If you’ve seen my review of the Smith Equalizer, you’ll know I really liked it and was looking for a holster for it. Found one.
If you already know you want one, here’s a link to Safariland’s site to get one.
I want to mention up front that the holster has retention built into it. I wasn’t sure that was absolutely necessary for an IWB holster and I’m still not 100% sure. Still, in the video below I did put in a draw stroke so you can see it doesn’t impede me at all. Mostly. I’ll fill in some details later.
If you’re around kids or other people inexperienced with firearms the retention might mean more to you than it does to me.
Update 9/10/2023. A paragraph or so up I mention a video. That should be right here. There was a glitch so I’m having to redo it. In should be up in a couple days. It’ll be right here when I get it. Or my YouTube or Rumble channels will have it.
Table of Contents
The basics.
It’s a Kydex, single-clip inside the waistband holster. As you can see, it says for Shield EZ. Which also happens to fit the Equalizer.
- Height: 6.5″
- Width: 3.5″
- Weight: 3.5 oz.
It comes with two different ways to attach it to your belt. The standard hook, first picture below. And then a J-hook. Second picture.
In each of the pictures you can see a different angle of the retention release. It’s that little button/lever you will hit with your middle finger on the draw stroke.
The good.
It is a high-quality, Kydex holster that fits the gun perfectly. There is a nice, solid click when the gun is inserted into the holster.
The little retention button has a solid feel to it. It’s very easy to press when drawing; depending on how the holster is positioned and canted, it’s just part of the draw stroke and doesn’t really require anything extra to activate the release.
One thing I want to mention about the retention button. If you have the cant set correctly, it gets pushed automatically as part of getting a firing grip. I played around with different cant angles while I was testing the holster. With some angles the button just got pressed; with others I had to train myself to press my middle finger towards my index finger.
It’s a minor thing, just something to keep in mind.
As I said, it’s only 3.5 oz., which means it won’t drag you down.
It comes with two different methods of attaching to your belt and choices are good. The regular hook is very aggressive; there’s an upturn in the hook at the bottom that will grab the inside bottom of your belt. It’s not going anywhere.
It has a subtle type of claw to pull the grip of the gun into your side a bit. It’s a different design than I’ve seen before and I like it.
The silver Allen head in the picture above is adjustable retention. Mine came just fine from the factory and I haven’t bothered with it.
Ride height is adjustable, after a fashion. Just not all that much. The slot to adjust it is only about 1/2″ long. See picture below.
The cant, however, is widely variable. As you can see in the picture below, you just loosen the screw holding in the hook and there are small teeth you can move around to get it how you want.
This is a little weird, but I really like the Allen wrench they included. A lot of holsters include those, but this one has a plastic handle built around it that makes it a lot easier to work with.
While on this subject, the actual Allen screws are of a decent size. I’ve got a couple holsters where the screw head, and therefore the wrench, are small enough I worry about breaking it.
The “Eh, that’s OK”
I mentioned that it has a J-hook, and if you like that it’s there. I’m not a fan. To me, J-hooks are at their best in a tuckable holster so that you minimize the amount of holster showing around the belt. This is not a tuckable holster.
The little attachments that you can use to help prevent the holster from shifting are kind of neat. Just not enough to make me want to use this regularly.
I spent a couple weeks using the J-hook and it works well enough. Just not as well as the regular hook so I went back to the regular hook.
I had some more printing issues with the J-hooks than with the regular attachment hook.
It uses the same attachment point and method so the cant is just as variable.
The bad
For me, this prints more than most. I have to be careful to wear my baggiest and/or darkest shirts to conceal it effectively.
The claw does its job, but this holster really needs a wedge at the bottom. The grip splays out more at the top than most of my holsters. I’m not 100% sure what the issue is, but I assume it’s a combination of barrel length, grip size, and the single clip attachment method.
I generally think bigger guns needs two clips to hold them properly. Smaller ones can get by with one. The Equalizer is right on the edge. I’m not sure if the single clip attachment is part of the issue with the printing but I can’t rule it out. The J-hook seems to have a bigger issue.
I can say I have more issues here than I do with my larger SP 2022 in its AlienGear holster.
Conclusion
The quality is there, as is the comfort. The printing can be an issue, but I can get around it. Those of you who may be less big than I will likely have no issue.
I don’t think I really need the retention device, but if that matters to you this could be a very good choice. Especially since, if set up correctly, it doesn’t really impede your draw stroke at all.
At this time, I’m planning on continuing this holster for the Equalizer. I may, however, look around for a wedge for it. Maybe even do some DIY stuff. If I do, I’ll update this article. Maybe even write a new one.
Where to get one.
