David Higginbotham, Product Marketing Manager for the Safariland Group, spoke to Officer Media Group Editor Paul Peluso about what makes Safariland’s holsters duty rated.  

“Safariland has a pedigree with retention,” says Higginbotham. “What we do is we build this out to where a security mechanism is something like the ALS itself, the locking mechanism that holds the firearm in place, if that also meets all of our other testing requirements, then it becomes duty-rated. If you were to put the same ALS lock on a holster that does not meet our duty requirements, it’s just a security device.” 

According to Higginbotham, duty rated doesn’t only refer to the strength of the holster itself, but also its ability to remain on an officer’s belt.  

“We take into account not only the strength of the holster, the strength of the security devices, but then we take into play the belt loops and how it attaches to the belt on the person who is wearing it because that gun not only has to stay on the holster, but the holster has to stay physically on the person who is wearing it in order for it to achieve a duty rating for us.” 

To find out more about Safariland’s holsters, visit https://safariland.com/