**What is the best constructed horizontal sheath: TAD Gear OS/S1 or Maxexpedition?**

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I'm looking for a horizontal mounted black sheath for a large folding knife/flashlight.

What is the best constructed horizontal sheath: TAD Gear OS/S1 or Maxexpedition?

Your comments are appreciated.
 
I've never heard of the Maxexpedition sheath. Where can I find some info on it?

I can tell you that the TAD S1 sheath has my vote for "best in class". I've tried an awful lot of sheaths and the S1 work the best and last the longest.

--Bob Q
 
I have no experience with either, but they both look really good. I have heard many good things about the TAD sheath, I have also heard many good things about the Maxpedition gear (but I have not heard specifically about their sheath).

The only major difference I see is that the Maxpedition had an adjustable/removable lid, the TAD seems to be fixed.

TAD does carry Maxpedition gear, but don't list the Maxpedition knife pouch on their site, so I would guess that maybe TAD considers it to be too close to their own pouch to make sense to sell both?

I'm sure you won't be dissapointed with either.

-John
 
I only have the Maxpedition sheath, so I cannot comment on which is better. But I can tell you about the Maxpedition.

It is very well constructed, very heavy duty at the expense of being thicker than many sheaths. It feels like thicker, better quality cordura than my SOE sheath. Just to give you some perspective on the thickness, the Maxpedition with a velco lid is almost as thick as my SOE with fas-tex buckle.

The lid is adjustable, it has about 2 1/2 inches of velcro with a small elastic keeper on the inside of the sheath to accomplish this. The velcro to adjust it is hard to get to though. Of course, being able to adjust it is really only a consideration if you have something really long to put in there, like some Surefire lights.

The velcro on the outside has 2 1/2 inches of hooks, 4 inches of loops. It is very secure.

The horizontal loops are 1 inch thick with 2 inches of velcro, and can easily fit on a belt over 2 inches if necessary There is 2 inches of space between the loops to allow for vertical carry. The vertical belt loop is 4 1/4 inches of solid velcro. The horizontal belt loops would be secured around it to provide for even more security. Very heavy duty.
 
How about expressing a comparison in terms of the maximum and minimum dimensions of what you could put inside of it? And maybe what the ideal size it can accept where the velcro attaches in it's total velcro length ability?
 
Does any one on this board own both the TAD Gear OS/S1 and the Maxexpedition? I would like to hear you commments.
 
There is also the countrycom horizontal sheaths which are very low priced but are the TAD Gear OS/S1 and the Maxexpedition sheaths far superior to the countrycom?

Which one of these is the best?

TAD Gear S1:

http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme gear/gear organizers main/tad-s1_sheath.htm

TAD Gear 0S:

http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme gear/gear organizers main/tad-os_sheath.htm
_________________________________________________________________

Maxexpedition:

http://www.maxpedition.com/catalog/product_sheath_single.htm
_________________________________________________________________

Countrycomm:

http://www.countycomm.com/inova pouch.htm

http://www.countycomm.com/ccmagpouch.htm
 
The Maxpedition looks a lot like the Eagle and Blackhawk sheaths. I suspect it will hold much thicker items than the TAD S1. I use my Eagle sheath for things like my Victorinox SwissChamp XLT.

Part of what I like about the S1 is how flat it is. It allows me to carry most of my tacticals in comfort while maintaining a very low profile. The largest thing I carry in one is my SOG PowerLock which is about as thick as it can handle.

After reading this thread I definitely need to try out a Maxpedition for my larger items. That's what I love about this place; I learn something new all the time. :)

--Bob Q
 
How about expressing a comparison in terms of the maximum and minimum dimensions of what you could put inside of it? And maybe what the ideal size it can accept where the velcro attaches in it's total velcro length ability?
Click to expand...

Well, I am not really sure what a comparison between the Maxpedition and SOE would accomplish, as SOE makes a variety of sizes (SOE is more custom than Maxpedition, and they have sizes to fit many items).

The Maxpedition perfectly fits my SOG Powerlock with with the Velcro fully closed on both sides.

As for the TAD sheaths vs the Countycomm ones, the TAD sheaths (as well as most high-end sheaths such as Maxpedition, SOE, Eagle, etc.) uses 50,000 cycle velcro versus 10,000 cycle or less in the cheap stuff. Plus you have to worry about cheap stiching and general poor quality.
 
det, have you handled both the TAD and countrycomm sheaths? They look very similar on the net but has any one really compared the 2 side by side?
 
No, I have handled neither the TAD sheath nor the countycomm. As I said in my first post I have only used the Maxpedition and the SOE.

For some reason I remember some threads about both sheaths on a variety of sites. Most of the reviews I have read were very positive of the countycomm sheaths for $5.00, of course most people only do the review right out of the box. I do not know how they would be able to use the quality of materials and build quality similar to the TAD sheath for the $5 price tag though (and since you are looking for the best constructed sheath you should probably question this). If anything, a quick call to both would probably be helpful in answering any questions about sheath quality, just ask them to be specific. That way you could find out the quality of the velcro, cordura, where they are made, etc.
 
I've got a TAD sheath and a couple of pieces of Maxpedition Gear. I don't know for sure but they appear to have come from the same production facility, both have the same shade of black stitching. The folks at TAD and CountyComm are good folks but you might also surf/search over at Brigade Quartermaster's for their version, it's pretty stand-up quality.
Stay Safe,
Clyde
 
Brigade sells the Blackhawk sheath, which is very good. I slightly prefer the Eagle version, but they are close enough that they're hard to tell apart. :)

--Bob Q
 
What is the largest folding knife that will fit in a TAD Gear OS/S1 or Maxexpedition?
 
I only have the Maxped Fatboy Versipack, but the sheath stiched to the side of this bag seems to be the same as the single sheath.
I tried some knives with it. MT Amphibian or Socom Elite fit perfectly, a Ralph/Wilson Tactical Elite too. I do not have bigger folding knives here to do the comparisons, my Gerber A/F or Parabellum are not here at the moment. But the SureFire G2 also fits properly.
I really like the Design of the SOE Reg. Folder Pouch, but the Maxpedition is more practice oriented, if the noise by the velcro opening does not bother You. Secondly, the Socom Elite and Amphi do not fit in the SOE pouch.
 
I have tried a variety of folders in it. It fits the SOG Powerlock, MT Amphibian, Socom Elite, LCC, Strider SnG. I also have a Surefire 6z with a flip up red-lens filter that fits in there. Just for fun, I put a MT Medallion fixed blade (with the kydex shaeth and mini tec-loc) in there, and it closed up with over an inch of velcro.

The MAxpedition works very well with a wide variety of knives/ tools. And with the large velcro area, it fits both large and small knives in there without rattling.
 
Will the big Cold Steel Gunsite tanto folder (5" blade) fit in a TAD OS sheath?

Is the Maxexpedition sheath flat and box shaped like the TAD?
 
Will a Strider AR fit into any of the above mentioned sheaths? I'm looking for a thin (flat) sheath (without a plastic buckle) that can be attached horizontally, as well as, vertically.
 
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