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for the Springfield Armory XD!

Since June 8th, 2003

Property of: James (Nick) Nicholas

P.O. Box 584

Clay, AL 35048

Galco's cop series holsters has a new addition in its lineup -- the M7X Matrix. The Matrix series is marketed as "the next generation in thermoplastic holsters and accessories" because of its unique design. The advertisements say that you get "the look of leather" at "the price of polymer". Galco's goal with the Matrix was to mimic the look of its traditional hand molded leather holsters. Galco's idea came from looking at other brands of Kydex holsters.

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Ask any traditional shooter for their comments on the new style plastic holsters and almost all would say they are nice but have lost that handcrafted look that only leather can provide. Also, the kydex is functional but not very good looking. The Matrix is made of injected plastic but is made in such a way that it has that traditional look with all the soft curves you expect. The Matrix is made from two main components-- the front (above left) and rear (above right) sections. Neither has very many hard angles, and both look like they were originally molded from leather pieces. Even the belt loops are made so they look like what you would expect to find on a leather belt loop holster.

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When I first pulled the M7X out of its bag I thought there was no way that it would securely attach to a belt. The M7X uses two belt loop straps that wrap around top of and behind the belt then back up the front snapping into place. On the very bottom portion of the loop strap is a hole that a tab fits into securing the loop strap so when the holster is worn the loop strap will not pull and unsnap. The straps allow for one of the best features of the M7X, you do not need to unbuckle your belt to put the holster on or to remove it. Just unsnap the straps and put them into place re-snapping when done. These simple yet effective straps lock into place before snapping so even when drawing your weapon the holster will stay in place. Since these straps wrap around the belt they hold on to the belt very tightly. This allows the holster to be pulled into your body. With a good strong belt the M7X hides an XD very well. With a nice strong belt there is no noticeable slop having the holster move around or stick out allowing the pistol to print. The snaps are large and are not the type that are easily undone so really this whole strap system works very well. At

the range I had some one else pull at a holstered XD training blue gun from the rear and side. The holster held, and I had plenty of time to try various retaining techniques. I then tried some running, crouching, and rolling on the ground. The pistol was retained in the holster. Now tired since the holster had worn me out, I decided to try falling seeing if the pistol would fall out. I stacked some mattresses on the ground and had a friend push me onto them trying to simulate a struggle. The pistol was held in place. After all of this, I can say that I am positive the pistol and holster will stay in place during normal usage.

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This generation of the M7X does not have any adjusting screws or devices to adjust the retention level. Drawing the XD from the M7X was not that bad coming straight from the packaging. The pistol easily came out with a nice quick tug and adding a little oil to the retaining portion of the holster helped even more. As far as any type of maintenance, the M7X does not need very much. If the holster gets dirty simply use a warm damp cloth to wipe it down. Also using a neutral Kiwi shoe polish, you can buff the outside of the holster to restore a "like new" look. Galco warns not to leave the holster near an excessive heat since damage may occur.

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Overall I think this is a refreshing look into holster design. Some of those that have been turned off by the cold hard generic lines of plastic holsters may have something new to look into. The design is rugged although I would prefer some type adjusting devise for the holster since everyone likes different levels of security vs ease of draw. The M7X is very capable of doing its job of concealing a pistol which is something that not every holster is capable of doing. Looking good and being comfortable to wear just makes the package even better. For more information check out Galcos webpage at www.usgalco.com

Written by:

James Nicholas 2004