XD Holster - Blackhawk CQC SERPA - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

**wfrazee** · 04-08-2006, 04:31 PM

I recently undertook the search for a holster to use with my Springfield XD-40 4-inch service handgun. I had an interesting set of requirements:

1) The handgun had to be able to be concealed easily under a windbreaker or fishing/hunting vest.

2) The holster MUST have some kind of active retention system.

3) The holster MUST retain a quick draw timing befitting a defense-carry use.

4) The holster MUST be durable to handle hundreds and even thousands of range draws, desirably capable of competition use.

I did my research. I undertake nothing lightly. Hours of searching and reviews later, the CQC carbon fiber holster with SERPA retention from Blackhawk seemed to fit the bill. Consulting my favorite online firearms ordering site (pistolgear.com), I arranged to recieve the holster and began my, admittedly skeptical review.

Package

I recieved my holster in a plastic zip pack as pictured. The holster package contained a lifetime warranty, a paddle-version mount, as well as the holster mounted on a belt loop platform. So far so good.

Structure

The composition of the holster was a hard polymer material. I hesitate to call it carbon fiber because in all honesty, The only difference between it and any given kydex holster I have worked with in the past is a slight increase in rigidity in this holster, a positive composition that I certainly had confidence in to properly hold my handgun without bending or warping. As noted earlier, I recieved the holster on a belt loop platform and upon further examination there are five positions the holster may be adjusted to fit. Enter construction surprise #1. Blackhawk took the time to embed a metal threaded cylinder into the plastic holster body! As such, I was able to tighten the screws on the straight drop position (my preferred) very well indeed! There was no sliding, no stripping, despite the fact that I took apart and reconstructed the holster several times to ensure its adjustment longevity.

The belt loop platform includes two adjustment tabs also secured by a metal screw. Here was my first disappointment, albeit easily remedied. The way the holster is shipped with these tabs on the platform, the screws face the body of the holster making it nearly impossible to get to them properly for adjustment. In order to adjust these tabs in order to ensure the holster would properly mount on my belt, I was forced to take the holster off of the belt look platform. It was then that I realized there was an easy and elegant solution to the problem: flip and reverse the tabs! Merely flipping the tabs around allowed me to (after adjusting to accomodate my belt) re-mount the tabs such that the screw faced away from the holster body to carry the same accessibility as the adjustment screws for holster cant. One problem, quickly fixed.

As depicted in the photo above, the holster internals are fairly simple. There is a basic retention screw on the side of the holster which allows adjustment of the tightness of the inside trigger guard retention. The SERPA system itself is elegantly simple. A small piece of molded plastic is secured on a pin along with a spring. Under ordinary conditions when the button is not pressed, there is a small tab on the underside of the plastic which protrudes into the handgun well, slipping into place behind the front of the trigger guard to hold the handgun in place. When you are ready to draw, your finger naturally slips onto the button portion of the piece (assuming you have been appropriately trained to draw with your index finger extended down the frame as you should) in perfect position to release the mechanism. Draw speed is only very very slightly inhibited maybe a tiny fraction of a second initially. The draw motion was very easy to slip into and with some additional practice, I am sure that I could work my holster speed into a negligible difference between a standard kydex draw and draw with SERPA.

Therein lies the next feature of note: handgun well of the holster is widened at the top with a slide cut-down that allows a VERY quick draw without any sort of impedance even from a straight drop mount! You can draw on an angle more consistent with an FBI-cant mounted holster from the blackhawk CQC Serpa in straight-drop! Re-seating the handgun is extremely simple one handed without looking, a small snap of the plastic SERPA assembly when the handgun is properly secured in place.

Retention

Passive retention on the holster is extremely good with the SERPA system. I secured an unloaded Springfield XD into the holster and then proceded to act like a monkey. I jumped around. I rolled. I crouched. I dashed from room to room, randomly ducking into doors. I bumped walls and door jambs. I jumped into rolls. I dove behind the counter in the kitchen. I spun about, purposely running into things to create unique directional forces. There were zero slips. Zero rattles. Zero drops. The SERPA mechanism failed to disengage at any time.

