Dark Star Gear’s Newest Holster Line

Dark Star Gear has been one of the premier names in kydex concealment holsters ever since they came on the scene back in 2008.

One of the main reason is that Tom Kelley’s training resume is as impressive as his holsters, which lead to thoughtful designs with all the features you need and no superfluous bulk or add-ons.

His core line consists of the Orion for big guns, the Hitchhiker for small guns, the Rigel for weapon-mounted lights, and the Osiris for outside-the-waistband.

As of this year, Tom has introduced a new offering to his lineup: The Apollo.

The goal of the Apollo holster was to be an entry-level, turn-key holster for the most popular carry guns out there. Currently, the Apollos is offered for:

  • Glock 19/45/44/32. It will also fit Gen3 or 4 23s, but not Gen 5s.
  • Glock 48/43X/43.
  • 2011s (most 2011s based on a polymer frame & square trigger guard)
  • Sig P365/P365XL/P365 SAS (seriously, don’t buy this one. Ever)*/P365 Spectre/P365 Spectre Comp.
  • Springfield Hellcat/RDP/Hellcat Micro-Compact/Hellcat Micro-Compact OSP

The Apollo is a bare-bones holster, designed to keep it as budget-friendly as possible while maintaining the quality and performance standards that Dark Star has become known for.

The holsters are offered in either a dark black, or a slightly darker black, with RCS Overhooks, and the option to add a Dark Wing and/or Muzzle Pad as needed for either traditional Inside-the-Waistband or Appendix Inside-the-Waistband carry, and can be set up for either left or right handed carry.

While the Apollo doesn’t offer quite the same breadth of color or gun options as the full Dark Star lineup, you’d be hard pressed to find a better holster at the $40 price point.

The Apollo DOES come with the same degree of construction and finishing that we’ve come to expect from Dark Star holsters. All the edges are radiused to reduce hot spots and pressure points.

These holsters carry the added advantage of being compatible with the PHLster Enigma faceplate.

*Seriously. I cannot stress how awful the SAS “sights” are.

The Suited Shootist
Alex Sansone took his first formal pistol class in 2009, and has since accumulated almost 500 total hours of open enrollment training from many of the nation's top instructors including Massad Ayoob, Craig Douglas, Tom Givens, Gabe White, Cecil Burch, Chuck Haggard, Darryl Bolke, and many others. Spending his professional life in the corporate world, Alex quickly realized incongruities between "best practices" in the defensive world, and the practical realities of his professional and social limitations. "I've never carried a gun professionally. I'm just a yuppie suburbanite that happens to live an armed lifestyle. Having worked in the corporate arena for the last decade, I've discovered that a lot of the "requirements" and norms of gun carriers at large aren't necessarily compatible with that professional environment. I also have a pretty diverse social background, having grown up in the Northeast, and there are many people in my life that are either gun-agnostic or uncomfortable with the idea of private gun ownership. This has afforded me not only insights into how we are perceived by different subcultures, but how to manage and interact with people that may not share your point of view without coming across as combative or antisocial. This is why my focus is the overlooked social aspects of the armed lifestyle."