Before my thoughts on a given holster are cemented, I like to spend at least six months living with it in a variety of circumstances, on a variety of hunts, and in a variety of attire. I’ve now spent over a year with the Diamond D Alaska Hunter in heavy use, and can comfortably recommend it.
Diamond D Custom Leather, based out of Wasilla, Alaska, is a popular and widely-respected manufacturer of premium leather goods for the enterprising sportsman. Not limited to just holsters, they also offer butt cuffs for rifles, slings, speed loader and magazine pouches, and a bevy of other related pieces of kit. That said, they are best known for their holsters, including their Guide’s Choice chest holster.
Revolvers and fine semi-autos generally belong in leather holsters, and active retention of the firearm is key for traipsing around the mountains. Sometimes I carry an Austrian plastic gun in the chukar hills to keep the weight down, and it lives in a Safariland ALS holster. Safariland’s ALS is undoubtedly the best retention system ever designed, but I was hell-bent for leather. Rather than a simple friction-fit like many other concealment-minded OWB holsters are, the Alaska Hunter has a snap that positively secures the firearm.
The lead times across the holster industry are frustrating to many. I don’t really understand that particular business model myself, but I guess that’s just the way the world works (holster manufacturers, please feel free to explain this to me). A 6-8 week lead time can, and probably does, turn some consumers off. I’ll address that next.
There’s a common saying that is likely incorrectly attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” When I received my holster 6-8 weeks after ordering , I forgot all about the wait time.
The leather is quality and free of blemishes, the construction uses a mixture of rivets, Chicago screws, and heavy-duty stitching, the retention snap is positive but not more difficult to manipulate than it needs to be, and the holster itself carries well.
I also ordered mine with the optional, detachable drop loop. The drop loop? Some folks will value it more, and some won’t. You will likely appreciate the extra couple inches of vertical room that it gives you if you are wearing heavy or long winter clothes, or if you are comfortable wearing a hip holster with a pack. This doesn’t work for me; no matter what combination of belts and holsters I try, the waist belt of the pack always ends up pressing down on the gun belt underneath and I get pins and needles after the most modest amount of hiking.
I now resort to a GFI Kenai chest holster (yes, kydex), when I’m in these situations of hiking with a heavy pack. Still, I am glad I have the drop loop sitting in the storage bin for when I need it.
The Last Word on the Diamond D Alaska Hutner
After over a year of hunting with the Diamond D Alaska Hunter from Arizona to Montana, I can attest to the build quality as well as the general fitment of the holster. The leather and stitching have resisted abrasion well.
If you want a traditional hip holster with secure retention for busting through the brush, the Diamond D Alaska Hunter is worth the price as well as the wait.
Good things are worth the wait.
