You probably own more than one belt. You almost certainly own more than one pair of shoes. As a working law enforcement officer, you may even have more than one uniform – perhaps Class A dress blues for special occasions and a Class B tactical ensemble for the daily rigors of the job.
Those different items of clothing have different and distinct purposes – you wouldn’t go for a daily jog in work boots any more than you’d undertake a major construction project in light sneakers. So what’s the difference with holsters?
On the job or off, holsters carry your most important life-safety tool: your sidearm. When you need that, it had better be quick and easy to retrieve and use. But it also needs to be protected when not in use; there’s no more dangerous scenario for a cop than an adversary grabbing their gun.
The well-equipped officer may in fact need more than one holster in the course of their duties. That’s the idea behind the “Level III-II-I” concept from Alien Gear Holsters.
“One thing Alien Gear is doing well in our professional duty line is identifying and developing the right tool for the right job,” said Randy Watts, the company’s head of business development, who spent nearly a decade as an officer, detective and SWAT team member. “And when you talk about the right tool for the right job, that means designing products for an identified mission set.”
Those differences in mission sets are reflected in the company’s Rapid Force line of duty holsters.
THE DAY BRINGS DIFFERENT DUTIES
The requirements of a law enforcement provider’s holster may vary widely over the course of a day.
Much of that day might be spent on patrol, where any random encounter could go sideways and devolve into physical combat. The primary mission of a holster in that situation is to protect the firearm from accidental damage or being dislodged or taken. That’s a scenario that calls for the maximum security of a Level III model, with three retention mechanisms.
Alien Gear‘s Rapid Force Level III duty holster – available for sidearms from Glock, Sig Sauer and Smith & Wesson – provides that with passive retention (simply being in the holster), a backstrap hood and a thumb-swipe release. It’s also highly durable – what Watts calls “a tank of a holster.”
“It’s our toughest and most functional holster,” he said. “If you’re a patrol officer and it’s likely you’ll be in use-of-force type scenarios, you need to have the toughest holster you can. It needs to be able to sustain impacts, have body weight on it and perform well in various weather elements.”
The holster in that scenario must also allow the officer to draw their firearm quickly and smoothly – and reholster just as easily when circumstances change and that hand needs freed up for other purposes. To achieve that, Alien Gear crafted its Gross Motor Response (GMR) retention system to make releasing those mechanisms, drawing and then returning the weapon fast, fluid and intuitive. Even under stress, the design supports quick motions and solid grips.
“Our engineers’ focus is to ensure one smooth movement,” said Watts. “Officers have been pleasantly surprised how quick and natural the draw is. With some other holsters, you have to kind of rock your thumb back to eject the pistol. Ours has a natural motion; the thumb hits right at that [backstrap release] button on the Level III, then moves right to the thumb swipe. It’s all one continuous movement.”
That backstrap guard can withstand 800 pounds of pull strength, ensuring the firearm stays put.
Back at the station, wearers generally don’t need the same degree of firearm protection. If it’s time for desk duties, a better option might be a Level II model, which combines passive retention with the thumb swipe.
“When I got promoted off patrol and moved to detective, I was doing a lot more office work,” Watts recalled. “That meant working during the daytime, doing interviews – the situations weren’t as high-risk most of the time. So Level II retention can be acceptable and authorized by most departments for investigative and administrative-type duties.”
When the shift is done and they come off duty, many officers switch back to concealed carry. In that setting the Level I (passive only) retention provided by Alien Gear’s Photon holster may be sufficient.
That’s three holsters for three distinct sets of circumstances. But officers who use more than one also can’t spend a lot of time or be caught flat-footed while switching between them. For that purpose Alien Gear created a Quick Disconnect System (QDS) that quickly attaches and detaches holsters from its various carry platforms.
The QDS’ male attachment goes on the holster and fits with a receiver on the carrying base. Holsters are switched by simply pushing side buttons and sliding the holster off the base, with no tools required. The new one slides on just as easily. The QDS works with the company’s drop-leg, belt slide, paddle, MOLLE and surface-mount platforms. “It’s a very small footprint on the holster, but it’s the strongest out there – about four times stronger than our competitors,” said Watts.
NEW PRODUCTS FOR POLICING PROFESSIONALS
Two new products additionally highlight Alien Gear‘s holster offerings.
The Rapid Force Level II Large Light accommodates a wide range of popular Glock, Sig and S&W models. Available in black or tan for left- or righthanded draws, it’s compatible with the company’s QDS and can come with or without an optional Axon Signal Sidearm mount. Easy to add and with no impact to a quick and fluid draw, the Axon mount wirelessly triggers nearby Axon cameras to start recording as the weapon leaves the holster – manual activation isn’t required.
“We integrated an Axon sensor by precisely machining an opening in the side of the holster, allowing seamless insertion,” explained Watts. “This setup activates the camera automatically upon drawing the weapon, capturing a 30-second pre-recorded buffer. Many agencies are adopting this technology, as it offers a far more reliable solution compared to current options. Our design achieves an activation rate approaching 100%.”
All Rapid Force Level II and Level III holsters include the Axon Signal Sidearm mount option. The company has also introduced a new basketweave design option for its Rapid Force Level III models.
The new products reflect Alien Gear’s evolution from a company that once primarily supplied civilians to one that now largely serves the professional markets of law enforcement and the military.
“With that transition we brought in people from the industry who had a lot of experience as operators in the field,” said Watts. “As we’re developing products, that’s our biggest strength. We understand the job, the mission sets, and can work with our engineers to explain things like, ‘Hey, you know, it’s just as important to reholster as it is to draw because maybe the situation deescalates or changes and you need to transition rapidly back to your hands. You have to put that gun away quickly and in a safe manner.’ It’s all systems thinking: How do you transition between tool sets? It’s a very dynamic field.”
It’s not as new, but a core element of that evolution and signature product for Alien Gear is the Rapid Force TAQ-Strap, a hasty tourniquet designed for police and military use under duress. Small, light and applicable blindly with one hand, it’s suitable to stop femoral bleeds and can be prepositioned to do so while serving as a strap for a drop-leg holster. It uses the same ratcheting technology as m2’s Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC)-approved Tactical Ratcheting Medical Tourniquet and has been popular with military customers.
“We’re developing these tools because we’re visualizing all the worst-case scenarios,” noted Watts. “If I’m a 19-year-old Marine on his first deployment, and I’ve had one combat medicine course in boot camp and have only touched a tourniquet once in my life, if we get hit with an IED, I’m not going to be able to put that tourniquet on under my gear effectively in 30–90 seconds while trying to escape a burning vehicle. That’s where the TAQ-Strap comes in. That 19-year-old who’s only seen a traditional tourniquet once has probably ratcheted a bunch of snowboard bindings. They’ve ratcheted a bunch of roller blades. He can reach down blind and apply this tourniquet in five seconds to his femoral artery, which accounts for most of our combat casualties.”
TAILORED FOR PERFORMANCE
Alien Gear Holsters offers a range of related and additional products for users both professional and private, including outdoors enthusiasts. More are on the way, tailored for performance across the unique scenarios law enforcement and other users face.
“The idea is having the right tool for the right job, and that translates across the board,” said Watts. “We’re developing some new products and accessory items with the same breadth of innovation. We aren’t trying to be a one-size-fits-all holster. We’re designing our holsters to be very specific to their job, so the operator has the right tool.”
For more information, visit Alien Gear Holsters.
