With the expansion of gun rights around the country, there are an
increasing number of people choosing to carry for personal defense. I'm personally very excited about the
increase, as the more people exercise their right, the more secure that right
becomes.
One key item for securely carrying (whether concealed or open) is the
holster/belt system. I refer to these
two pieces of equipment as one system because each of them is equally important
to success. An excellent holster
supported by a cheap belt will cause the system to fail, as will an excellent
belt holding up a cheap holster. Many
reputable companies make excellent concealment belts - both leather and nylon -
here in the US of A, including Galco, Ares Gear, and Mean Gene Leather, to name
a few big names. You want a belt wide
and thick enough to support the weight of your chosen pistol all day with
minimal sagging, as the more it sags, the more often you have to adjust. The more often you have to adjust, the more
obvious it can become that you are carrying. Having a solid belt also makes drawing your pistol easier, as the belt
provides a firm anchor and keeps the holster from rising excessively during
your draw.
While the choices for belts are fairly straightforward (you pretty much
have two choices, leather or nylon), the choices for a holster are far more
numerous, both in carry location and holster material and each has its
advantages and disadvantages.
Holster Criteria
When selecting a holster, you are looking for a platform that will keep
your firearm secure throughout your daily routine, whether walking, running,
bending, reaching, sitting, or in a worst case scenario, wrestling with an
attacker. The retention level is up to
you, but I generally recommend a higher retention level for those that choose
to carry openly (at least a level 2 with both a friction fit and some sort of
physical behind the slide or trigger guard locking retention). The holster needs a solid attachment system
to grip the belt during your draw, so if you choose to wear an easily removable
holster with a paddle or removable belt clip, test it out to make sure that it
will remain in place during the draw. Guns tend to be significantly less useful while still in their holsters
during an attack.
Holster Materials
In common usage today, you will normally see nylon, leather, molded plastics/polymers,
or some sort of hybrid holster. Of these
options, I generally view a straight nylon holster as the least useful for
concealed carry. They are generally
somewhat generic, designed to fit multiple types of guns decently, but none of
them very well. They often have inferior
retention systems, poor fitment to a belt, collapse easily when worn inside the
waistband (IWB), absorb water and sweat, and can gather dirt and grit that can
damage your gun's finish (if you're worried about that). The one place that nylon holsters seem to do
well is pocket carry. These holsters are
nothing more than a sleeve designed to keep something from intruding into the
trigger guard and breaking up the silhouette of the gun. They don't normally provide much in the way
of retention and may have a grippy exterior to grab the pocket lining and
assist in clearing the gun from the holster.
People have been making holsters from leather since they first began making
pistols. Well-made leather holsters are
very durable, can provide excellent retention when molded for a specific gun,
and just look classy. Leather also
conforms to the body fairly well, reducing "printing" and enhancing
comfort when worn for long periods. The
downsides to leather are a break-in period (holsters are generally molded
slightly undersize to allow for the leather's natural stretch), more
maintenance than a polymer holster (think maintaining a baseball glove or
shoe), trapping dirt and sweat against the gun, and an eventual wearing out of
the leather. Granted, it will take a
long time for leather to wear out, but even the best made leather holster will
most likely wear out before a polymer holster. Leather can also be expensive for a beginning carrier, depending on the
maker and quality.
Molded plastic/polymer holsters are arguably the most popular holsters on
the market today, and with good reason. They are extremely durable (susceptible really only to heat), easy to
mold, easy to customize, relatively inexpensive depending on maker and quality,
easy to clean, and very easy to draw and re-holster a gun. There are a plethora of makers, as well as
carry positions and attachment options out there. The biggest downside to polymer holsters is
that their rigidity can sometimes prevent them from molding to the carrier's
body, resulting in protrusion or bulging ("printing") from the
waistline. Polymer holsters can also be
uncomfortable, as they cannot mold to the body's outline, causing them to "jab"
the wearer when worn long-term and creating "hot spots" against the
body.
Many holster makers have taken the conformability and comfort of leather
holsters and combined them with the rigidity of polymer into a
"hybrid" holster, typically with a leather backing and a polymer
outer shell. Many concealed carriers
swear that these are the most comfortable holsters they have ever worn. The leather allows the holster to mold to the
carrier's body while the polymer provides the rigidity needed to facilitate
drawing and re-holstering, although the hybrids often do not have quite the
retention factor of a full polymer holster. Because of these advantages, most hybrids are produced for IWB carry,
although the RE Factor Tactical Leather Wing Holsters and Modular Accessory Pouches
built by Black Point Tactical have taken the hybrid another direction. These holsters and accessory pouches are
outside the waistband (OWB) and IWB, and use leather wings attached to a
polymer center to mold the holster against the carrier's body. This allows the carrier to have the ease of
maintenance, retention, and draw/re-holster of the polymer with the
conformability of the leather. And when
the leather eventually wears out years from now, the carrier only has to
replace the wings instead of the entire holster, as the polymer should still be
going strong. It's a fascinating example
of outside the box thinking.
