Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Milt Sparks Criterion Initial Impressions

A Milt Sparks Criterion for my Glock 30SF arrived this afternoon after a 13 week wait. It is the typical Sparks work of art and addresses my major concern about the Nexus, the lack of reinforcement, while retaining the cant that allows me to hide the gun better than with a VMII.

Here is how it looks:





A while back I posted a comparison of the Nexus against the VMII and the Crossbreed Supertuck here. Suffice it to say that the Supertuck no longer is going to be in any comparisons of Sparks holsters. Here are the prior pictures of the VMII and Nexus followed by the Criterion.

VMII (for a G20/21)



Nexus



Criterion



I also overlaid the Nexus over the Criterion for comparison.



The Criterion has a bit more leather, and it is all cow rather than the horse/cow mix of the Nexus.

Initial Comments

The Criterion comes with the neodymium magnet snaps, just like the Nexus. I really like those. In fact, I switched the set off the Nexus with the traditional set from the VMII. Sparks says they will eventually sell these as separate items, and that they will put them on VMII’s upon request.

Because of the reinforcement, the Criterion is thicker than the Nexus, and I gave up another belt hole to fit it in. I will have to see how this works out over the long run, but I think it will be fine. The payback is that I get the great cant that hides the gun well and I also get the reinforcement that allows me to unholster the gun for an extended period without worrying about being able to reholster.

I have not figured out what to do with the Nexus. My initial thought was to sell it. But, it seems to work well with the G19 I got last week. The extra room in the holster seems to be what it needs to deal with the lack of reinforcement.

I will follow up in due course.

I love the magnet snap in my Nexus. I wish I could get them on my VMII

Typical Sparks craftsmanship... Thanks for those wonderful pics and comparisons..

I note the Criterion allows the gun to sit lower off the belt than the VMII. Is that more comfortable for you than the higher location?

Thanks, Redneck. The lower ride and steeper cant are the selling points of the Nexus and Criterion. I think that Sparks was losing market share to the Crossbreed Supertuck and clones for that very reason. I have the hardest time hiding Glocks under a Polo shirt because of the blocky rear of the slide. The outside rear edge often prints with a "bump" when worn in the place where I like to wear the gun. The VMII just does not get it for me in the summertime. I rigged the Supertuck so it worked for me. If you look at my prior thread that I linked above, you will see that the Nexus worked the same as the Supertuck.

I still will carry the VMII during "cover garment" weather, which is about 9-10 months a year here. The one I have is horsehide and it is very smooth and comfortable. You will notice that the reinforcement on the VMII rides much higher than on the Criterion, mostly above the belt, so the entire package (pun) takes up less room IWB than the Criterion.

I wore the Criterion all day yesterday and walked about 3 miles while wearing it. So far I do not find it as comfortable as the VMII, but it is a new rig and was not uncomfortable. While the Supertuck is not what I consider to be bad, the Criterion is more comfortable than the Supertuck for me. I should spend some hours in the car in the next few days, and put in another 10 or so miles walking, so I will follow up. Also note that the Glock 30 is pretty wide, so the holster should work much better with slimmer types of firearms such as 1911s or the slimmer Glocks.

Hope this helps!

It does, thank you..


Glocks by choice or by rules? Easier to conceal other types that are much thinner..

By choice. The gun is light, compact, has decent capacity, and handles Gold Dots and Buffalo Bore +P hardcast well.

Cheyenne, wanna sell the Crossbreed?

BTW, the weather is looking increasingly bad for Saturday.

I'm not giving up my VM II anytime soon, but I think the Criterion is THE holster to beat these days. Sparks just has their chit together!

Was just looking at their stuff last night and thinking I REALLY want a Criterion for my SIG 220.

Haven't decided yet whether to try the VM2 or wait till the Criterion is available for he SIG.
I'll probably wait, especially after this review....


BTW, I had no idea they were in Boise!

I love the one VMII I have for several reasons.

I like where it rides, as I believe I can present faster (and I can) with that height and cant.

It's very comfortable in and out of a vehicle several times a day.

Comfortable to wear walking and driving.

But, that Criterion looks really nice. I've got a couple ideas for that one.

Update

Well, I have been wearing the Criterion regularly since I got it, with some occasional use of the VMII and Crossbreed Supertuck for the sake of comparison. I definitely will be keeping the Criterion and using it regularly. It hides the gun much better for me than the VMII. I found that I can position the gun in more places on my belt than with the VMII and still maintain concealment.

With the G30 in the holster and using my calipers with my limited skill level, I was getting a width of 1.67” with the Criterion at the widest point I could find, compared with 1.65” with the VMII. I tried to measure the Supertuck but there is so much extraneous “leather” that I could not reach the widest part with the calipers. It appeared to be about 1.3” wide, though. For kicks, I also measured the widest part of a Summer Special for a S&W J frame (seemed like a good idea in the early 1990s), and it was 1.78” at the widest part. Even though the Criterion looks the same width as the VMII on paper, a lot more of that Criterion width is between the belt and the body because the widest part rides lower than with the VMII.

I have put in well over 50 miles walking while wearing this holster, and also have done a lot of sitting at a desk and in a vehicle while wearing it. I find it to be comfortable doing all of these things. But, for a person who wants to forget s/he is wearing a 1-1/4” wide, 34 ounce gun, that is not going to happen. It feels more noticeable to me than the VMII. (The VMII is horsehide, and the Criterion is cow; don’t know if that matters. Horsehide was not listed as an option for the Criterion.)

I am going to order another Criterion for a G19. It should be slightly thinner than the one for the G30. I am going to see if I can get horsehide as an option. I could get away with using the G30 holster with the G19, but the holster is a little looser because of the width and length difference.

The Nexus is going to be going down the road, although I am keeping the magnet snaps from it and leaving the VMII snaps on the Nexus.

Great review(s)...........thank you.

I've spend hours scouring the 'net and studying Milt Sparks' website trying to decide which holster I want to order for my G19. I've got both an early Exec Companion and a Watch Six for a 5" 1911. The W6 conceals better, but the Exec Comp I could wear 24/7 if I slept in my jeans..........it's that comfortable. I'm seriously considering another one for my Glock, but there are so many options now, and the wait/price keeps me from making a hasty order. Your reviews provide some great info to chew on, so thank you.

Excellent info.. Thank you sir...