Active retention was also tested. I asked my wife to attack me and remove the handgun out of the holster. Again checking to ensure the handgun was unloaded, my wife tried again and again, attempting to remove the handgun from different angles and methods. Only once was she able to remove the handgun and after examining how she did it, she more-or-less accidentally hit the button slapping her hand down on the holster to try and get at the handgun. The system isnt perfect but its definitely comparable to systems that use a thumb-break mechanism which can be unsnapped.

Draw

I dont claim to be any kind of competition or defense expert. Far from. I have learned alot over the past couple years. I have taken courses, gotten certified, learned alot from the folks at XDtalk.com and various sites around the net. I have read books by Steve Anderson, Massad Ayoob, Gabriel Suarez, and David Kenik. In all this time, I have made a night and day difference in my marksmanship but still have a great deal of experience yet to discover. I say this because I want to make clear that this is a common man testing a piece of off the shelf purchased equipment.

That having been said, I could not be more happy with the smooth draw and easy re-holster that this small piece of equipment provides. The draw is smooth, with adjustable retention beyond the SERPA system into the retention of the pressure on the underside of the frame. After making several hundred dry fire attempts, I carted myself and a few hundred rounds of ammunition down to the range. I got a perfect performance, easy draw without slowing me down noticeably, no interference with my motion to bring the handgun up, no noticeable directional tendancy out of the holster (some force your handgun to swerve slightly as you bring it up owing to the charachteristics of the top of the holster).

Overall

I have been absolutely tickled pink with this new handgun holster. Any potential purchaser must ensure that this holster fits thier needs, however. It is not very well concealable. You will need to reconfigure the belt adjustment tabs. Be ready to spend some time breaking in the holster and finding the retention level you want because the default retention when the holster is shipped is very loose. Aside from these items, the SERPA system offers excellent retention without degrading draw time or ease of draw. The button is located in a natural position. The holster is constructed such that most of the holster does not even make contact with the handgun slide. The system is fairly modular with a belt loop and paddle platform shipped with the holster and a tactical drop leg platform availible. I would personally highly recommend this holster to anyone for duty or range use. Those needing to conceal, however, may want to consider other options owing to its size and basic platform type.

Availible at Pistol Gear
Manufactured by Blackhawk

Son of Norway · 04-08-2006, 04:45 PM

Great review, well written.

BUT: RH ONLY MAKES THIS HOLSTER A TOTAL P.O.S.

Respectfully, a lefty.

**wfrazee** · 04-08-2006, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Son of Norway

Great review, well written.

BUT: RH ONLY MAKES THIS HOLSTER A TOTAL P.O.S.

Respectfully, a lefty.

I disagree. It makes the manufacturer a POS. The holster itself, as implemented, is quite nice. Its all about the profitability of the market. I would be interested to find out from oldschool what kind of demand he has seen the SERPA get relative to some other holsters that he sells.

one-eyed-fatman · 04-08-2006, 05:23 PM

How much did Old School pay you to right that review? And during your testing were you injured? I would have been! Go away and buy a real holster like mine.

Got mine from Old School too.

Lefties eat your damn hearts out. This baby she good.

**wfrazee** · 04-08-2006, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

How much did Old School pay you to right that review? And during your testing were you injured? I would have been! Go away and buy a real holster like mine.

ROFL, old school didnt pay me nothing! (Is that check on the way?)

No, on a more serious note, I really do like the holster, I may have to arrange to go shooting again tomorrow.

021411 · 04-08-2006, 05:30 PM

wfrazee, get a better belt! :P

Oni · 04-08-2006, 05:31 PM

Thanks for the thorough review wfraze and it sounds like you got your moneys worth purchasing this holster although I cannot justify purchasing this SERPA based blackhawk upon your very well written electronic opinion, I'd have to see it for myself.

shappero · 04-08-2006, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Son of Norway

Great review, well written.

BUT: RH ONLY MAKES THIS HOLSTER A TOTAL P.O.S.

