rat.bastard.reviews: Tactical Scorpion Gear Review (TSG)
Disclosure: As always Id like to start by saying thank you to Tactical Scorpion Gear (TSG), for sponsoring today's review, hopefully they knew what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to this. It's no secret by this time that I might Be the most opinionated, good looking, arrogant, confused piece of shit on Instagram but that didn't stop TSG from donating the Modular Level II Polymer Paddle Holster (With Drop leg option) for the M9. Don't let that little dealio go to your head faster then the Wine Cooler mom let you have on your sweet 16. I don't shill for nothin', I wont kiss before marriage and I never make eye contact while makin' love, got it? Keep up.
Initial Impression: It's TACTICAL Black and is made up of a TACTICAL Composite Polymer holster with TACTICAL Elastic leg bands, TACTICAL Composite Polymer buckles, A TACTICAL belt strap and TACTICAL finger-actuated retention system. It comes with its own TACTICAL Allen key which is cool; very thoughtful TSG, good job. This holster will fit a 1.5"-2" belt And it also comes with a separate TACTICAL paddle attachment and I'm going to tell you right now right off the TACbat If you got this system for a large frame pistol or an all metal sidearm like the M9/92FS or any other Wonder 9 just throw this fucking paddle attachment in the TACTICAL trashcan because it's useless, it wont work. looks pretty cool though, very "TACTICAL" if that's your thing, but it IS from a company called "Tactical Scorpion Gear" so you know...name checks out.
TSG Claims that their US made polymer is self lubricating but if it's anything like a lady we all know that wont last forever; as it ages it will need more and more help and eventually need half a bottle of spermicidal lubricant just to do its job. As a matter of fact I'm not even sure how that claim is possible, but to be fair I also have no clue how the female anatomy works either. I will say the polymer does feel slick to the touch, and holds a sheen much like if I were to in fact oil it. When you pair that with TSG's Lifetime "no questions asked" return policy, fuck I guess it doesn't hurt to give it a try. If you need a further push on your "fuck it" meter this holster is only $19.99 at the time of writing this, if you add in the drop leg package it brings your total to $67.45. That pricing in considerably cheaper then larger brands like G-Code or Safariland and there is a reason, it just doesn't seem to be made as well; but that's OK seriously think about it, TSG is not trying to be what those other brands are. TSG is making products the best it possibly can for the price its charging you. And I do really believe that.
The fit, It's decent. There's a good amount of range in the leg straps; they fit my thighs, they fit Mrs.Bastards incredibly sexy thighs, they fit my 11 year old sons thighs. And I think you would have to fall pretty far outside of that realm of normalcy for it not to be adjustable to your gross thighs too. The placard that holds the holster to the quad is well made and durable its shaped intelligently with no sharp edges to cut you. Its made from the same "Self Lubricating Polymer blend" as the holster is and does an OK job staying in place. The strap that attaches the holster to your battle belt it another story, I'll say the Hook and loop Velcro is actually really good. I guarantee once you make adjustments its not going anywhere, so make sure it works for you. My main complaint about this (and its a big one) is the length of draw, this fuckin' thing wants to sit LOW. Yeah you can adjust it but not like I want it, the higher I pull that thing the more material I have up around the belt which seems unnatural and poorly planned and I still can't manage to get it where I want it. Its only one strap, And I'll say my suggestion is that Tactical Scorpion Gear offer it in 2 sizes when you order it A)Yao Ming (TSG Default Size) and B) Danny DeVito and rat bastard sized, because even though its manageable its on the border of just too fucking low for me dude and I'm 5'9".
Here's the thing fellas, even if you are built like fucking Slenderman and you train the shit out of piece of kit; It's Still going to swing around that thigh when you run, like a kielbasa dick on a nude break-dancer. You have to keep in mind this rig is supposed to be for a full sized service pistol "but rat! you used a steel/Aluminum gun! my Glock probably wouldn't move at all!" Well, you have me there imaginary voice that ridicules my reviews and life choices. I didn't test this with a polymer piece of shit like a Glock, because I don't own one, I don't believe in it, I'm not even sure they are real. Maybe if you ate more Golubtsi like me you would be strong enough to lift up a real sidearm.
This thing doesn't hold weight well at all, TSG introduced a propriety customizable Cant feature that allows you to adjust your kit to fit your needs and not the other way around. Sounds sick right? that's something a lot of companies forget about with their products, it may be cheaper to go the one size fits all route but the truth is we are all inspiringly different individuals; like a snowflake. Mrs.Bastard was actually helping me out with testing by push mowing our property which is fairly tough terrain with this drop leg holster on and fully adjusted to her. The fastener walked off, allowing the holster to spin freely on the adjustable Cant portion and pointed directly up towards her big beautiful bust and head. It took tops 25 minutes to do this, and it was securely affixed before she started. Yes, I do think if we used some loctite on that system before cranking down the fastener It likely wouldn't happen again, but now you're talking about deleting one of the only systems that was supposed to elevate this rig above others in its price range.
I will say for all the bad things I've said about this rig the finger-actuated retention system is actually pretty slick, the placement is good, the action is smooth its appropriately sized and ergonomic. Its natural position and smooth action make for a smooth draw and I feel it does in fact hold the firearm securely in place. The holster it resides on is ugly, and lack luster quality. Its adequate, I believe from what I've seen It will do it's job but it has that "barely" caveat hanging on the end of it. TSG plastered their logo on the front and everything is all squared off and gross. I almost feel bad about this review because the customer service was so nice when talking to me, and they were very eager to set up the review, I can tell they do care about their products and believe in its purpose, capabilities, and quality. It just falls a bit short, it's truly not terrible and I've had worse experiences with with more expensive rigs.
Final Thoughts: I want to clarify this review is not designed to shit talk Tactical Scorpion Gear, I am actually a hug fan of what they are trying to do. TSG offers affordable options in "TACTICAL" Gear to those of us that don't have the Gucci kit paycheck, that's admirable we need more companies willing to do that; there's already enough major divisions in the gun community based on how much you spent to get kitted. That being said I could sit here all day and say maybe if my sidearm was lighter, maybe if I used loctite, maybe if you cut down the straps, maybe blah blah blah. I agree build your kit around you, alter it however you need; but here's the thing I review these products how they come out of the box and although I've expressed my opinion on ways you the consumer COULD in fact alter this in several ways to be a VERY decent option for the price there are people out there who are in fact never going to attempt to do that. For those people I must definitively say NO I CAN NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT, purchase exactly what you want the first time at the price point you are comfortable spending. For the rest of us I will say, IF you are handy with simple tools and IF you are willing to drop 1-2 hours of work into this rig you can manage to transform it into something that can work well for you at a price you're not going to beat for the quality of its base components.
-Rat Bastard
@tacticalscorpiongear
https://tacticalscorpiongear.com/
