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Reviews => Gear Review => Topic started by: GunLink on July 31, 2019, 09:34:12 AM

Title: N82 Tactical Revenant Hybrid IWB Holster - Smith & Weson M&P 9 Sheild
Post by: GunLink on July 31, 2019, 09:34:12 AM
We knew it was coming. It had to be coming. If WE were looking for a "combat cut" version of N82 Tactical (https://n82tactical.com)'s comfortable IWB holsters, then a lot of other people probably had to be as well. At first it was an issue with how the edge covering would fare across the concave cut that would be required to leave the pistol's grip exposed that elicited a "Well, we can't do that right now" whenever I asked Nate.  But then the Pro tandem demos at NRAAM a few years ago didn't have edge material, and then the edge material went away across all product lines. Then Nate's answer to "Is it happening?!?" turned to "Hmmm, well, maybe, <shrug>, I can't really say..." Yeah, it was happening.

Or rather, now, it HAS happened.

(http://blog.gunlink.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GunLink-N82Revenant-02-584x600.jpg)

I remember when I first started seeing N82 ads in the glossy gun magazines - they always featured a guy asleep on the couch with his holster on. See, because their holsters are so comfortable that you forget you have them on and can fall asleep because you don't have an uncomfortable hunk of steel digging into your kidney. I think they still use that old ad artwork because, well, their holsters are still very comfortable thanks to their three-layer backing material with a sturdy leather gun-facing surface, padded sweatproof neoprene core, and buttery soft suede body-facing side.
 
You don't have the pointy parts of the gun digging into you like with thinner materials, you don't have sloppy wet mess under the holster like you might with less breathable designs, and you don't have ground-hamburger-hips from aggressive pistol grip textures thanks to the big holster backer that completely covers the grip.

But what if you don't have ultra-aggressive texture on your grip? What if you don't mind the grip might coming into contact with your body? What if you wanted to get a fast grip on your pistol without having to add the extra task of moving the backer to your thumb's to-do list when drawing the pistol? What if you wanted to carry AIWB where the big backing might be too cumbersome. The all new Revenant holster by N82 Tactical (https://n82tactical.com/product-category/holsters/) is the answer of those questions.

The Revenant is much like the Envoy that we previously reviewed (http://gunlink.info/forums/index.php?board=17.0) with a Glock 19, except with the sleeker "combat cut." The Envoy model is basically the Professional model with the exception that, instead of the clear polycarbonate shell with the "twist to draw" retention, it was available in regular Kydex, allowing for a straight draw. The new Revenant models are available with your choice of either shell.

(http://blog.gunlink.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GunLink-N82Revenant-05-600x511.jpg)

The holster that we got is the Kydex version with a straight draw with only passive retention achieved by a bump that rests inside of the trigger guard. The smooth, easy draw is made even easier with the new backing profile which allows a fast full firing grip without having to slip your thumb between the pistol grip and the holster material.

(http://blog.gunlink.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GunLink-N82Revenant-03-600x556.jpg)

Like their entire holster lineup, the Revenant is extremely comfortable thanks to the padded backing. The entire slide is protected from your body, and vice versa, keeping sweat off of your pistol and sharp edges and solvents off of your skin.

(http://blog.gunlink.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GunLink-N82Revenant-04-600x486.jpg)

The cant angle is adjustable through their new clips that rotate and click into place in small ridges around the mount and tighten with a screw. This allows it to be easily customized for your preferred draw angle anywhere from strong side carry through appendix carry. (Note that the Kydex style shell is likely more conducive to AIWB carry as the inward twist needed to overcome the Professional style shell seems like it might be awkward when carried in the 1-2 o'clock position.)  We EDC'd a Smith & Wesson Shield in the Revenant for a couple of months in a variety of carry positions and it was comfortable throughout and offered a clean, smooth draw.

(http://blog.gunlink.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GunLink-N82Revenant-01-600x514.jpg)

I also note that the Revenant model that we tested has not developed the small cracks in the leather forward of the shell like the Envoy did. I'm not sure if this is because of a change in the manufacturing process, because we tested the Envoy with a thicker double-stack Glock versus the slim Shield with the Revenant, or if the cracks in the Envoy (which, as far as I can tell, have not effected performance or longevity at all) were just a fluke due to some environmental condition that we exposed it to.

One other thing I noticed, and I am not sure if it is by design or if it just happened that way, is that on the model that we tested, there is a small amount of play in the holstered Shield 9. When fully holstered, the muzzle exactly reaches the end of the Kydex shell, although the trigger-guard retention is placed such that it allows for the pistol to move upward about 3/16", as shown below (pardon my cruddy muzzle - it gets carried a lot). The pistol remains secure behind the passive retention, but it does have a little movement, which I don't mind because it actually allows you to slightly raise the grip when acquiring a firing grip before coming up against the retention. Whether it was intentional or not, I kind of like this "feature."

(http://blog.gunlink.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GunLink-N82Revenant-08-300x253.jpg)(http://blog.gunlink.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GunLink-N82Revenant-07-300x246.jpg)

We have worn and played with a number of N82 Holsters over the years, from the original/original tuckable and Pro models (http://gunlink.info/forums/index.php?topic=1331.0) through the Tandem (http://gunlink.info/forums/index.php?topic=1848.msg5488#msg5488) (which we did not test) and more recent Envoy and Ambassador models (http://gunlink.info/forums/index.php?topic=1848.msg5764#msg5764). It's great to see them keep making incremental changes to their lineup to give their users what they need from their concealed carry gear. Visit https://n82tactical.com/ to learn more about the entire lineup.