Respectfully, a lefty.

+1

Great review...I'm getting one the second they make a LH version!

**wfrazee** · 04-08-2006, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 021411

wfrazee, get a better belt! :P

Yeah, its on my birthday list. I dont usually carry around here (yet) as my permit is still in process. B-Day is next month and im trying to decide whether to get a duty belt or some mag carriers and spare mags.

**Old School** · 04-08-2006, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shappero

I'm getting one the second they make a LH version!

I suspect, and hope, that a LH version will be available shortly. The part number has been available for a few months, it is a matter of tooling up for the build.

Like everything, it always helps when the consumer contact the manus, asking for support. I am sure BH would like to hear from you, knowing that their will be a return on thier investment.

OS

PS: Great review, Wayne, very well done. I greatly appreciate the support too.

04-08-2006, 05:30 PM	#6
021411 XDTalk 1K Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,018	wfrazee, get a better belt! :P __________________ XD40 : Custom SA 1911 Springer Precision TX XD Practical Shooters Association

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04-08-2006, 04:31 PM	#1
wfrazee XDTalk 500 Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Brighton, CO Posts: 572	XD Holster - Blackhawk CQC SERPA I recently undertook the search for a holster to use with my Springfield XD-40 4-inch service handgun. I had an interesting set of requirements: 1) The handgun had to be able to be concealed easily under a windbreaker or fishing/hunting vest. 2) The holster MUST have some kind of active retention system. 3) The holster MUST retain a quick draw timing befitting a defense-carry use. 4) The holster MUST be durable to handle hundreds and even thousands of range draws, desirably capable of competition use. I did my research. I undertake nothing lightly. Hours of searching and reviews later, the CQC carbon fiber holster with SERPA retention from Blackhawk seemed to fit the bill. Consulting my favorite online firearms ordering site (pistolgear.com), I arranged to recieve the holster and began my, admittedly skeptical review. Package I recieved my holster in a plastic zip pack as pictured. The holster package contained a lifetime warranty, a paddle-version mount, as well as the holster mounted on a belt loop platform. So far so good. Structure The composition of the holster was a hard polymer material. I hesitate to call it carbon fiber because in all honesty, The only difference between it and any given kydex holster I have worked with in the past is a slight increase in rigidity in this holster, a positive composition that I certainly had confidence in to properly hold my handgun without bending or warping. As noted earlier, I recieved the holster on a belt loop platform and upon further examination there are five positions the holster may be adjusted to fit. Enter construction surprise #1. Blackhawk took the time to embed a metal threaded cylinder into the plastic holster body! As such, I was able to tighten the screws on the straight drop position (my preferred) very well indeed! There was no sliding, no stripping, despite the fact that I took apart and reconstructed the holster several times to ensure its adjustment longevity. The belt loop platform includes two adjustment tabs also secured by a metal screw. Here was my first disappointment, albeit easily remedied. The way the holster is shipped with these tabs on the platform, the screws face the body of the holster making it nearly impossible to get to them properly for adjustment. In order to adjust these tabs in order to ensure the holster would properly mount on my belt, I was forced to take the holster off of the belt look platform. It was then that I realized there was an easy and elegant solution to the problem: flip and reverse the tabs! Merely flipping the tabs around allowed me to (after adjusting to accomodate my belt) re-mount the tabs such that the screw faced away from the holster body to carry the same accessibility as the adjustment screws for holster cant. One problem, quickly fixed. As depicted in the photo above, the holster internals are fairly simple. There is a basic retention screw on the side of the holster which allows adjustment of the tightness of the inside trigger guard retention. The SERPA system itself is elegantly simple. A small piece of molded plastic is secured on a pin along with a spring. Under ordinary conditions when the button is not pressed, there is a small tab on the underside of the plastic which protrudes into the handgun well, slipping into place behind the front of the trigger guard to hold the handgun in place. When you are ready to draw, your finger naturally slips onto the button portion of the piece (assuming you have been appropriately trained to draw with your index finger extended down the frame as you should) in perfect position to release the