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It’s getting toward what passes for our winter and so time to look at coats, especially since I’ve temporally “outgrown” my Coronado Leather jacket. I’m hoping that with a little work that this will only be a temporary condition and I sure as heck didn’t want to spend $500 on a new Coronado and so began looking around for more affordable alternatives. SigTac has recently introduced a line of cloth jackets, ¾ length cloth jackets, and leather coats. All with a pair of ambidextrous concealed carry pockets. Street prices range from $85-129 for cloth, and $220-299 for leather. Having a bit of experience with the Coronado I rejected the idea of cloth jackets right off the bat, and to be fair Sig only claims full sized weapon concealment with their leather version. Anyway off went my $220 for a new leather coat.
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When I first opened the SigTac I have to admit that I was impressed with the quality of the construction and of the leather used in this coat. The appearance and quality are first rate. No complaints so far… SigTac claims that their products are cut large and that you may be able to wear a size smaller than normal. You would be well advised to ignore their advice. You’ll need the extra bulk to avoid printing, and if in doubt I’d consider buying a size too large. Sig claims (for the leather version only) that "It's two ambidextrous internal pistol pockets allow for easy concealed carry of even large pistols like the P226 or a Revolution™ 1911." Hmmmmmm...
In my opinion what’s lacking in the SigTac is the execution of the concealed carry feature, basically it’s a poor copy of the of the Coronado Leather design. It’s also a bit lighter than the very heavy (and very pricey) Coronado. Like the Coronado the entrance to the two concealed packets are chest high and on both sides right behind the zipper front. This is where things start to go wrong. Where the Coronado has a single discrete snap closing an 8” entrance, the leather SigTac has 12” of incredibly loud Velcro to announce to the world that you are reaching for something. It also requires two hands. With the Coronado you can leave the snap open at the first sign of potential trouble. Not so with the SigTac's Velcro.
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As with Coronado's offering, the weapon is retained in a wide elastic band acting as a universal holster. This has the advantage of pulling the weapon in as close as possible to your body to minimize printing. Where they differ is the placement of the holster. The holster on the Coronado places the downward facing barrel of the weapon just forward of the arm (too far forward for my taste). The SigTac places it about 2” further forward with the grip of the weapon positioned under the peck/breast. Where the heavier leather of the Coronado plus a couple of well positioned pocket flaps on my older model jacket completely hide my Kahr PM40 and do a good job of hiding my ultra-compact 1911, the combination of the SigTac’s positioning and thin leather is pretty much limited to the short and thin grip of the mini Kahr. Of course your mileage my vary based on your body type.
The fix might be to line the outside of the concealment pockets with leather or perhaps very thin quilt padding. I also question the durability of the elastic making up the universal holsters. There is no easy way to replace it on either brand coat, but the Coronado has a lifetime warranty. There is also no good way to retain magazines in the opposite pocket, and no magazine pouch insert available for the second holster. I’m thinking that a soft homemade insert of something like thin neoprene or soft leather would be a nice addition.
Bottom line… I would only consider the leather version of this coat. Even with the extra body of leather I would limit weapons selection to light weight pistols with very short and very thin grips. I would choose a coat size that leaves plenty of room. And I would not consider this coat a long term investment due to the questionable durability of the elastic “holsters”.
Ratings:
Appearance *****
Quality ****
Construction ** (points lost for the Velcro)
Concealment ** (points lost for printing)
Overall ***
Links:
http://www.coronadoleather.com
http://www.sigsauer.com/SigStore/ShowProdu...x?categoryid=77
When I first opened the SigTac I have to admit that I was impressed with the quality of the construction and of the leather used in this coat. The appearance and quality are first rate. No complaints so far… SigTac claims that their products are cut large and that you may be able to wear a size smaller than normal. You would be well advised to ignore their advice. You’ll need the extra bulk to avoid printing, and if in doubt I’d consider buying a size too large. Sig claims (for the leather version only) that "It's two ambidextrous internal pistol pockets allow for easy concealed carry of even large pistols like the P226 or a Revolution™ 1911." Hmmmmmm...
In my opinion what’s lacking in the SigTac is the execution of the concealed carry feature, basically it’s a poor copy of the of the Coronado Leather design. It’s also a bit lighter than the very heavy (and very pricey) Coronado. Like the Coronado the entrance to the two concealed packets are chest high and on both sides right behind the zipper front. This is where things start to go wrong. Where the Coronado has a single discrete snap closing an 8” entrance, the leather SigTac has 12” of incredibly loud Velcro to announce to the world that you are reaching for something. It also requires two hands. With the Coronado you can leave the snap open at the first sign of potential trouble. Not so with the SigTac's Velcro.
As with Coronado's offering, the weapon is retained in a wide elastic band acting as a universal holster. This has the advantage of pulling the weapon in as close as possible to your body to minimize printing. Where they differ is the placement of the holster. The holster on the Coronado places the downward facing barrel of the weapon just forward of the arm (too far forward for my taste). The SigTac places it about 2” further forward with the grip of the weapon positioned under the peck/breast. Where the heavier leather of the Coronado plus a couple of well positioned pocket flaps on my older model jacket completely hide my Kahr PM40 and do a good job of hiding my ultra-compact 1911, the combination of the SigTac’s positioning and thin leather is pretty much limited to the short and thin grip of the mini Kahr. Of course your mileage my vary based on your body type.
The fix might be to line the outside of the concealment pockets with leather or perhaps very thin quilt padding. I also question the durability of the elastic making up the universal holsters. There is no easy way to replace it on either brand coat, but the Coronado has a lifetime warranty. There is also no good way to retain magazines in the opposite pocket, and no magazine pouch insert available for the second holster. I’m thinking that a soft homemade insert of something like thin neoprene or soft leather would be a nice addition.
Bottom line… I would only consider the leather version of this coat. Even with the extra body of leather I would limit weapons selection to light weight pistols with very short and very thin grips. I would choose a coat size that leaves plenty of room. And I would not consider this coat a long term investment due to the questionable durability of the elastic “holsters”.
Ratings:
Appearance *****
Quality ****
Construction ** (points lost for the Velcro)
Concealment ** (points lost for printing)
Overall ***
Links:
http://www.coronadoleather.com
http://www.sigsauer.com/SigStore/ShowProdu...x?categoryid=77
