While doing some social media surfing not too long ago, we came across a post from N82 Tactical introducing their latest holster model - the Envoy.
We gathered that the new holster had a kydex shell and made use of passive retention (that was pretty easy - since it says as much in the post) and it sure looks like the Envoy has dropped the edge material like the earlier models that we reviewed in favor of a "naked" edge as shown in the Tandem photos above. We've always been impressed with the comfort of the N82 line and love seeing companies innovate and grow, so we reached out to Nate Beard for some more details about the Envoy holster.
What's NewNate let us know that the main, obvious difference between the N82 Tactical Professional model and the Envoy model is the shell material and tooling used for the retention part of the holsters. As described in our Pro model review above, the Professional holsters use clear, stiff polycarbonate material for the shell with a deep, straight ridge that sits behind the front of the trigger guard for retention. To draw from a Pro model, the wearer grasps the pistol's grip, twists the pistol slightly inward to lift the trigger guard past the ridge, and draws.
The Pro model retention bump is pretty steep and flat In contrast, Nate explained, the new Envoy model from N82 uses a shell made from more flexible Kydex. While the retention ridge behind the trigger guard doesn't look much, if any, shallower than that on the Pro model, it feels a lot more rounded. That flexibility and smoother bump provide passive retention from the Envoy, allowing the wearer to draw straight up and out of the holster without any other action or motion (read: twisting) needed aside from overcoming the resistance from the retention bump. This sounded like an evolutionary step forward in the holster line and Nate offered to send us one of the new holsters to test out, so we took him up on the offer.
When it launched, the only Envoy shells available were for close to a dozen Glock models and Smith & Wesson's trifecta of Shield pistols. Since we already have carry experience with the N82 Professional model for a G19, we figured that would be the one best suited for the fairest comparison and Nate got one in the mail to us.
Out of the box, the Envoy looked very similar to the Pro, with the exception of color/translucence/texture of the shell material. The Envoy comes with the new polymer clips (as do all new N82 holsters now, I believe). The backer, not surprisingly appears to be identical, as does the method of mounting the shell. As we noticed from the IG post, the envoy features a "naked" edge, which Nate told us is going to be how all future holsters will be constructed based on customer feedback from the Pro Tandem and "for future plans on the models" (we wonder if this is secret code for "combat cut coming soon"). At first glance, I wasn't particularly keen on the lack of edge binding - I thought the trim looked good where it was.
The Backing - As Good as EverSince, edge binding notwithstanding, the holster backings were the same, it is no surprise that the Envoy was every bit as comfortable as the rest of the N82 lineup - which is to say
very comfortable. The suede is soft and cool and doesn't stick to you when you sweat, and we have been doing a lot of that with temps in the high 90s and low 100s and plenty of outside work to do. All that sweating put the N82 Envoy's pistol/body isolation to the test and it kept the oceans of sweat off of the pistol and kept me not having to worry about sweat corrosion on the slide - even if the sweat got into the suede back, it would still have a layer of neoprene and another layer of leather to get through before it found my precious EDC Glock.
We did, however, notice that once the holster dried out that there were white sweat stains along the bottom edge - presumably from the sweat either running/dripping or wicking down to the edge through the suede. Truth be told, I tend to think of the N82 holsters as more "fancy" than a lot of other holsters in the Box O' Holsters (maybe it's the suede, maybe it's the smooth leather on the front, or maybe it's the comfort or overall craftsmanship) and I don't usually punish them by working hard outside in triple digit temps. As such, I'm not sure if I haven't noticed sweat stains on other N82 holsters because they have the cloth edge binding covering it up, or just because I haven't soaked them as thoroughly.
Lastly on the holster's backing material, I did notice a couple other things I hand't ever noticed on N82 Tactical holsters in the past. I tend to carry the holsters anywhere from 3:30 to 5 o'clock or so on my body. This placement lets my belt ride fairly flat across the rearward part of the holster, but can flex the front edge fairly harshly sometimes. I'm not sure if they're gluing the suede backing to the inner neoprene layer now and the old models were "free floating" or what, but on the Envoy, I noticed that the suede was kind of bunched up where that flexing happens and stays bunched up even after the holster is off. Around the top/front rivet that holds the shell onto the backer, I also noticed a tiny bit of cracking in the black front leather where it had been flexed tightly (like stretch marks for holsters). I think that the creasing/cracking is just superficial cosmetic damage that won't effect performance or longevity at all, but I did notice it and it made me wonder further if they changed anything about the construction of the backing from the old models (gluing layers together, tanning/dying process, etc.)
That Draw, Though...So maybe the above is a lot of words over the part of the holster that hasn't changed (and remains as great as ever) when the real meat of the changes is on the holster's shell.
I love most things about American manufacturing and fabrication and I know that N82 proudly makes all of their holsters in North Carolina and, after they acquired
Magna-Arm, they brought that production into the same area, so I was, of course, curious about the who, how, and where of the new shells.
Nate filled me in that the Kydex is being formed and trimmed on the same machines as the polycarbonate shells but they have to make new kydex specific molds for the new Envoy and Ambasador (Pro Tandem with Kydex) holsters. Except for the materials used, the new shells look identical to the old shells with regard to shape, mounting hardware, mounting hardware locations, etc.
The draw on the Envoy is fantastic. Just as advertised, it is a straight draw past some mild passive retention. As comfortable and protective as N82 holsters are, my only two beefs with the hard-shell models have been the extra twist-to-draw motion needed on Pro models, and the little bit of extra thickness on single-clip models. The latter is solved by N82's two-clip models, the Pro-tandem and the Ambasador. Lots of people love the extra retention offered by the Pro and it does work well provided that you have time to practice and build up the muscle memory. Given the range of firearms I carry in different holsters, I personally prefer a simple "
grab the pistol and pull" method of drawing across the board.
Nate also said that Kydex is more sensitive to heat and UV than the polycarbonate used on the Pro series but it is definitely the material of choice to allow the flex needed to allow for the straight draw. We have carried a lot of holsters, including Kydex OWB and IWB in very hot environments (hot weather, hot engine compartments, etc.) for years and have never seen any signs of degradation from either heat or UV exposure (which will be very minimal with N82 holsters, since they are IWB holsters).
N82 Tactical Envoy (left) and Professional (right) OverallAll in all, I think that this new version of the N82 Tactical holsters makes it near perfect (if you are a fan of the twist retention, they were already pretty much there). They are very comfortable, completely isolate your body from the pistol (and vice versa), and are now even more user friendly with an easier draw that doesn't require extra practice, muscle memory, or brain cycles.
The extra thickness issue is no longer an issue if you have a problem with it, since N82 introduced the two-clip models at
last year's NRAAM.
The only remaining issue that I could stretch to come up with would be the lack of cutout to allow for an easier full grip, and I am not even sure that counts as an issue. N82 holsters have the full-coverage backing by design to keep sharp angles, high ridges, and aggressive grip texture off of the wearer's body to stay comfortable and to keep the wearer's body off of the firearm to help prevent corrosion. Although it is three stacked layers, the backing is pretty flexible and doesn't really get in the way of your thumb when grabbing the pistol to draw it. Nonetheless, it seems like that option is more likely to be a possibility in the future now that the edge binding is going away.
Good job, N82, on continuing to improve your products to give concealed carriers what they want and need.