Gear Review: Crossbreed Holster – IWB Glock 26

Up on the gear review block this time is a fantastic little holster for EDC made by Crossbreed. My go to EDC in summer months is a Glock 26 for many reasons (we’ll do an article going over EDC pieces and their pros and cons).

I got my hands on a Crossbreed Freedom Carry in black for my G26, and after a couple weeks of testing it out – I can whole-heartedly recommend it to anybody looking for a quality EDC rig backed by a lifetime warranty.

It’s handmade, with quality craftsmanship, and it shows. You can see in the pic below, the leather is thick and robust, but not too thick.

Now I know what you’re thinking – that can’t be comfortable in the summer months with all the heat, right? Dead wrong. To be honest, I forget I’m even wearing this thing, even in the hot southern, summer sun. It’s not hot in the slightest wearing it; no rashes, no hotspots here.

I wear it at 4 o’clock, but have even donned it appendix with equal comfort. The clip – which stays locked to your belt – doesn’t really move when you draw, and offers an adjustable cant. I tweaked mine a little bit out of the box, so my CCW rides a little lower, and to be honest, this thing barely prints. You need to be looking intently to spot it, and for that, I love this holster.

The Kydex holster body locks the weapon into place firmly, but not so firmly you need to yank it free.

I’m 100% confident my CCW won’t come spilling out if I need to move quickly. Like I said before, it also rides a little lower, and with a subcompact like a G26/27, it is barely noticeable.

Now all that being said, the only qualm I have with this holster is it’s not as easy as a simple kydex with a belt clip to reholster, so for that reason and that reason only, it gets dinged. However, all that considered, this system is designed for concealed carry and low profile, not for the user to holster and reholster alot.

The single belt clip doesn’t keep it as firmly in place as a kydex one like the style seen below. However, this wasn’t designed for IDPA matches where you will be holstering and reholstering alot – and for that, I can’t really hold this “flaw” against it. For those of you new to CCW rigs, the below has a belt clip centered on the holster itself and it is all molded kydex – which means it retains the shape and you can holster and reholster with roughly the same stroke everytime. All that being said, leather is much more comfortable against your skin than plastic.

The holster-reholster issue, I think, is more of a non-issue when talking about a CCW rig. You really want comfort, concealability, and security, and the Crossbreed Freedom Carry has all of those tenets in spades. Additionally, I got my hands on a double belt clip variation by Crossbreed for compact and larger frame handguns, and will be reviewing that as well. Since it’s summer, I carry something a bit smaller, but with autumn fast approaching will be carrying something a little larger – I imagine the dual belt clips will remedy the only minor issue I found reviewing this product.

In conclusion, its pros are:

• Comfort – it is extremely comfortable, whether I’m walking, driving or sitting. *****
• Concealability – I really need to be trying to make myself print, or wearing a very tight or very short shirt for you to know I am carrying. A subcompact disappears in this thing. *****
• Security – the weapon “clicks” into place with positive retention on the trigger guard, and is very secure. It does not have a thumbreak or Serpa-esque release, which I personally like, bit some people, especially off duty LEOs or military will want an active retetion system – so for that, I’ll take down 1/2 a star. **** 1/2

Cons:

• Holster/reholster – the only “con” I could find is it takes a bit of practice and in some cases adjusting to reholster the weapon. However, again, this is a non-issue as it’s not intended to be used for competition or IDPA matches. That being said, you should train how with what you wear. However, in the unlikely event you need to draw your weapon for self defense, I trust you will not be eager to put it away. Again, I think this is a non-issue, as the holster serves its purpose with flying colors.

Stay safe out there.

2018 Update:

I wear this rig relatively frequently when carrying a G26, although of late, I find myself opting for my Glock 43 when I want to go for deep concealment. That being said, this is one of the most comfortable holsters I own that affords deep concealment; however, this does seem to creep down from time to time, due to the single belt clip.

This means you need to adjust the rig from time to time in order to make sure you have quick access. I wouldn’t wear this to shoot in an IDPA match for this reason in the BUG division, but I would wear this around town, as it prints much less than other holsters for a similar firearm.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Castiglione lives in Atlanta, and is an avid outdoorsman and competitive shooter.

Where-abouts include getting after it in his garage gym, practicing martial arts, hitting the trails, or running CrossFit and Strongman competitions for his non-profit, Barbells for Bullies, which holds fundraiser fitness competitions dedicated to aiding Bully breed rescues, dog rescues, or other non-profits with similar missions.

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