The companies listed below have all, at one time or another, sent me products to review. None of them have ever paid me a dime for my reviews, nor would I accept such payment if it were offered. It isn’t an exclusive list. Please assume that unless I say otherwise, any products you find mentioned on this site or in my newsletters came to me without cost, so I could test and evaluate the products either here on the site or in my magazine articles and books. I figure that if I’m equally beholden to every company, I can be just as objective as I would be as if I were beholden to none of them. So I have actively worked to become beholden to everyone out there.

Quite frankly, I do my best to never purchase gear for reviews. This isn’t because I’m a skinflint (although I am). It’s because I simply cannot afford to do what I do without a little help from the outside. Instead of trying to support this effort single-handedly, I actively encourage companies to send me holsters and other gear in exchange for my honest opinions about their products. Sometimes those opinions are private (I send a letter back to the company with my thoughts). Sometimes they are public (I post a review here on Cornered Cat, or in The Cat’s Meow newsletter, or tell readers about the gear in one of my magazine articles). When it’s appropriate, I also share my experiences with my students, and encourage them to try on my holsters and other gear during classes.

The FTC requires me to “clearly and conspicuously disclose” these types of connections to companies. I agree that such disclosures are a good idea. So here is my non-inclusive list of companies that have sent me products to review over the years.

A Better Holster, LLC
Blackhawk
Blade-Tech Industries
Blade-Tech / Recluse
Bulldog Custom Gun Leather
Concealed Carry Outfitters
Concealed Peace
Concealed Protection 3, Inc (SmartCarry)
Coronado Leather
Crossbreed Holsters
Custom Carry Concepts, LLC
Dale Fricke Holsters
Deep Conceal
DeSantis Gunhide
Desbiens Gun Leather
Designer Concealed Carry (Woolstenhulme Designer Bags)
Discreet Carry
Don Hume Leathergoods
Dragon Leatherworks
Flashbang Women’s Holster
Galco Gunleather
Gun Tote’n Mamas (Kingport Industries)
GunVault
High Noon Holsters
Magills
Michael Kole Custom Leather
Pistol Wear
Pro Ears
Side Guard Holsters (SGH)
Sticky Holster
Ted Blocker Holsters
The Concealment Shop

In addition to the companies above occasionally sending me products for review, I have received paychecks from several places in the industry. While I was the managing editor at Concealed Carry Magazine, I was  an independent contractor associated with Delta Media LLC and the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA). I also worked as a contractor for the Firearms Academy of Seattle (FAS), run by Marty and Gila Hayes who are good friends of mine. Marty Hayes, of course, is also the driving force behind the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (ACLDN), but I am not and was not otherwise associated with that organization although I am a member. Finally, as a freelance writer I have written for several print and online publications, including SWAT Magazine, Women & Guns Magazine (owned by SAF), and others. In all of these cases, I received payment for specific work—such as editing the magazine, teaching firearms classes, or writing specific articles—and was not paid as either employee or spokesperson. In every case, my opinions remain my own.