I had the opportunity to go to the NRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta this year, and it was quite a meeting. The events and the instruction were top notch, as always, and the speakers were topped by an appearance by POTUS at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum. Seeing the President was truly the highlight of my trip to Atlanta.
As much as I enjoyed that, I enjoyed going to the floor and seeing the exhibits just as much. I had the opportunity to handle the Kimber .357 revolver, take stock of several of the Daniel Defense ARs, and equally important, got my free hat from the NRA guard.
I bought two things this year. The first was a knife which I am less than thrilled with (this is likely an issue with me, not the knife). The second is a holster I am thrilled with.
I should start this review by noting that I have purchased about 20 holsters in the last year looking for the “perfect holster.” I’ve certainly not found perfection, but I have found the Christmas Story holster. But instead of “you’ll shoot your eye out,” this holster is “you’ll shoot your balls off!” So, in order not to run afoul of anyone’s sensitivities (particularly people who may be skinny enough to wear that particular front-of-the-pants holster, I will leave well enough alone and not mention the name.
I had finally settled, for everyday carry, on an Aliengear Cloak Tuck 3.0 holster, which I believed up until this meeting was the best holster around for a Glock 19. I still think it is an excellent holster, and I like the fact that it can be customized. If you decide to carry your 1911, you can just fit your 1911 shell to it. But as much as I like it, it is a holster that requires nearly constant maintenance in my view. I have to tighten up the allen screws on a weekly basis to retain retention on the holster, and sometimes to keep the clips from coming off. But it was concealable, and it was a solid performer so long as I maintained it.
The one thing I did not like about it was that it did not isolate me from the gun. A part of the pistol always wound up on my skin, requiring me to wear a t-shirt in order not to get skin oils on the gun. Still, as things went, it was and is a good holster.
Then I met the Nate Squared Tactical people. I like their logo, and I went to see their new Ambassador holster. The ambassador is very much like the Aliengear with two important exceptions. First, the shell is not interchangeable. Your Glock shell will fit a 19 and a 26 easily (that’s all I have tried so far). But you cannot take the shell off the leather. While this limits your ability to use it with different platforms, how many of us alternate our EDC every day to a different gun such that we’d have to go whittling on our holsters? I’ve carried my Glock for almost two years now. And, while I have a 1911, I do not routinely carry it. It’s left in the house for that night when the bad guys come calling.
The Ambassador has a very wide leather upper that protects the gun from your body, and snugs up nicely to your body. It can be put right against your skin and is not hot or uncomfortable. And I live in Alabama. If it was hot, I’d know it. Although designed to be worn at the 4 or 5 o’clock position, I wear mine around 3:30 and it’s quite comfortable there. It conceals nicely, and it has slightly better retention than the Aliengear holster.
Comparing this to the Aliengear, which I still have and I still wear from time to time with my Sig, I find it far more comfortable and that’s especially true in the car. The pistol grip always dug into me with the Aliengear, and it does not do so now with the Ambassador. In short, it’s a five star holster, and I recommend it. You can find information about the Ambassador here.
In fact, the only problem I found with the Ambassador was that it produced a profound sense of buyer’s remorse when I returned from Atlanta. I realized I should have bought one for when I travel and have to leave a pistol in my vehicle gun safe.
The Well Armed Attorney 