mechanism. Draw speed is only very very slightly inhibited maybe a tiny fraction of a second initially. The draw motion was very easy to slip into and with some additional practice, I am sure that I could work my holster speed into a negligible difference between a standard kydex draw and draw with SERPA. Therein lies the next feature of note: handgun well of the holster is widened at the top with a slide cut-down that allows a VERY quick draw without any sort of impedance even from a straight drop mount! You can draw on an angle more consistent with an FBI-cant mounted holster from the blackhawk CQC Serpa in straight-drop! Re-seating the handgun is extremely simple one handed without looking, a small snap of the plastic SERPA assembly when the handgun is properly secured in place. Retention Passive retention on the holster is extremely good with the SERPA system. I secured an unloaded Springfield XD into the holster and then proceded to act like a monkey. I jumped around. I rolled. I crouched. I dashed from room to room, randomly ducking into doors. I bumped walls and door jambs. I jumped into rolls. I dove behind the counter in the kitchen. I spun about, purposely running into things to create unique directional forces. There were zero slips. Zero rattles. Zero drops. The SERPA mechanism failed to disengage at any time. Active retention was also tested. I asked my wife to attack me and remove the handgun out of the holster. Again checking to ensure the handgun was unloaded, my wife tried again and again, attempting to remove the handgun from different angles and methods. Only once was she able to remove the handgun and after examining how she did it, she more-or-less accidentally hit the button slapping her hand down on the holster to try and get at the handgun. The system isnt perfect but its definitely comparable to systems that use a thumb-break mechanism which can be unsnapped. Draw I dont claim to be any kind of competition or defense expert. Far from. I have learned alot over the past couple years. I have taken courses, gotten certified, learned alot from the folks at XDtalk.com and various sites around the net. I have read books by Steve Anderson, Massad Ayoob, Gabriel Suarez, and David Kenik. In all this time, I have made a night and day difference in my marksmanship but still have a great deal of experience yet to discover. I say this because I want to make clear that this is a common man testing a piece of off the shelf purchased equipment. That having been said, I could not be more happy with the smooth draw and easy re-holster that this small piece of equipment provides. The draw is smooth, with adjustable retention beyond the SERPA system into the retention of the pressure on the underside of the frame. After making several hundred dry fire attempts, I carted myself and a few hundred rounds of ammunition down to the range. I got a perfect performance, easy draw without slowing me down noticeably, no interference with my motion to bring the handgun up, no noticeable directional tendancy out of the holster (some force your handgun to swerve slightly as you bring it up owing to the charachteristics of the top of the holster). Overall I have been absolutely tickled pink with this new handgun holster. Any potential purchaser must ensure that this holster fits thier needs, however. It is not very well concealable. You will need to reconfigure the belt adjustment tabs. Be ready to spend some time breaking in the holster and finding the retention level you want because the default retention when the holster is shipped is very loose. Aside from these items, the SERPA system offers excellent retention without degrading draw time or ease of draw. The button is located in a natural position. The holster is constructed such that most of the holster does not even make contact with the handgun slide. The system is fairly modular with a belt loop and paddle platform shipped with the holster and a tactical drop leg platform availible. I would personally highly recommend this holster to anyone for duty or range use. Those needing to conceal, however, may want to consider other options owing to its size and basic platform type. Availible at Pistol Gear Manufactured by Blackhawk __________________ WFRAZEE "When you take your gun with you, leave your middle finger home." - Unattributed

04-08-2006, 05:23 PM	#4
one-eyed-fatman XDTalk 10K Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 10,187	How much did Old School pay you to right that review? And during your testing were you injured? I would have been! Go away and buy a real holster like mine. Got mine from Old School too. Lefties eat your damn hearts out. This baby she good.

04-08-2006, 05:31 PM	#7
Oni XDTalk 1K Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,544	Thanks for the thorough review wfraze and it sounds like you got your moneys worth purchasing this holster although I cannot justify purchasing this SERPA based blackhawk upon your very well written electronic opinion, I'd have to see it for myself.