Disarming’s remain a reality in law enforcement and have driven the demand for safer and more secure holsters.  A common misperception is that higher levels of Retention equate to higher levels of safety.  This perception was driven due to a Misdiagnosis of officer disarming‘s, which led to a Misdirected response in the holster industry resulting in the duplication and layering of retention features.  The term “Retention Levels” was coined to market this misdirected reaction that achieves security, but not necessarily safety.  Misdirected by focusing only on protecting the gun from an assailant,  which unfortunately does not always equate to safely protecting an officer from an assailant.  This one-sided approach recognized by many, creates an imbalance that compromises the very thing it hopes to achieve, Officer Safety.

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The misdiagnosis was a result of the misperception that gun takeaways occur from properly secured weapons in holsters that were considered safe in and of themselves.  The reality was that in most of the cases the weapons were drawn by the officer, or the holster retention features were not applied, undone, or simply not adequate for security needs.  Compounding the problem was the critical fact that the retention features could not be manually reapplied, and likely ignored due to the sudden assault and nature of these types of police encounters.  It was the inherent inadequacies of these features (straps, snaps, and flaps) that were the cause.



Manufactures then misdirected the response by adding more of these same features. Retention levels, by definition, justify adding complexity (additional levels) to compensate for the inadequate security of the previous level.  If the thought that more levels create a more secure and safer holster, then why would we not create a level eight holster?  You see a “retention” feature was originally created to keep a gun from falling out of a holster, not to prevent an assailant from taking or forcing it out.  One such “retention” feature is the pinch retention screw, that only applies adjustable tension to prevent the weapon from rattling or “falling out.”  This has now crept its way into becoming an actual “Retention level”, so that manufactures can claim or market an additional or higher level of security.
  
The misperception was conceived by focusing on the “symptoms” of disarming’s rather than the actual “cause” of disarming s.  An example of a misdirected response is the pistol lanyard.  Its purpose is to address the gun after it falls out of the holster (symptom) rather than addressing the cause, which was the inadequate or insecure holster. A properly designed security feature provides automatic security upon re-holstering, eliminating a weapon from falling out, and “should” prevent or discourage an assailant from taking the gun from the holster, but it can never guarantee it, any more than a level four holster can guarantee it. Other factors critical to a safe outcome, are the officers response and the holsters overall strength, condition, and design.  As with everything their are exceptions and limitations.

Mike Lowe, a seasoned police officer and founder of Tactical Design Labs was the first to identify and articulate the real performance needs in a holster.  Because of his real life experiences he understood the balance needed between holstering, security and accessibility.  Lowe’s designs facilitate a natural grip and drawing of the gun with a security feature that is counterintuitive to an assailant, yet not prone to inadvertent release.  Lowe incorporated the science of Gross motor action and human performance into the design he learned as a trainer to facilitate an officers reactions under stress.  He was soon followed by the giants and experts of the holster world; whose innovation resulted basically in a reconfiguration and an echoing of his methodology. 

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Tactical Design Lab’s focus is on safety and performance, but also based on a foundation of science,  fact, and ergonomics resulting in the Professional and now Xcalibur. Many companies claim to be the best. Our claim is the Xception.