Holster Positions
Just as there are a wide variety of holsters in the world today, there are
a wide variety of carry positions, some of which are more popular than others:
Strong side IWB or OWB carry remains the go-to position for comfort,
retention, and ease of draw for most people. Many former military or police have trained strong side for years, and
carry there out of habit, which may be where it gained its initial popularity. IWB provides a higher level of concealability with a wider variety of clothing, but with proper clothing selection, OWB is simple as well, even during
warmer periods of the year. However,
strong side carry is not without its issues. For people who spend a lot of time in a vehicle, access to the gun while
sitting can be limited due to seat belts, and depending on the holster, it may
press more into the wearer while seated. Drawing from the strong side in a car also requires more care to avoid
muzzle sweeping the legs.
Crossdraw IWB and OWB were very popular for many years in law enforcement
circles, but have lost their popularity mostly due to issues with
retention. When facing toward a threat,
the butt of a crossdraw pistol presents itself as an appealing target for a
grab. Issues with sweeping surrounding
people during draw (usually by poorly trained individuals) have resulted in
most gun ranges banning crossdraw holsters from the line. When done correctly, crossdraw can provide
solutions for a particular need, such as drawing from a seated position, but it
does require practice and an attention to detail that limit its uses to
specific situations.
Shoulder holsters were also very popular with law enforcement for many
years, but have lost some of that popularity in recent times. Like crossdraw, shoulder holsters provide a
solution for individuals that spend a
lot of time riding in vehicles, but they have some of the same issues,
including sweeping others (and yourself) on the draw if done improperly. For this reason, shoulder holsters have been
banned on many ranges as well. Shoulder
holsters also "print" more easily in some cases than belt-worn
holsters due to an inherent inability to fully stabilize the gun during upper-body
movements such as bending and twisting.
Pocket carry has become very popular with the development of current micro
pistols such as the Ruger LCP, Smith and Wesson Bodyguard, and Glock 42 and
43. When paired with a loose-fitting
pair of khakis or shorts, the outline of the gun breaks up easily, allowing for
carry of a pistol in environments that would typically be difficult with a
larger pistol, such as during very warm weather. Drawing the pistol can be slightly more
difficult, depending on the pants or shorts, but it is quite possible for an
individual to have their hand on the gun in a ready position without drawing
the type of attention that reaching for a strong side gun would. One limitation to pocket carry is that it
does limit the availability of pockets for people who normally carry keys, change,
or other items in multiple pockets. Even
with a pocket sleeve over the gun, it is best to avoid placing anything else in
the pocket to prevent something from either finding its way into the trigger
guard or interfering with the draw in an emergency.
Appendix carry is growing in popularity due to its ease of concealment and
quick access. There are very spirited
debates on the comfort and safety of carrying appendix, but of the two, the
comfort arguments probably have the most merit. Appendix carry is simply not comfortable for many people, but if you are
one of the people who can do it comfortably, it is a way to carry that allows
for easy concealment and an incredibly fast presentation. Even though I rarely carry appendix due to
comfort issues, I would argue that the safety concerns that are frequently
raised are no greater than with any other holster system, and as long as normal
safe handling procedures (including drawing and re-holstering) are followed,
appendix carry is a very valid carry method.
Ankle carry is frequently used for back-up guns such as J-frame revolvers,
and when done correctly is a very comfortable method of all-day carry. Drawing from ankle carry can be very slow,
however, so that is something an individual should consider when deciding. I've personally carried on my ankle and done
agility drills in business casual clothing with little to no discomfort or
shifting of the gun. It's actually very
easy to forget your gun is there, which means that you may need to take extra
precautions when choosing pants, as an ankle holster can become exposed when
seated, especially if you tend to cross your legs.
Off-body carry is a very touchy subject with many people, enough so that
I'll most likely cover it in a separate post, but in my opinion, off-body carry
is a tool in your toolbox that should not be disregarded as a viable option for
specific situations.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of carry options, but hopefully I've
covered some of the big ones and given you some starting points for your own
research. Remember, while you should
definitely conduct research and seek out expert opinions, in the end, you are
the one who will be carrying the gun, and you are the one who can best decide
what provides you with the best options.
Be sure to check out the REFT Leather Wing holsters and Modular Accessory Pouches in our store!
About the author:
Woody is a 10 year
veteran of the US Coast Guard, where he has served at various units including
the International Training Division and Maritime Security Response Team.
He has held qualifications including Deployable Team Leader/Instructor, Direct
Action Section Team Leader, and Precision Marksman – Observer. He has
deployed/instructed on five continents and served in quick reaction force roles
for multiple National Special Security Events in the US. He can be contacted on Facebook.