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Thread: The Keeper: New Favorite AIWB Holster

  1. #1
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    The Keeper: New Favorite AIWB Holster

    A couple of weeks ago I received a Keepers Concealment AIWB holster for T&E. From BaiHu's review thread, it sounds like this holster is going to be known as the 'Keeper.'

    I've been carrying AIWB for about two years now. That entire time I've been using a modified holster that worked very well. So well, in fact, that I haven't bothered trying any of the various AIWB holsters that are popular - they just didn't have the combination of AIWB features that mine had.

    The Keeper became my new favorite holster almost from the moment I put it on. I had initially intended to begin evaluating the holster in dry fire, and not immediately switch to a new and untested holster. But the Keeper was so good that I just kept wearing it. The reason it's my new favorite holster is the ride height. My old holster has a pretty great ride height and works very well. The Keeper has both a high and low ride position for its wide single kydex belt loop. In the low ride position, it is about the equivalent of my old holster, which allows for a full grip while the gun is holstered. I'm running mine in the high ride position. Getting a master grip on a gun carried in the Keeper in the high ride position is so easy it's like reloading with a huge funnel magazine well. There is enough room between the frontstrap of the gun and the belt that it is pretty hard to miss the grip. Although I have not run tests and compiled data, my subjective impression is that my ability to rapidly acquire a proper master grip when using the Keeper is enhanced. I cannot overemphasize this point. This holster is great to draw from. Drawing well is one of the most important overall features to me in a holster, and the Keeper delivers big time. This is the selling point for me.

    I'd like to solicit Caboose's comment on the ride height as well. He's used the Shaggy, my modified holster, and the Keeper. I think he said the respective ride heights went in that order, from lowest to highest.

    The Keeper is also great because it does all the important things an AIWB holster should do. The shape of the kydex in the trigger guard area levers the butt of the gun into the abdomen, increasing concealability. The foam wedges velcroed onto the body of the holster can push the muzzle away from the body slightly, which increases safety, as well as concealability by levering the whole grip/back of the gun into the abdomen, and improves comfort by having soft foam in contact with your groin/thigh area instead of all hard holster body.

    I've worn the Keeper with two different belts so far: my old, worn Ted Blocker leather belt, which worked fine, and now a Wilderness belt. It works especially well in combination with the Wilderness belt because of the velcro on the outside of the kydex belt loop. You can get the belt loop sandwiched between two layers of belt and it is further locked in place with the velcro. When worn this way, the Keeper is rock solid on the belt. The holster doesn't shift or slide or rock, it just stays perfectly in place. I think that factor also contributes to the ease of drawing from it since the consistency of gun position is increased.

    The Keeper is not tension adjustable, but the tension it comes with is perfectly acceptable to me. I would probably prefer a slightly tighter fit, but it's fine how it is, and I understand that adding tension adjustment would add a little bulk to the holster. As it is currently constructed, the Keeper is a really slim holster with very little extra mass. This makes the holster more comfortable for me, especially when squatting or bending down, since it takes up less space in my pants.

    I find myself using both the large and small foam wedge in combination with each other to push the muzzle as far away from my body as possible. I'd like even more of that effect with even larger pieces of foam.

    My understanding is that a few Keepers have made it through the testing of ECQC. I'll be taking my copy through that class in October.

    Bottom line for me is that the Keeper does what I want it to do, especially draw well, and does everything else I think an AIWB holster should do. The best endorsement I can give is that I am wearing this holster every day by choice, and will be buying a backup copy because this is now a very important piece of gear to me. I figured it would be good since Spencer (Prdator) is such an awesome shooter himself, who is personally familiar with running an appendix rig, that he would know how to get the holster just right, and I think he did.

    Here are a few pics of the holster:

    [IMG] 0430120554-00 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    You can see the velcro on the belt loop and the kydex wedge shape that tucks the grip into the abdomen.

    [IMG] 0430120557-00 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    The lighting isn't great, but you can make out the velcro area on the backside of the holster. This allows the foam wedges (also visible) to have user-adjustable placement. You can also see the shape of the sweat guard in this picture, as well as the overall slim design of the Keeper - there just isn't much extra material on this thing to make it larger and reduce comfort.

    [IMG] 0430120557-01 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    Here's a top view where you can see a little more of the belt loop, the velcro on the belt loop and the back of the holster, and the foam wedges on the back of the holster.

