Theis Holster Review

There are so many good firearms and self defense products out there today that there is no way I can even know about them all let alone test and review them all.  I love gear and love finding new stuff to try.  This holster design is definitely a winner as many companies are now making it.  On of my readers has been carrying the Theis Holsters for a while now and wrote a quick review for you guys.  Check it out.

About a year ago, I was in need of an Inside the Waist Band (IWB) holster for a rather unusual handgun, but wasn’t having any luck finding one.  I saw a lot of nylon holsters with Velcro for retention, but nothing similar to what was hoped for, a hybrid holster, leather backing with kydex pocket for handgun retention and clips to attach to my belt that would allow me to tuck in my shirt.

While reading some posts on GlockTalk, there was a lot of chatter about a new holster maker in Arkansas making the exact type I was looking for.  I looked up his web site to see if he had the mold to make one for me, but was disappointed to see that he didn’t.  What the heck, let’s ask, anyway, I thought!  I shot him an email and got a prompt response, no, he didn’t have the mold.  But he said a friend may have the same handgun, and if so, he’d make me a holster.  Thinking my dealings were done with this gentleman, you can imagine my surprise when I got a phone call from a Tommy Theis.  He called me back within a couple hours to let me know he would make the holster for me!  Imagine that, the holster I had given up hope of obtaining was now becoming reality!  I was flabbergasted when I had said holster in my hands one week after that initial phone call!

I share this with you so you have an idea of the passion this man has for taking care of his customers. In today’s world of big box stores with little to no personal service, how many times can you say you have dealt with someone so hell bent on satisfying you?  In all my years, I can count them on the fingers of one, maybe two hands.  I can’t recommend Theis Holsters to you without you understanding this background.  Tommy offers a satisfaction guarantee: Wear the holster for a couple weeks, if you are not delighted, return it for a full refund.  He also warrants the product for life against manufacturing defects. (I wasn’t happy with the draw of my J frame, worked with Tommy and he got it dialed in to exactly where I wanted it!)

I own many different holsters by many different manufacturers, have probably sold twice as many as I have kept, always looking for the holster that fits my needs best.  The only holster I consider anymore for IWB is the Theis Holster.  Anytime I purchase a new handgun, the order goes in to Tommy for a new holster.  Now he has started making magazine pouches, which I have purchased four or five, along with high quality belts.  I am not in the market for a belt right now, but I’ll give you one guess where that next belt will come from.

Tommy makes a holster that is very similar in design to a very popular holster on the market today (I won’t mention the name here, but you most likely will recognize it from Tommy’s design).  He has a growing list of handgun models he can build a holster for.  He uses a high quality leather, either a black cowhide or a natural tan horsehide for the base of his holsters, belts and pouches.  To this, he will attach the custom molded kydex with six to eight high quality rivets.  The belt clips, available in spring metal, kydex or j clip kydex, are attached to the holster with a small bolt and T nut.  Most holster manufacturers use the T nuts with the barbs, which I fear will end up cutting and destroying the leather.  Tommy uses a flat and wide base T nut.  I have never had one loosen up on me.  He provides three or four mounting holes, arranged up and down relative to the gun, so you can adjust the ride height and cant of the gun inside your belt.  He will even cut a couple slots in the leather so you can wear the holster Outside the Waist Band (OWB).  These options can all be seen on his web site at theisholsters.com.

Here are some pictures of my Theis products.  My holsters are all made of horsehide.  I have a couple mag pouches made of horsehide and a couple of cowhide.  I can say that I definitely prefer the horsehide, I find it to be a little more flexible and comfortable.