Yes, the newest holster from Crucial Concealment looks like just about every other IWB Kydex holster you’ve seen. But it’s not. Their new Universal Light Holster is designed to work with, as Crucial says, “the majority of pistols in circulation” from sub-compact to full-size that are chambered in 9mm and .40 S&W pistols…as long as you have a version of one of the four most popular weapon lights mounted.
The thing about “one-size-fits-most” holster designs is they generally do a terrible job of securely holding your gun and keeping it in place as you carry it throughout your day. They just make too many compromises to accommodate all the pistols they claim to work with.
Crucial’s new Universal Light Holster is different. That’s because it isn’t molded to fit any particular pistol(s), it’s molded to fit four specific lights; the Streamlight TLR-1 and TLR-7 models (other than the TLR-7 sub) along with the Surefire x300 Ultra and Turbo models. It’s no coincidence that these are among the most popular pistol lights sold.
I own a TLR-7X so when my ULH arrived, I first put it on my GLOCK 19 Gen5…and it slipped right into the holster like it was made for it. The pistol seated with a reassuring “thunk” and stayed there, even when I hold the holster upside down.
Next up was my P320 with SIG’s pro-cut slide. Once I mounted the TLR-7X, the P320 fit snugly, too…after some adjustment.
That adjustment is made by loosening two screws and sliding an internal “retention shim” until it just touches the top of the slide with the pistol inserted. Once you’ve done that, you’re good to go.
My FN 509 Midsize Tactical was next up. I wasn’t sure about this one because of its suppressor-height sights.
As you can see, the sight slot that’s molded in is plenty high enough to allow suppressor-height sights without a problem. A Beretta APX-A1 full-size worked nicely, too, as did a Lone Wolf Dusk 9mm. In fact, about the only commonly owned light-bearing pistol Crucial says won’t work is the FN Five-seveN. As for smaller pistols, if it’s big enough to mount one of the designated lights, it will likely work with the Universal Light Holster.
I’ve been carrying with the ULH for a couple of weeks now and it does everything you want a good holster to do. Best of all, it does it for most of the guns you probably already own and carry…as long as you’ve mounted one of the lights listed above.
The Universal Light Holster is also reasonably priced. Crucial lists them for $69. So if you like to carry a gun with a light — which is never a bad idea — this one will work with just about any pistol you’re likely to want to tote. And it just might let you clear some room in your holster drawer.
Rats. Thought this might work for my TLR-7 Sub-wearing FN Reflex, but no go.