Things to Consider

• Different guns have different finishes. Some are more delicate than others. YMMV in terms of wear on a Kydex vs Leather holster.
  
  For example, Sig’s “Nitron” finish on it’s older guns (e.g. 1990’s, 2000’s) seems to wear off much easier than the finish on Glocks.
• While leather generally causes less wear than kydex… on some guns / finishes in rare cases it seems to cause more wear… unfortunately this is something one needs to research for each particular pistol, if wear is a concern for you

Leather Pros

• More comfortable to wear
• Less wear on some guns… (different wear… more surface area that rubs your gun with a leather holster, so it’s going to usually create a sort of “dull matte” finish on your gun, whereas on most guns, kydex will create more of a smaller “scratch” wherever the gun comes in contact with the holster.)
• Quieter (no “click” when drawing or re-holstering your gun)

Leather Cons

• “Grips” the gun more (stronger and possible inconsistent retention).
  
  Stronger retention can be a good thing, but inconsistent retention isn’t. Since leather changes it’s properties with changes in temperature and humidity (and age), the force required to draw the pistol can change too. (When it counts, in a defensive situation, this is bad because it could make you fumble your draw or slow you down.)
  
  This is very variable, and will also differ depending on whether you get a high quality leather holster (stiff / reinforced), or a more economical holster with leather that might be more flimsy.
• More expensive (generally)

Kydex Pros

• More consistent retention
• More consistent draw-force required
• More affordable than leather
• Less lead times (typically)
• Audible “click” when drawing and reholstering, so you know if the gun is securely in the holster or not (the noise could also be a drawback though, depends on what you’re looking for)

Kydex Cons

• Typically not as comfortable as leather
• Makes more noise when drawing and re-holstering

Some Real-World Observations

“In my experience, with nearly all finishes, contact points on leather vs. kydex behave in two different ways.

Leather mainly polishes the high points on a pistol.
Kydex contact points will leave what can really only be described as a scratch.

Personally, I like what leather does to the finish of a pistol over the years.

Keeping a kydex holster wiped out will prevent dust, sand, tribbles, whatever, from building up and scratching the finish.

But it’s still gonna happen.

I have an old P220 that I carried in a hybrid holster for years. The leather side is nicely burnished. The kydex side has one or two long “scratches” where it came in contact with the holster.

But remember, this took years.

An old Glock G23 that I have mostly carried in leather has taken on a nice patina (IMO) where the holster has polished all the sharp corners. YMMV.”

sigforum.com

“My P320 has been in a hybrid [leather back, kydex front] IWB since I bought it.

Years of EDC & there’s some slight wear on the kydex side right where the top edge of the holster touches the slide.

None that I can recall on the leather side.”

sigforum.com

“Kydex wears out to a point and stopps. There are contact points where the kydex meets the gun and those spots will wear down until it reaches a point where the kydex is worn down a bit. You will see light skuff marks inside the kydex body.

Leather wears patches and doesn’t stop. basically the mold for leather is generally more form fitting so it holds the gun across the entire slide and front of the frame including trigger guard. It will rub slowly over the life of the pistol and/or holster until there is no finish left.

If you have a Glock, M&P, HK, or XD you probably don’t have to worry much about wear. If your gun is Hard Chrome then you will never see wear, probably. Everything else wears, scratches, or gets shiny.”

defensivecarry.com

“If you wear it it will get scratched. Kydex will wear a finish faster but the wear is limited to the contact points, once the damage is done it’s done, it will not get worse.

Leather will take longer to wear the finish but will wear on a larger area as a larger part of the holster contacts the pistol.”

1911forum.com

Best Leather Holster Manufacturers

• Milt Sparks (People usually recommend the Summer Special 2 or the Versa Max 2)
• Kusiak Holsters (Uses Hermann Oak leather, uses vegetable tan steer hide, very natural process. Their holsters are also more suited to appendix carry due to the option of a wing/claw, if that’s your thing.)

Best Kydex Holster Manufacturers

• Tier 1 Concealed (APX / Axis Elite are highly recommended)
• JM Custom Kydex
• Vedder (Everyone seems to love their LightTuck holsters. The SideTuck seems good too, but I haven’t heard much)

Best Spare Mag Carriers

Need to carry a spare mag?

Usually the company you buy your holster from will have some good options, but here are some other good choices that people seem to really like:

Reload Wrap

• Great for pocket carry, customizable to most magazines (both pistols and revolvers)
• Invented by a retired police officer

Mastermind Tactics Spare Mag

A Note on Leather Toxicity

Some note they get rashes from leather holsters. Some manufacturers process their leather with formaldehyde, chromium, and other chemicals. These chemicals can then be absorbed by your skin, and then into your organs. If this is an issue for you, make sure to reach out to the manufacturer first to verify their leather supplier.

I didn’t reach out to Milt Sparks (yet), due to their holsters not having a wing for appendix carry. However it’s one of the reasons I went with a Kusiak holster, their leather supplier uses a very natural, old-world process.

Resources