Yes, that's what I'm talking about. Offset as opposed to right on top of the thickest part of the gun. It's more stable, IMO. That's kinda what I'm looking for, but not exactly.
As for the FIST...
I bought it because it was the style I wanted (I have the #19 with the body shield thingy) and the wait was only two weeks, as opposed to the Sparks Watch Six that I really wanted which had a wait of 10-12 weeks. I had not heard any bad things about FIST, so I ordered it. First off, they promised me it would take 2 weeks to get it to me. At the end of the third week I called to cancel the order, but they said I couldn't cancel it because it had just shipped. Fine, they were off by 50%, but I could deal. When I got the holster I was not very impressed. The dying job was not uniform and the "rough" interior of the holster was VERY rough. Compared to the inside of a Sparks, it looks like shag carpet. This caused leather bits to get caught in all of the nooks and crannies of my Kimber. My shooting buddy never had this problem with his Watch Six.
On the second day wearing the holster, I somehow managed to shear off one of the screws that holds the loops on when I tried to unbutton the loop. I understand how a one directional snap works, and I didn't use any more force than I did on the second loop, but it broke off anyway. This caused the screw to be too short to go all the way through the holster and the loop and still connect with the base on the other side. I had to adjust the loop to one of the other holes that was slightly less thick so the screw would reach the base.
After about a week wearing the holster I noticed a spot on the frame of my gun. It was not rust, but a small pit. I ignored it, thinking that I had bumped it when shooting or something. A week or so later, I noticed that there was a second pit forming. The first pit had gotten much bigger, as well. There was no rust, mind you - just a chunk that had somehow been eaten away from the frame. I examined the interior of the holster closely, but there was nothing sharp or hard in it. The only conclusion I could reach was that some chemical used in the curing or dying of the leather had eaten away the finish of my $600 gun. I called FIST and they said that they didn't use any chemicals on the leather and suggested that I was responsible for the damage - which I was not.
The leather is not very high quality, at least when compared to a Sparks. My slide ended up pitting and rusting despite my best efforts to keep it oiled, but I know that is just a characteristic of leather. I don't blame FIST for my sweat going through the holster, but just looking at it side by side with my friend's Sparks shows that it just isn't nearly as high quality, even though it cost the same.
I got my slide refinished about a month ago, and I'm not about to let this crappy holster ruin the new finish as it did the old. Hence I'm looking for kydex. That answer your question, Billmanweh?
lycanthrope - I can't find anything on Hellwegs. I searched for them a few days ago, but the website that all the other sites refer to has nothing about holsters on it
