Noam Brosh – Review

by Noam Brosh.

I’ll start this article by confessing to a little secret…I am a gadget fanatic when it comes to practical shooting. In the past 10 years as an IPSC sportsman, I always sought to improve myself and my gear. It started with oils, springs, bags and eventually holsters.

Like the majority of novice shooters, I didn’t immediately start with an Open gun and an appropriate holster. I had a basic Wilson Concealment custom fit holster and a CZ based Standard division gun. Observing my shooting buddies I quickly moved to a blade tech DOH holster and a 2011 frame based pistol.

Then I decided to move into the Modified Division, yes…the Open Division’s little step brother. So onwards with the Ghost. My experience with the Ghost Holster was short…after seeing too many guns fall off at matches, fortunately not mine, I decided I needed something more sturdy.

So I tried the CR-Speed holster. The feel of a plastic holster, after using an aluminum one, wasn’t right. Aside from that, in several scenarios, the gun simply bumped out of the holster and the locking lever wasn’t helping. Don’t get me wrong! I think Rescomp are doing a great job, it’s just that I strongly believe there are better holsters out there.

In my never ending search for better gear, I noticed a new holster made by Guga Ribas. This seemed like the best choice around. It was as if someone took Ghost and Limcat and combined the two together. Although not cup based, the Guga had many new and exciting features. However, after using it for several years I have come to familiarize myself with some disadvantages – many of them seemed like a plus when I first purchased it. More on the that later on.

About a week before the Israeli Nationals of 2010, during one of my practices, I finished a drill and tried to re-holster my gun. To my surprise the holster ‘clicked’ as if the trigger housing was locked inside, but after I raised my hand I felt it slipping away and before I knew it, the gun was already covered in sand on the ground.

This was not the first time I dropped one of my precious guns, oh no. On the Israeli CZ Open of 2009, in one of the last stages, I started by taking a sudden turn to my left in a sharp move, which resulted in my gun flying out of the Guga holster. This shouldn’t have happened in the first place, and the reason? the tensioning screw settings were too “light”. In other cases I saw, when not properly configuring the holster to the gun or belt, it either came off or fell right out of the holster like a bloody paper weight.

So what Did I do eventually? I had the Nationals coming up in a week! Like every other practical shooter, I decided to get to the bottom of this. I have only cleaned the holster once before, now a forgotten memory, and have remembered the instructions that came with it, stating not to open the holster for cleaning unless one could consult with the manufacturer.

Back in the days when the holster came out, I was closely involved in a business escapade with Guga himself, mostly with his International Operations Manager. Since then, Guga stopped competing and sold his brand and products to the Swedish EcoComex company. Then they decided to stop manufacturing the holsters…and thus, there was no one to talk to. So I took holster apart, which was a daunting task. Simply too many springs and screws. I re-assembled it back, but alas, it didn’t feel the same anymore and now had a strange grit feeling to it.

I was considering getting a new WSM II from CR-Speed, when in the Nationals I was assigned to the super squad with a fellow shooter who brought the new DAA Racemaster prototype along. This was quite a pleasure to many of us, gadget lovers, who could only see the holster on the internet, browsing to Double Alpha Academy’s website and even Facebook to see pictures. We immediately started asking questions, but couldn’t get many answers since this was only a prototype. Yet, we were quite impressed with the craftsmanship and quality of the holster.

When the match was over after 3 days, I have decided to get the new DAA Racemaster and waited patiently until it was released. On the initial list of models which came out, my gun wasn’t included. I use SPS guns, similar to STI and SV 2011’s. So I contacted Saul who immediately sent me a link to a movie that showed how to alter the holster’s insert block to fit my SPS.

Armed with the new Racemaster I came to the range for my regular training sessions. I’ve already fitted the holster back home and tried it on for a couple of times. The first issue that came up when I wore my belt, was the feeling of the holster. It was much more rigid and robust than the Guga and felt great. It was sitting firmly on the belt and carried the weight of the gun much better due to its larger size and belt hanger . The Guga on the other hand, always seemed to struggle with Open and other heavy guns.

The Trigger guard was sitting tightly in place and not shaking around like other holsters. Other manufacturers use plastic shims to fit the holster from one gun model to another. Not the DAA Racemaster. Each Insert block fits a different model, and the advantage? it is interchangeable! what an ingenious idea. No more purchasing extra holsters for different models, or completely taking your holster apart and changing shims for each gun. Simply change the insert block and you’re set to go.

Another issue worth mentioning, is that the Racemaster was much less complex to set than the Guga’s. The Ribas holster has a belt hanger screw, a ball joint screw, a tensioning knob, trigger insert step screw, shim screws on both sides, frame height screw, and 3 positions safety lever. The DAA holster has much less, meaning, less fiddling with the holster and more time to practice.

Moving to dry fire for about 15 minutes, it took me quite awhile to realize I wasn’t thinking of the draw anymore. I was always a bit worried prior to drawing my gun with the Guga. A good example would be when trying to draw and finding out the holster was locked. But how could this be? I clearly make sure the holster is set to unlock(mode 1 in Guga holster)before I state I’m ready to shoot. Many Guga holster shooters have come across this phenomenon, when going for the grip, the middle finger would touch the safety lever, pushing it down to mode 2(locked but ready to unlock in a snap), thus causing the holster to lock the gun. This would cost a shooter precious time.

After shooting several drills, I’ve decided to try some moving and drawing to see how the holster reacts. So I set the safety lever on and waited for the beep. Running and drawing at the same time was such a pleasure, I didn’t even notice the safety lever was on. The natural gripping motion, deactivated the lever and the gun was free in my hand.

So How does the Racemaster compares to other models in the market? To my personal opinion, it is almost superior in every way. It is robust and stable, simple to use, has interchangeable insert blocks, easy to disassemble and maintain, and not expensive.

The price of the DAA Racemaster is around 200$ in the US. Comparing it to the Guga, which started around 160$ and reached to almost 300$, and the 189$ polymer based Cr-Speed, it’s more than worth it.

The informative website for the Racemaster, is a fountain of knowledge. Movies on how to disassemble the holster, shows clearly how easily you can take holster apart, change insert blocks and put it back on in a matter of minutes, keeping previous configuration. Add great customer service and well known company to stand behind its products, and you have something to think about.

*SPS guns now appear in the list of available models.