# My personal review of Mitch Rosen's "Leather Lightning"



## Grenadier (Jan 2, 2008)

Many of you know of the Mitch Rosen company, a maker of some of the finest holsters in the world.  

As with any high quality leather holster, y'all also probably know that it takes time to break in the holster, to the point where you don't have to emulate the circus strongman to draw your gun smoothly.  After all, holsters come slightly undersized, and really hold onto the gun snugly.  

This is good in one way, that by the time the leather has been properly broken in, that you still have a snug fit, and for those who carry open top (non-thumb break) holsters, this is much needed thing.  

However, as I stated earlier, you're going to be giving your arm and shoulder some sore spots, as you practice drawing from a very tight fitting holster that you just bought.  


Well, this need not be the case.  The Mitch Rosen company has a substance they sell called 'Leather Lightning.'

http://www.mitchrosen.com/product_line/miscellaneous/body_miscellaneous.html

It's a gel-like compound composed of polysiloxanes, that gives the leather surface some lubricity, while not affecting the leather's composition at all.  This way, you can draw your gun with reasonable force, and by the time the Leather Lightning wears off, your holster has been properly broken in, and left undamaged.  

Some people might be thinking "well, I could use Vaseline and do the same thing!"  

Bad move.  Vaseline, Neats Foot Oil, etc., can all decompose the leather, weakening it.  While this may not be a problem for clothing items, a baseball glove, or a bag, those aren't exactly items that you're going to be depending your life on, are they?  

A high quality leather holster has to be stiff.  You can't run the risk of softening the leather of a holster, or else you'll end up with a holster that will no longer hold the gun snugly to your body (making concealment more difficult), or worse yet, a holster that could tear apart.  


As a chemist, I've confirmed that the Leather Lightning has no effect on the leather, other than to give you that temporary lubricated surface, that lasts long enough until the holster has been broken in.  No oxidation, no decomposition, etc.  


The next question some people may have is "well, how long does that bottle last?"  

Easy.  I've had the same bottle for 6 years.  I've used it on 7 different brand new holsters, some Galco, some Desantis, some Mitch Rosen, and they only required a dab the size of four rice grains (long grain) to coat the inner surfaces.  You can use more if you like, of course, but I've found that size to work just fine for my purposes.  


So, if you're someone who has a fancy for various high quality leather holsters that have tight fits, then this is an accessory that I strongly recommend that you get.  It does the job, period.


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## SFC JeffJ (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the review.  I just ordered some new leather, so I think I'll be picking up a bottle of this and give it a shot.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Jan 2, 2008)

Yes thanks for the review!


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## KenpoTex (Jan 3, 2008)

thanks for the info.


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