aids in comfort and how does Kydex effect gun finishes?

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There are many copies of the crossbreed that work just as well. Those used to make a clone with horsehide instead of cow leather. Seems he gave up this option years ago. I have three of these in horsehide for m&p, 1911 & gp100. All carry comfortably as long as you have a good belt. Make sure you have a good belt, regardless of holster. Would like to try a Milt sparks, but am fine with my Thies' holsters.
I have one of the thick leather belts from Hanks, don't remember which one, as I have had it so long now, and it it still doing great.

Good luck

A local maker , black rhino, makes excellent Pyrex holsters. They don't do leather .when they make the holster the inner part is molded to the gun too, instead of just the outer shell. This helps put part of the bulk to the inside and helps conceal better than a king tuk. The entire holster has a bit of a radius to conform to your shape but as others needs a good belt.
I've used a couple king tuks since 2014 (or whenever Illinois started issuing permits), they work great and are comfortable but the inner leather portion is slippery and will help your pants fall down.
Pyrex will wear a finish but hasn't hurt any of my glocks in a way that I care about- it has worn the finish though.

Stick with Milt sparks or just keep adding to your collection

Hidden Hybrid

Obturation said:

A local maker , black rhino, makes excellent Pyrex holsters.

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I suspect this is the spellchecker playing games with you, but for clarity can we assume the holsters are made out of kydex (or similar polymer material) and not a heavy duty Corning glass product.

JTQ said:

I suspect this is the spellchecker playing games with you, but for clarity can we assume the holsters are made out of kydex (or similar polymer material) and not a heavy duty Corning glass product.

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Geeez, that would be something ! Yes, kydex. You could make gun shaped cupcakes in a Pyrex holster though, we may be on to something!

I carry a Dan Wesson Vigil CCO in this Nelson Dakota Defender and love it.

Sparks all the way. Great product and people....congrats.

If you have the Summer Special, you don't need anything else. That type of holster is the most comfortable of the IWBs.

Here is a Galco and Brommeland, which are clones.

I had the Galco Summer Comfort for an all steel Colt Government model but I also like N frames for IWB

I really like my TTGunleather “Mike’s Special.” I tried the Milt Sparks Summer Special II, but found it very uncomfortable and difficult to properly get the snaps right. I would’ve tried the Milt Sparks Criterion, but didn’t want to wait months and months for it. I got my TTGunleather in less than a month after ordering. Very comfortable, very good retention, and great quality.

I'll chime in. Just two weeks ago I received the IWB reinforced convertible pancake I ordered from TT Gunleather. It is absolutely the single finest holster I own. Still like all my other holsters, but when I need to order another I'm going back to TT Gunleather.

equin said:

I really like my TTGunleather “Mike’s Special.” I tried the Milt Sparks Summer Special II, but found it very uncomfortable and difficult to properly get the snaps right. I would’ve tried the Milt Sparks Criterion, but didn’t want to wait months and months for it. I got my TTGunleather in less than a month after ordering. Very comfortable, very good retention, and great quality.

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I'm late to the party. My two cents is that I found that using full size holster works better for me than a short holster with a commander or officer size 1911.
The reason is that the shorter holsters just happen to dig in to my cheek while the longer holster rides on top. YMMV.
Also makes it feel less top heavy.

does anyone have any suggestions for a good IWB holster for my S & W 686Plus revolver -thanks