A Review of the U.S. Duty Gear US-80 SRH Duty Holster

Posted On July 13, 2021

When I originally picked up my Walther PDP earlier this year, I pretty quickly came to the conclusion that it would be replacing my Roland-esque Glock 19 as my primary “all-rounder” handgun. The ergonomics were much better, the pistol supported installing an RDS without aftermarket slide milling, and (after being RMA’d twice) the stock trigger was far superior.
I had everything, save a compensator, on my PDP that I had on my G19. It would only seem natural that the PDP would directly replace the G19 for the same roll. And I thought this was a great idea, right up until I started looking at holster options.

The thing was, Safariland 6000 series holsters were heavily used in PDP marketing and promotional material. There was a strong inference that Safariland either had developed or was actively developing a Level II retention holster with their ALS mechanism. A representative of Safariland was even present during a multi-hour podcast hosted by Matt Landfair that was promoting the PDP shortly after it’s release. After hours of digging and diligent research, it turned out that Safariland hadn’t actually produced a PDP specific holster. Instead, holsters for the Sig P320 were used. As of the date of this page’s publication, Safariland still has not released a holster for the PDP.

When I discovered that Safariland hadn’t produced a holster for the PDP, and it didn’t appear to be forthcoming, I approached a Instagram based business that modifies factory ALS holsters for use other handguns. Unfortunately I found that product was rather subpar. After returning the holster to the seller for adjustment once and still not finding myself satisfied, I finally returned the modified ALS holster for a full refund.
After seemingly exhausting my available options for a Level II retention holster, I encountered the U.S. Duty Gear Model US-80.

Apart from a single product listing at the bottom of the PDP Holster Options page, I couldn’t find any information about the holster. In fact, I couldn’t find anyone who knew anything about the company. To say that information was sparse would be an understatement. Reviews, testimonials and even company social media were almost nonexistent.

After looking at the few photos that were online, I stumbled across a product listing from Langdon Tactical showing a Safariland SLS style holster for the 92 Elite LTT RDO. I decided to take a leap and give it a shot. At the very least, I figured that I may find out that it wasn’t for me, add it to the holster pile, and just kept waiting for a ALS offering to be released.
So, after reaching out to U.S. Duty Gear and confirming that their belt adapter had compatibility with Safariland UBL drop leg adapters adapters, I submitted an order.

As soon as the holster arrived, I installed a QLS 19 plate and clipped it into my existing drop leg adapter. It was great.
Honestly, if you’d put a fabric wrap over the laser engraved model number and SKU, you could’ve told me that it was a factory SLS holster for the PDP and I’d have probably believed you.

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The model 80 uses their Safety Retention Hood (or SRH system) to retain the pistol. Apart from some small cosmetic differences, it’s nearly identical to the SLS hood system in function and form.

Overall, it was seemingly a perfect stand-in for an SLS holster. The bail releases smoothly and cleanly during a drawstroke and retains the handgun securely and safely in the stowed position.

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Although not universal, Safariland holsters commonly have an agressive positive cant of their duty holsters. I personally don’t find this comfortable or fast. Myself and many users of Safariland products often resort to using a Negative Cant Plate (NCP) to induce a rearward cant. You can read more about carry angles and positions at Pistol Forum.

The USDG offering has a true, neutral cant. It’s a straight drop that’s inline with the slide of the pistol. When paired with a Safariland CUBL or Safariland QLS Kit, it’s possible to achieve a slight negative cant without the use of a NCP. I personally found the angle of the cant to be acceptable and comfortable for my purposes, but other users may find that the adjustable NCP Version 2 would make a solid addition and provide a greater degree of negative cant than would be otherwise possible out of the box.

One feature that I found to be awefully convienent was the cut of the holster body that allowed the magazine release to be accessed while the handgun is securely holstered. Although I don’t have exhaustive knowledge of the Safariland product line, this isn’t a design consideration that I’ve ever found on any comparable Safariland holsters. I’m sure it’s benefit could be debated, but I count it as a benefit, as it allows me to administratively manage ammunition between strings of fire during range days and classes where unholstering a handgun would be inappropriate.

The endcap is of a modular design, with a seperate barrel plug that could conceivably be replaced with a shorter version if you were to install a threaded barrel. A compensator would most likely require either a custom order, as most compensators are the width of the slide.

Passive retention is adjusted with a single screw located at the bottom of the holster body and another screw located on the rear, inward facing, side of the holster. Much like an SLS holster, both screws are adjusted until a desired degree of passive retention is achieved.

The holster body is made of a rigid SDR thermoplastic. It’s comparable in texture, rigidity and function to the STX thermoplastic currently offered by Safariland.

The inside of the holster body is lined with a smooth suede material that protects the finish of the pistol slide.

Overall, it’s a great holster and I’m glad I took the chance on this company and their products. Normally I don’t do “gear reviews” or product testimonials, but in this case, I’ll make an exception as there aren’t any public reviews of the holster that I could find at the time of publication. In fact, judging by my order number, I’d wager there simply aren’t that many of these holsters in the wild yet at all.

As configured, the US-80 is priced around $172. That’s about $30 more than the Safariland 6280 SLS holster (shown below), but considering that the US-80 supports RDS equipped handguns (and is currently the only option for the Langdon Tactical 92 Elite RDO and Walther PDP models) I feel that it’s priced reasonably and is well worth the money.
It far beats out any aftermarket modified holsters in both the price and overall quality department.

Pending a few months of use and experience, I feel safe in recommending the US-80 as a duty holster in lieu of a Safariland SLS holster. In fact, in a few ways, I feel like it’s a superior option. U.S. Duty Gear does not currently offer fabric or cordura wrapping as a finish option for their holsters. Photos included on this post showing the holster in MultiCam are the result of having access to ACU uniform repair patches and too much time on my hands.

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Something I’m keeping an eye on for the future, is the new US-260. From all reports it should be comparable to the Safariland 6360RDS’s combined ALS and SLS retention system holster. At the time of publication, I was unable to find any images of the US-260, but a screenshot of the product listing is shown below.