Crossfire Gear is a new name on the holsters and gear block. They introduced a good amount of holsters at Shot Show and were surprisingly a big hit. What makes them different is that have set out to make high-quality nylon holsters. In an era where Kydex rules nylon is often overlooked. This isn’t hard polymer nylon, but soft standard nylon. Generally, nylon is often overlooked as a holster material because of its reputation as a cheap, and ill-fitting holster material. Nylon holsters are often extremely cheap and poorly molded. After swinging by the Crossfire Gear booth at Shot I can say I walked away impressed. One holster that stuck in my mind was the Crossfire Gear Jackal thigh rig.
Enter the Crossfire Gear Jackal
Crossfire Gear molds their holsters very well and uses very high-quality materials in their holster construction. These aren’t ill-fitting, Wal-Mart airsoft nylon holsters. Instead, they are well thought out and well-designed holsters. The Jackal appealed to me because I haven’t used a leg rig since I left the Marines. It would fit multiple firearms in my personal armory. This includes my MR9 Eagle, my CZ P09, my CZ 75, and of course my 1911. I normally prefer my holsters fitted for a specific weapon, but after my time with my Phalanx Defense multi fit holster I had hope.
Comfort and Movement
Comfort is a big deal with thigh rigs. I’ve used a few and some have chafed and others haven’t. Discomfort and chafing is usually tied to how much the holster moves around on the leg. If the holster is constantly moving back and forth or riding up and down, it won’t be comfortable. It’s also more likely to start chafing and rubbing your leg raw.
The Crossfire Gear Jackal leg rig is outfitted with a rubberized backing. This material is super soft and doesn’t chafe the leg as you move.The material isn’t just to make the holster more comfortable, but the rubber material does grip to the leg and doesn’t let it rock back and forth or up and down.
Retention
The holster utilizes a pretty traditional method to retain the weapon. A simple thumb snap strap is in place to keep your weapon where it needs to be. These straps are adjustable for different length firearms. What’s cool about the thumb strap is that the external portion is spring loaded. This keeps pressure constantly on the button. This makes it easy to deactivate the strap and automatically pushes it out of the way.
Once you have a grip on your handgun your thumb naturally comes into a position to deactivate it. Once deactivated it shoots out of the way and lets you easily grip and rip your weapon. The Crossfire Gear Jackal itself uses a stiffer nylon for the portion that goes around the gun. This stiffer portion does not collapse when the gun is drawn and makes reholstering easy.
Strapped.
On the range, the holster proved very simple and comfortable to use. It is the absolute perfect size for my CZ P09 and drawing and shooting the weapon is quite easy to do. The P09 is a big weapon, but the Crossfire Gear Jackal holds it perfectly for presentation. Two straps run from the holster to the belt and utilize button snaps to loop around your belt.
These straps are adjustable and make it possible to easily change how the Jackal is worn. The loops can be disconnected from the holster and left on the belt The single strap that does around the thigh is nice and broad and doesn’t dig into the thigh when tightened.
Long Term Comfort
So I couldn’t wear this holster outside my range and my home since it is clearly not a concealed carry holster. So for a fair and long-term test, I carried my P09 with the Jackal around the house, pretty much every day for ten days. It was with me when I chilled watching TV when I cleaned my house, and with me for numerous home improvement projects. This actually exposed it to a lot of odd situations. Cleaning a boat got it wet, cleaning my roof meant going up and down ladders with it and changing my car’s oil put it in the dirt. I never had an issue with it. It stayed comfortable, and I would genuinely forget I was wearing it, which bugged out a Fed Ex driver one day.
It held up to whatever I tossed at, and it barely ever moved, and it never rubbed my leg raw.
Overall I found the Crossfire Gear Jackal to be an impressive and well thought out nylon leg rig. It’s pretty damn comfortable, nice to carry and the spring loaded thumb break and the rubberized grip fabric are excellent touches. I wouldn’t have any reservation about recommending this holster if you are in the need for a simple, reliable, and comfortable thigh rig.
