I *finally* received the SOE holster for my M2 I ordered; The holster is extremely well made, with very high quality nylon, and obviously superior quality stitching and construction throughout. Unfortunately, this delivery was 3 or 4 days *after* the promised delivery date.... For the privilege of a long delivery time, via USPS in an envelope, I was nicked the outrageous amount of $7, for about a dollar in postage.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, this SOE holster fails miserably at what it was designed to do: protect my expensively acquired SureFire M2; provide safe and secure retention, and allow easy removal and replacement of the light.
This holster looks like it was designed by a bunch of ex army supply clerks, who all had a list of features they insisted the holster have. This resulted in a clasp at the front of the holster that, with it's nylon flap, is about a centimeter thick, adding a great deal of bulk. Also, there is a Velcro adjustable belt loop, adding yet more bulk to this already bulky package. Do a lot of people have belts that are more than 2 1/2" wide?
If so, where the h*ll do they get pants with 3" belt loops? Under a light jacket, it makes the M2 look about like a holstered Sig P-229. Not good. Not good *at all*.
But worst of all, the most important functions of the holster, to retain the light, and protect it, seem nearly completely absent. The 'strap' which retains the light is only as wide as the bezel itself, making it *absurdly* easy for it to simply get pushed to one side or the other, exposing the entire bezel, so the flashlight isn't held in place at all.
This happened many times in a few hours. I managed to put a small nick in my formerly pristine M2 within an hour of putting it in the holster on my belt.
Even with the strap 'in place' the bezel is, of course, largely exposed to accidental damage. Attempting to adjust the tension of the restraining seemed to make no difference: every time I exited my car, it was with the strap off the bezel of my M2, and the light part way out of it's expensive holster. I found the strap off of the bezel of my M2 several other times in the course of a few hours use, in my house and garage.
And, in attempting to adjust the tension on the strap that holds the light down, I discovered that the end of the strap that passes through the clasp has Velcro on it, so it sticks to the front of the holster. However, when you take the light out to use it, the strap is then free to attach itself, via the Velcro, and effectively make the strap shorter, requiring you to pull the strap away from the Velcro, so the clasp could be fastened, when you try to reholster it. Another seemingly good idea that make this holster even more of a pain in the a**.
I see no way to modify this holster to make it work; it's simply a very well executed, and expensive, very, very, very bad design. This is, of course, *MY OPINION ONLY*; other people seem to like this design, although I myself simply cannot imaging how or why. What a disappointment.
Some Coleman fuel and hot dogs seems in order. I feel my M2 will suffer far less damage if it's *not* in this SOE holster; to say nothing of what seems to be the very evident risk of the loss of a very expensive flashlight.
YMMV. Or not.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, this SOE holster fails miserably at what it was designed to do: protect my expensively acquired SureFire M2; provide safe and secure retention, and allow easy removal and replacement of the light.
This holster looks like it was designed by a bunch of ex army supply clerks, who all had a list of features they insisted the holster have. This resulted in a clasp at the front of the holster that, with it's nylon flap, is about a centimeter thick, adding a great deal of bulk. Also, there is a Velcro adjustable belt loop, adding yet more bulk to this already bulky package. Do a lot of people have belts that are more than 2 1/2" wide?
But worst of all, the most important functions of the holster, to retain the light, and protect it, seem nearly completely absent. The 'strap' which retains the light is only as wide as the bezel itself, making it *absurdly* easy for it to simply get pushed to one side or the other, exposing the entire bezel, so the flashlight isn't held in place at all.
Even with the strap 'in place' the bezel is, of course, largely exposed to accidental damage. Attempting to adjust the tension of the restraining seemed to make no difference: every time I exited my car, it was with the strap off the bezel of my M2, and the light part way out of it's expensive holster. I found the strap off of the bezel of my M2 several other times in the course of a few hours use, in my house and garage.
And, in attempting to adjust the tension on the strap that holds the light down, I discovered that the end of the strap that passes through the clasp has Velcro on it, so it sticks to the front of the holster. However, when you take the light out to use it, the strap is then free to attach itself, via the Velcro, and effectively make the strap shorter, requiring you to pull the strap away from the Velcro, so the clasp could be fastened, when you try to reholster it. Another seemingly good idea that make this holster even more of a pain in the a**.
I see no way to modify this holster to make it work; it's simply a very well executed, and expensive, very, very, very bad design. This is, of course, *MY OPINION ONLY*; other people seem to like this design, although I myself simply cannot imaging how or why. What a disappointment.
Some Coleman fuel and hot dogs seems in order. I feel my M2 will suffer far less damage if it's *not* in this SOE holster; to say nothing of what seems to be the very evident risk of the loss of a very expensive flashlight.
