Here’s another holster featured in our new book, The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters:
El Paso Saddlery has a deep and storied tradition of holster craft. Literally.
Peruse their online catalog and you’ll see holsters like the John Wayne, Patton, Jesse James and Doc Holliday to name a few. The interesting thing is that El Paso didn’t just name these holsters — they made them for the actual folks on the label! You’ll notice dozens of absolutely gorgeous western style holsters and if you’re a fan of spaghetti westerns, and pay close attention, you’ll see plenty of their models in the movies.
The El Paso Saddlery Summer Cruiser is an inside-out design to help it stay in place via friction with your clothing. It has two belt loops that are interchangeable. You can swap loops to fit different sized belts and choose black or brown to better match the belt you want to use.
For a comfortable inside the waistband design, the El Paso Summer Cruiser has a lot of structure. The holster mouth is reinforced with an interior metal band so it stays open to facilitate one-handed reholstering. A sight rail is molded and stitched into the holster that allows for snag-free holstering and reholstering. There’s even an extended leather flap on the inside to help keep the hammer, safety and/or beavertail from chafing your midsection.
Like many other El Paso designs, this one is hand-boned for near-perfect gun fit.
Holster Terminology Alert: Before you start questioning the PG rating of this book, know that hand boning is a process where the wet leather is pressed — by hand — around the specific contours of the gun. Back in the fourth century BC they used to do that with actual bones instead of metal tools, hence the name hand boning. Artisans skilled in the art of hand boning had little to do for centuries however, as gun holsters were not to be invented until the 1800’s. As a result of hand boning, you’ll actually see a pretty good outline of your specific type of firearm shaped into the leather. Hand boning isn’t done just to sound funny or look cool, the very detailed shaping is what provides solid holster fit and retention.
Read about more carry styles and over 120 different gun holsters in The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters – available at Amazon.com! Learn more about our Insanely Practical Guides!
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