The Vedder Lighttuck IWB Holster

June 18, 2018 By James Tarr

I've been interested in firearms for long enough that I can remember when the first holsters made of polymer were introduced. At first they were the aberration, with the lion's share of holsters still being made of leather or other animal hides. Today, polymer holsters are the norm, and the number of companies making excellent holsters has grown so much it is hard to keep track of them all.

Vedder Holsters (VedderHolsters.com) is a small company looking to make it big. It is a family-owned holster company in Mount Dora, Florida, that got into the business in 2012. All its products are handmade in the U.S., and Vedder is still small enough it is responsive to its customers- making all its holsters to order and shipping them within two to three business days.

While Vedder also makes magazine pouches and a thick nylon gun belt, its bread and butter is holsters. It makes inside-the-waistband and outside-the-waistband holsters for more than 250 different handgun makes and models. That right there sets the company apart. The vastness of its holster fit range would be impressive for a company the size of Galco or Safariland, but for a small family-owned company it's almost unbelievable.

For testing I secured one of its LightTuck Kydex inside-the-waistband holsters. This is the firm's most popular model, and Vedder makes it for just about every semiauto pistol that can be stuffed down inside your pants comfortably — and some that probably can't, such as the Beretta 92FS and Glock 40.

The holster body is constructed of one piece of .080-inch Kydex form fit for the specific firearm it is designed for. This dimension is thin enough to flex a little when the holster is empty but strong enough to last just about forever under normal use.

Vedder says this is an "ultralight "holster, and it is not as thick or bulky as a lot of holsters I've tested. Holsters for larger guns of course will weigh more, but the LightTuck sent to me for a Glock 19 weighs just 3.36ounces, including the steel belt clip.

I like that this is a simple holster design giving you everything you need, and it's size-efficient- only as big as it needs to be and no bigger. This goes for the thickness of the Kydex as well as the dimensions of the holster body itself.

The inside surface of the holsters slick for ease of draw and reholstering, whereas the exterior of the holster is lightly textured to give the color/pattern something to adhere to so it lasts longer rubbing back and forth inside your pants. The patterns will wear eventually; that's just the nature of the beast.

One quick way to spot a badly designed holster is to look at the holster at the bottom of the trigger guard near the grip. A properly designed and fitted holster should allow you to get a full firing grip on the handgun without your middle finger rubbing on a sharp-edged Kydex corner or rough leather stitching- or touching the holster at all. If you check out the Vedder holster, you'll see that your middle finger when acquiring a firing grip won't touch the holster, just the underside of the trigger guard, and yet the holster still fully covers the trigger guard and trigger.

There is one tension screw at the bottom, and the steel belt clip is held in place with two more screws. The holster comes up high on the inside to protect the top of the pistol from your body and vice versa. The belt clip holds the pistol at just the right height, in my opinion- just high enough for your hand to clear your belt when acquiring a firing grip on the pistol and no farther.

The holster can be had with 1.5- or1.75-inch belt clips, or the company can throw in one of each for an extra$4. The belt clip mounts to the bottom of the holster via two screws, and the top one can be loosened so the holster can pivot up to 30degrees.

There are also five screw holes in the holster for the steel clip, so the holster's mounting point can be adjusted up and down or left to right about half an inch in addition to the pivoting.

For my sample holster, I chose the Kryptek Neptune pattern, which I hadn't even heard of before. It is primarily black and blue and nearly matches one of my Hawaiian shirts. Yes, I know, colors and/or patterns on an inside-the-waistband holster might seem like an unnecessary extravagance as nobody but you or perhaps your shooting buddies or significant other will see it, but it's fun just the same.

The Vedder LightTuck IWB holsters start at the very competitive price of $55. Most patterns will add an upcharge of $20 to the base holster price. Not only does Vedder offer a 30-day risk-free trial, each of its holsters comes with a lifetime warranty.