    [IMG] 0430120558-00 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    Angled view.

    [IMG] 0430120600-00 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    One more of the holster/gun by itself.

    [IMG] 0430120605-00 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    I'm wearing one of my larger shirts in this picture, so in retrospect it's not as convincing as it would be with a tighter shirt. I'll try to get a couple more pics posted where I'm running a (relatively) tighter shirt.

    [IMG] 0430120608-00 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    Please note that I did not subject you, the viewer, to my naked mushy belly. I tucked in the shirt instead.

    [IMG] 0430120609-01 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    Angled view.

    [IMG] 0430120609-00 by OrigamiAK, on Flickr[/IMG]
    Downward angle.

    There is nothing I truly dislike about the Keeper, only a couple of points that bear any improvement at all, and everything else about the design is great from my perspective, most especially the act of drawing from it. My perspective is shaped as a user of an AIWB rig who practices almost every day, and the Keeper has taken the top spot as my favorite holster.
    Last edited by Mr_White; 05-02-2012 at 05:07 PM.

  2. #2
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    I got up extra early Sunday morning and recorded some shooting videos. There are lots of drawstrokes and subsequent shots on these videos and they are all coming out of the Keeper. If I remember right, there aren't any grip fumbles at all in these several videos. I believe the Keeper strongly contributes to that. By the way, the shirt I'm wearing in the videos is representative of the smallest and tightest shirts I normally wear.

    Failure to stop - just a couple basic excercises:

  3. #3
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    4567 - the Drill of the Week:

  4. #4
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    Rangemaster Core Handgun Skills Test - a test I really like. I enjoy the Comstock scoring. I didn't do very well on this run. I'm always trying to shoot a 200 on this. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. I didn't this time. I had a number of inaccurate shots, and some were especially bad, plus I was slow on the 15 and 25 yard strings compared to what I've done in the past. My final score was 184:

  5. #5
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    Hackathorn Standards - I had hoped to shoot a perfect run and have it immortalized on video. Nope. 292. Still good, but not great. I dropped one shot into the C zone on the support hand pickup stage, and three shots on the 25 yard stage:

  6. #6
    Member JHC's Avatar
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    292 is great. Not perfect. Definitely great. And great looking holster.
    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  7. #7
    Member BaiHu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OrigamiAK View Post
    I got up extra early Sunday morning and recorded some shooting videos. There are lots of drawstrokes and subsequent shots on these videos and they are all coming out of the Keeper. If I remember right, there aren't any grip fumbles at all in these several videos. I believe the Keeper strongly contributes to that. By the way, the shirt I'm wearing in the videos is representative of the smallest and tightest shirts I normally wear.

    Failure to stop - just a couple basic excercises:
    What's the distance you are shooting on the failure to stop??

    Awesome shooting!
    Fairness leads to extinction much faster than harsh parameters.

  8. #8
    Thanks for the Review man!!!!!!!

    There is a lot that goes into making the holster draw the way it does and Im Really glad you like it!!!!!

    Oh and Yea a 200 on the RMHCST, Freaking Awesome!!!! my best is high 140's ( anything over 125 is considered Master level)
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  9. #9
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BaiHu View Post
    What's the distance you are shooting on the failure to stop??

    Awesome shooting!
    Thanks dude!

    The failure to stop is at 7 yards. I pretty much do it just as a sub-drill of the IDPA classifier, which is a course I use to benchmark myself regularly. So when I shoot the failure to stop, it doesn't exactly duplicate any specific engagement process I've been taught to follow, and I am only concerned with getting the head shot within the 6"x6" head box, not a 3x5 or upper A zone specifically. It worked out well in this case. The speed was more of an 'I want to be sure' speed, not a 'going for it' speed, and the results seemed to reflect that with some tight shots. (My shots are obviously not always that tight.)

  10. #10
    Leopard Printer Mr_White's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prdator View Post
    Thanks for the Review man!!!!!!!

    There is a lot that goes into making the holster draw the way it does and Im Really glad you like it!!!!!

    Oh and Yea a 200 on the RMHCST, Freaking Awesome!!!! my best is high 140's ( anything over 125 is considered Master level)
    I bet there is a whole lot of detail in making a holster work like this. Your training background, and knowledge gained as an advanced user is what gave me initial confidence in your design. That confidence clearly was in the right place. This thing rocks!

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