If you are looking for a top quality holster that offers comfort in droves, then look no further than the CompTac Infidel IWB Hybrid holster. After searching through various different holsters for the Walther PPQ, this beauty emerged victorious. Because it is both an IWB holster and a minimalist design, the CompTac Infidel makes a good quality concealed carry holster.
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CompTac Infidel Holster Features
There are a lot of great features on the CompTac Infidel holster. However, the greatest asset of this holster is definitely the comfort rating. But there’s more to this holster than just comfort. Below are my evaluations of the various attributes of the holster that I think any potential buyer should be aware of.
Handgun Fitment
The CompTac Hybrid holster comes with a molded shell for your desired handgun model. These shells can be interchanged to allow use of the same backing across your arsenal. One issue I do find rather annoying is the cutout for the sights. Frequently, when I went to holster the pistol the angle of entry wasn’t correct and the sights would snag on the cutout. With enough force it could cause you to rack the slide thus ejecting and/or chambering a round.
Retention Adjustment
Unfortunately, this holster relies exclusively on friction to retain your handgun. Getting the pistol seated correctly isn’t the easiest. Finding the right amount of retention for your pistol will take some trial and error. Fortunately, adjusting the retention takes the turn of a screw. I fiddled with the screws for a few minutes to figure out what would work best and was on my way.
Adjusting The Cant and Ride Height
If you’re wanting to adjust the cant angle of this holster, you’ll need an Allen key to loosen up the screws. You’ll have roughly 20-30 degrees of cant available to you. In the above image, you’ll notice the crescent shape on the left screw, which accounts for the extent that you are able to cant the holster.
Holster Position and Draw Orientation
Because of the slim profile and leather backing, this holster is superb as an IWB holster you wear on the hip. However, the holster is also surprisingly comfortable for appendix carry. The holster design allows the bottom portion of the leather backing to fold around the open muzzle end of the kydex. This is particularly nice when sitting as it helps prevent the tip of the kydex from digging into your thigh.
Unfortunately, this holster only comes in a right hand configuration on Amazon. However, you’re more than welcome to check out the Comp-Tac website for a left hand draw orientation. Although, there is a price discrepancy and you’ll end up paying a bit more that the right hand counterpart.
CompTac Infidel Holster Care
Because the CompTac Infidel holster is a hybrid, you may need to spend some a little time taking care of the leather. The holster should for the most part remain in good condition. However, you should avoid exposure to excessive heat. That means no leaving the holster in your car to cook in the sunlight on hot summer days. If you want to help preserve the leather, you can pick up some leather conditioner. Generally it is not recommended to use these types of products on leather holsters. However, because there isn’t any formed leather, you should be fine.
Additionally, you’ll want to wear an undershirt when wearing this IWB. Because of the leather construction, you can’t pop the backing into your washing machine. If you do need to do any cleaning you can separate the shell from the leather using an Allen key to remove the necessary screws before performing any maintenance.
Material And Construction
As the name implies, this is a hybrid holster. What that means is the best of both worlds. First, the holster backing is a combination of leather and what appears to be suede. Regardless of the material, I can confirm that you might forget that you are wearing this holster because it’s so comfortable.
Next, the weapon rests in a molded kydex shell. CompTac makes their molded shells interchangeable. Therefore you can use the same leather backing of the holster for multiple handguns by purchasing different shells. The screws seem sturdy and can be adjusted using an Allen key for desired retention, cant, and ride height.
Unlike many holsters, the clip on this IWB holster is made of plastic. I prefer metal clips for my concealed carry holsters because I question the durability of other materials. However, during my testing the plastic held up fine. But, I do think this would be the most likely point of failure. Additionally, there are both 1.5 inch and 1.75 inch versions of the clip should you need a taller clip profile. However, similar to the left hand draw holsters, you’ll need go through the manufacturers website to get the taller clip. I highly doubt anyone will need the 1.75 inch clip option based upon my testing.
CompTac Infidel Hybrid Holster: My Experience
With all of the great features offered with this holster, you may be wondering why I don’t consider this holster among the top 5 best. Well, it all comes down to the belt clip. For those with a dedicated concealed carry belt, you may like the CompTac Infidel. However, I found that the smaller of the options (1.5 inch) clip was still too large for my belts. Pictured above is my Mission ratcheting belt, and one of my most used for concealed carry. With this belt and the Infidel holster, I get some slight movement which I’m not too keen on.
Additionally, the retention on the CompTac holster is friction only. I would love if there was click lock like other holsters I’ve tested, such as the Alien Cloak Tuck. However, despite these two shortcomings, I still think that this is a solid holster. If comfort and versatility is paramount in your holster selection, then this should definitely be a contender.
Parting Shots
Unfortunately for many, the price point for any CompTac holster is going to be a bit steep. However, I’m also a believer in you get what you pay for in most scenarios. Being able to swap kydex shells for different handgun models but keep the same backing is a nice option. Ultimately, I think this is one of the most comfortable holsters on the market. However, there are a few things that I would change if I were to make design decisions at CompTac. Do you have this holster? Share your thoughts with the community about your experience.
