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26 Law Enforcement Technology February 2014 www.officer.com F I R E A R M S TA C T I C S F or this month's column Law Enforcement Technology picked several brands of popular duty holsters for evaluation. If you don't see your brand in this article, you might want to wait for our test of concealed carry holsters. The list of testing criteria included a mix of objective and subjective tasks primarily designed to wring the holsters out and communicate our findings. We drew from kneeling and seated positions, got the holsters (and guns) wet, and drew from them hundreds of times. Before taking to the range, we prac- ticed with a Red Gun, Airsoft and a SIRT training pistol. First things first—I had to set several ground rules. When individual officers are looking at holster products, they should too. 1. We knew that sometimes holsters don't give an immediate impression, just a collection of qualities that cor- respond with the agency's and users' training, experience and needs. This rule also applies with the fact that there are different levels of retention, and manufacturers have different approaches to these levels. The prod- uct must agree with agencies' train- ing, uniform and safety policies. 2. The different levels of retention don't necessarily mean the draw is faster or slower. Years ago, a higher level of retention generally meant the officer had to manually overcome each retention device by a separate B Y L I N D S E Y B E R T O M E N How quick is your draw? 6 ground rules for testing holsters, and how these popular brands performed The two Gould & Goodrich holsters reviewed: the Astro Double Retention holster and the K-Force duty holster (at right). LET_26-30_FirearmsTactics0214.indd 26 1/24/14 12:31 PM