The Last Holster You May Ever Need: SureFire MasterFire Rapid Deploy Holster

Is there some sort of 12-step program for holster addiction? If so, I may need it. As I prepared to write this, I took a quick look my holster collection and would guess I own at least 100 different holsters.

Part of it’s just hoarding. But, in my defense, I do need a lot of them. I’m a bit of a gun slut, and a lot of my guns need different holsters based on the situation. I’ve been told admitting your problem is the first step.

But, what if I could buy one last holster for all my pistols?

A look at the future

Enter the Surefire Masterfire Rapid Deploy Holster. This unique concept allows you to have one holster and light (or light laser) for all your handguns with an accessory rail. I think back to the late 1990s and early 2000s when there were all kinds of lights being developed for handguns. Many of these lights were proprietary to a specific brand or type of handgun. Soon, the market worked this out so almost any light would work on any handgun. However, this did not solve the problem.  You still had to have a holster that worked with the combination of handgun and light. This resulted in needing a holster that was unique to the one gun, one light combination. Change either one and your holster was worthless.

This always seemed particularly wasteful (and expensive) to those of us who carried a variety of handguns based on the occasion.

How it works

The mechanics of a normal gun and mounted light function by the light being secured to the gun and the holster being secured to the gun. This treats the light as an accessory instead of an integral part of the system.

The outside-the-waistband (I am told and inside-the-waistband will be coming) Surefire Masterfire Holster works by securing the light to the gun and then, rather than the holster attaching to the gun, it attaches to the light. The light becomes an integral part of the system rather than an accessory. Simply put, this means one holster and light can work with any gun with a standard accessory rail.

One of the key innovations that this system affords you is the ability to select whether the light will be on or remain off when the gun is drawn via a switch on the holster. Regardless of which you choose, the light will automatically shut off when you place your gun back in the holster. This ensures you will not holster with the light activated and drain your batteries.

The Surefire Masterfire Holster allows you to select two levels of retention. The first level is a button activated by pushing down with your thumb that releases the gun. This is very intuitive and requires minimal effort to master on a standard draw stroke. The second level is activated via a knob that you rotate between the detents. Selecting the second position locks the gun in the holster and prevents the thumb button from being depressed. This second level of retention is not accessible via a normal draw stroke.

The holster features an open-top open muzzle design. This is done to accommodate any red dot optics that would be mounted to the gun, along with compensators or suppressors the user might choose to install.

SPECs:

• Length: 8.25 in.
• Width: 4.48 in.
• Weight: 8.75 oz.
• MSRP: $169

Testing

I knew I wanted to put this holster to real-world testing. I could’ve worn it around the house, announce that I had tried it and proffer it as a must-own. But, for a holster to live up to its potential, as this one does, it needs some serious real-world testing. First, I wanted to try this holster with as many guns as I could. Second, I wanted to satisfy myself that the concept was sound and secure in a multitude of environments. Finally, I wanted to get as many people as possible to use the holster with their gun and give me feedback.

I’ve had the holster now for a little over five months. This has allowed me to gather what I consider to be real information versus theory.

My methodology to accomplish this was pretty simple. I took the holster with me almost every time I went to the range. This would allow me to expose the maximum number of gun owners to the holster and allow them to have some shooting time using their pistol. I also carried it in a variety of situations. Obviously range use, whether classes or just simply shooting for fun, was a heavy-exposure method. I passed it along to several of my friends and asked them to run it for a week as often as they could and give me their feedback.

Before we go any further I want to get this little caveat out of the way:  This is not a concealed carry holster unless you’re going to be wearing some type of full-length duster that covers you from shoulder to ankle. The natural drop of this holster when worn on the belt would be the equivalent to a thigh holster, worn correctly. I say correctly because most people I see wearing a thigh holster wear it way too low. The thigh holster is designed to drop the gun down below an external vest.

