We DO Make Red Dot Holsters Now!
For some time, a criticism of the Alien Gear Holsters brand was that we didn't make red dot holsters. "They're behind the times!" people said…but those same people probably haven't noticed when we started to.
Today, some of our most popular products are in fact optics-ready holsters, including our Rapid Force line for law enforcement and our Photon holsters, which are not only optics-ready but are available in light-bearing configuration.
So let's talk about optics.
More People Didn't Want Red Dot Holsters Than Did…Until Recently
So, why didn't we make red dot holsters? The honest truth is demand for them was slow in building.
Yes, some very vocal people who did (a very vocal minority, you might say) but far more that didn't. The holster business is a business, and ultimately you want to serve the needs of the many before worrying about the few (so to speak) if you want to keep your doors open.
But they started to really catch on.
Red dot sights on pistols aren't new. Collimator sights were on the commercial market by the 50s, fiber optic pistol scopes emerged in the 1970s and competition shooters (most notably Jerry Barnhart) were putting first generation AimPoint optics on pistols by the late 1980s.
The first of the modern miniature red dots (Noblex/Docter sights, in particular) didn't emerge until the early 00s and weren't exactly duty-grade. By 2010, Trijicon was basically the only game in town, and it took most of a decade for that to really change.
The first of the modern miniature red dots (Noblex/Docter sights, in particular) didn't emerge until the early 00s and weren't exactly duty-grade. By 2010, Trijicon was basically the only game in town, and it took most of a decade for that to really change.
Manufacturers didn't really start making pistols optics-ready with any real frequency until 2019/2020, about the time more makes and models of optic started hitting store shelves.
In other words, red dot sights were a niche, mostly reserved for competitive shooters and hardcore shooting enthusiasts who had a lot of money to spend. Until 2019/2020, there just wasn't much of a business case for red dot holsters.
We Have Red Dot Holsters Now
In 2020, we announced our first red dot holsters, starting with the Rapid Force Duty Holster.
We designed our duty holster to address the real needs of police officers based on their actual input. Towards the top of their list was a holster that was designed with red dot sights in mind, rather than merely adapted to them.
We also added the Sig Sauer P365XL RomeoZero and Springfield Hellcat OSP to our ShapeShift holster line.
Further additions took awhile, as we were developing new product lines to expand beyond our Cloak and ShapeShift products. We perfected the hybrid holster; there really wasn't any improvement to realize, and we knew it was time to take the next step in holster design.
Not that we're leaving anything behind. The Cloak Tuck 3.5 and ShapeShift 4.0 are still among the most popular concealed carry holsters we sell, and the most comfortable concealed carry holsters on the market today.
Optics-Ready Holsters From Alien Gear
After successfully launching the Rapid Force Duty Holster, we turned our attention to a carry-focused holster design, which led us to the Roswell holster series. Made for the most popular carry guns, and available with (or without) an optic hood to protect your optic while carrying.
While the Roswell was a great starting point, we also realized that there were some serious opportunities for improvement. There are so many versions of it; IWB, OWB, optic-ready, not, right- and left-handed...why not just make one holster that did everything and did it better?
And that's how we created the Photon.
Ambidextrous, convertible from IWB to OWB and optimized for appendix carry. An optic cutout instead of a hood, reducing bulk and compatible with any optic instead of some optics. Available in a light-bearing version for people who carry a weapon light. A mag carrier that can be used as a sidecar for those who prefer it.
Along with the Photon, we've also added the Rapid Force Lvl2 Slim, a slim profile OWB holster with a miniaturized version of the Rapid Force Duty Holsters's active retention system. This holster also features an optic cutout for use with any optic that doesn't extend past the ejection port.
It's fair to say that we have red dot holsters now. Optic-ready and light-bearing, in fact, for every use-case from duty to concealed carry, and they are going to be part of any new holster design we create going forward.
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