Ideal flashlight holster?

[JT]

Okay,
this goes out mostly to You who carry a "tactical" flashlight on-duty for long periods of time. Of course everyone else's opinions are welcome too.

What kind of holster do You have for Your flashlights.
What I've seen, almost all models that are for sale, are pretty much flap-top models, either leather or cordura and such. And usually the bezel is pointed up..
What kind of holster would You like? Would bezel-down, speed-holster type be any good, so that You could have the light readily in right position on hand when taken from the holster?
Is the flap a big deal? It protects the light from scratches and such, but at the same time it slows down the process of retrieving it. At the same time there must be something that holds the light in place, especially if there's no flap.

I guess that if You're on uniform, that might dictate pretty much what kind of holster is allowed.


Also, if You know where to get "non-standard" models for lights, links etc. would be great.


Ive tried to find my ideal holster, made out of leather, bezel down, no flap, speed-type one.
No luck yet.. so far had to make my own, and they're not pretty at all :D

[butch]

i plan on doing my own kydex when the time comes
but then again i also plan on making my own holster and i do knife sheaths for most of the knives i make

[Lostification]

My Blackhawk one for my SF G2 is light up or down. I'm wearing it right now. I like mine light up and open with the flap purposelessly covering the bottom. Hard to describe. Picture would be better. Only badside about it is that it's velcro, but then again, I can't really think of anything else that could do the same job effectively. Velco noisy.

Weird, I can't find a picture... Bought it at a local airsoft shop. It's definately Blackhawk though. Saysh:


Honor
As a Way of Life.
BLACK
HAWK!

The World's Finest Tactical Gear
757-436-3101 800-694-526
blackhawk.com

I like it a lot. It doesn't hold it so tight that you can't pull it out, yet it's not so loose it will ever fall out unless godzilla holds you upside down and shakes you, OR if you jump on your head. But if you ARE gonna jump out of a plane or something, you can flip the flap to the topside and it won't go anywhere for sure, lol...

[vampyrewolf]

eric over at o/st makes some nice stuff ;)

I've got a kydex holster for my inova x1... bezel down and secure enough with a simple friction fit.
Picked up the surefire holster with my 6P, holds it bezel up and has metal clips to secure it.
And my last light that gets rotated is the x5, but thats in a simple nylon one with a snap closing the flap.

I prefer the one on my x1 and will end up having eric make me one for my x5 the same... but I've got a few sets of batts to work through from my 6P.

[spydie fanatic]

I carry my SF L5 in a SF V71 speedholster. Flashlight can be carried lens down (speed draw) or up (normal carry) and is secured by a metal spring. I carry it on my left hip.

I own a Fenix L2D Premium Q5, but the only holder I have for it currently is a nylon belt holder...does the job I guess...for now.:o

Normally, Maglites aren't considered tactical, but my Mag 3D Cell is customized...it blows my L5 away...especially since you can focus the mag into a tight spotlight...Customization includes: Malkoff custom hand-built U bin Seoul Semiconductor P4 LED ($75); AR coated glass lens $6; modified reflector $7. Provides 240 lumens at 1000ma and a runtime of 6+ hours.:cool: I carry it via an Official Mag belt "drop through" holder and it is located slightly behind my right hip; makes a nice "beatin" stick also.:p

[KaliGman]

It sounds like, from your post, that you prefer a leather rig. I have a couple of nice leather Surefire holsters which I have used for years. Jimmy Kirk at Backwoods Leather made mine (no Internet site, but you can contact him over the phone). He is a custom holster and saddle maker, and can pretty much make what you want to order. I have a Sig 229 on my hip in one of his rigs right now. He takes a long, long time to finish a custom rig, due to the high demand for his standard stuff (he hits most of the gun shows up and down the East Coast). He usually has some Surefire rigs in stock. You might try him at:

Backwoods Leather
3022 Tyre Neck Rd
Portsmouth, VA 23703
Phone: (757) 483-4872

By the way, I prefer my lights carried in an open top rig, bezel up, on the off-hand side, behind my magazine pouch. A backup light is carried in a coat pocket or, in the case of some of the smaller Surefires like my E1L, inside the waistband via the use of the clip.

[Simple Man]

I carry a SOG Powerlock in a County Comm sheath and a Fenix L1T for EDC. I lashed the standard Fenix holster to the side of it with some thin Paracord and put the Gerber Infinity Ultra clip on the Fenix with the wings "Dremeled" off. I have not lost it in the year and a half carried this way and it is very easy access.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/3480/sogfenix001lu1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5856/sogfenix002sd8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4443/sogfenix003qr8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[JT]

Thanks for all the advice guys..
I carry mine on the strong (left) hand side, behind the pepper spray (8 o'clock).
here's my DIY-design for the holster(C):D , it's ugly, but it works.

It's really fast to snap open with my middle-finger, as I grab the light to hold it in a ready-for-use "tactical" (?) grip.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/pahapaha/spydies/Capture_00027.jpg

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/pahapaha/spydies/Capture_00030.jpg

[Lostification]

Very nice job, nightdog!

[spydie fanatic]

Reminds me of my SF holder...except for leather instead of plastic! ;)

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: I just use the pliers pocket of my carpenter pants. :spyder:

[clovisc]

i really dig the sheaths that maxpedition makes... used to rock the double sheath in africa...! lots of times, i keep a surefire in the sheath built into my maxpedition fatboy...