First impressions

Generally, when I asked someone to look at the holster I had to explain the concept of one light and one holster for many guns. This was universally acknowledged as a good idea. The next question or explanation to follow was “how does it work?” This usually involved some experimenting, followed by a lightbulb moment. As a side note, I quickly began the protocol of showing the holster with a Red Glock Reset Pistol with the light attached to allow the prospective user to maintain safety while in the experimental stage.

Before I allow them to begin using the holster, even with the red gun, I asked the questions “what do you like about it?” and  “what are your concerns?”  At this point, I was blessed by a variety of initial impressions.

Some admired the truly universal nature of the holster and its ability to universally accept pistols with red dot optics and suppressors, regardless of model or manufacturer.

Others had initial concerns about the open nature of the holster and its lack of protection from the elements.

There was usually some confusion regarding the automatic activation of the light. Some users said they would never want to use this feature. Once they were sure they could have have a draw with no light, this concern quickly went away.

Several people expressed concern with the secondary locking system. Their concern focused on the belief they might find themselves unable to access their handgun at a critical moment.

Actual use

My impressions of the holster are favorable. The single biggest learning curve is re-holstering the gun. It requires a forward rake to the muzzle, and re-holstering is not intuitive for those of us who have acclimated ourselves to a straight up and down belt holster, or even a slightly rear-slanted holster. This by no means is a flaw in the holster, but rather a training opportunity. The thumb release and forward positioning of the muzzle allows you to take full advantage of the top of the gun not being covered in your draw. Most users found it to be fast and easy to bring the gun into a firing position.

I had several people express a distrust of anything that allows the light to be automatically activated upon draw. They felt the opportunity not to maintain light discipline was concerning. When I delicately explained you simply had to place the switch in the “off” position to alleviate this, somehow their comfort level did not increase. Silently, I asked myself the question “how can they be okay with a Glock with no external safeties and yet concerned with the switch that operates the light?”

One SWAT operator said he would prefer the on-off switch for the light to be reversed to ensure he could always maintain the off position as a default. Fair enough. We all have preferences.

The biggest concern I heard was the locking switch. This could, in fact, render the gun unable to be drawn from the holster. There was much discussion about whether this could accidentally be activated. Closer examination revealed the switch was operated via a spring and detent system and that accidental locking was highly unlikely. We even made some attempts to cause it to accidentally lock – all unsuccessful. These included bumping up against things, placing objects in the seat of cars and attempting to sit down in a manner that caused it to lock.

The issue that could not be overcome was operator error, and I think this is legitimate, especially since I’ve encountered more than one professional who wore an empty holster to work.

Choosing a light

There’s no way around it – if you go with the Masterfire holster you’re going to have to buy a new light. These come in four basic choices, ranging from a polymer light producing 350-lm up to 600-lm white light mated to a red or green laser. If you have owned Surefire products in the past you know they are high-performance and rugged by nature, and typically priced accordingly. I elected to go with the 600-lm X300UH-B Ultra. This rugged aluminum weapon-mounted light is the newer version of the X300B that I currently run on my guns.

The Bottom Line

This is the first step in what I believe will be the next generation of holsters. I know we wish every idea jumped from the ground fully formed, but this is just not the case. An outside-the-waistband holster is not going to meet everyone’s needs. The secondary locking system is first-generation. This may prove over time to be unnecessary or will be redesigned to alleviate the possibility of not being able to retrieve the handgun.

This system offers something truly unique in its ability to work with almost any pistol with an accessory rail. Selecting whether the light is on or off in the draw will eventually be the norm. If I could create a universal law, every holster would turn your light off when you re-holster the gun. This holster accomplishes that task. For those who open carry a gun for a living, this is a viable choice today. If you’re spending your time at the range with multiple pistols, the MasterFire makes sense by simply reducing the amount of gear you take to the range. I feel confident that competition shooters, especially those engaging in low-light shooting, will find this to be a must-have immediately.

For more information about SureFire holsters, click here.