JFK
01-01-2012, 07:05 PM
So holster comfort, style and build is always a big topic here. I thought I would share my experience with my quest to find an AIWB holster that works for me. It seems especially hard for me to find what works being left handed. As you can imagine there is not a lot of available holsters around to try out. So the result is, ordering a holster, waiting for months to find out there is one or two features that I don’t like, order another holster, wait, try. Finally two years later I have some holster that I am at least happy with. I thought I would write up what I found and my vague conclusions, hopefully it will help the lefties and everyone else decide what might work for them.
One of the things I found is that even when I tried my buddies holsters for the right hand, when I received my left handed versions, they were just not the same. All of the holsters were of good quality but there is always a feature that would make me want to try something different. So this is the pile of gear I ended up with:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6552424319_704fd75c69.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552424319/)
Holster Write Up 3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552424319/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
Quick background....
I have been a pistol owner from the day of my 21st birthday. Never carried other than in my car until I was about 25. I really started getting serious as a shooter around 27. (I am 32 now) When I started carrying seriously I traded up my Sig 229 for a 1911 because ironically enough the 1911 is very left hand friendly. After starting to carry appendix 2 years ago and upping my shooting I swapped for some tupperware in the M&P forum, recently I am experimenting with the P30, but the jury is still out on that one. Everyone has their reasons for appendix carry but the reason I tried it was a little simple. It was the only way I could access my firearm in the car when driving. Again being left handed the door, seatbelt and seat itself do not allow for any sort of a draw in the car.
I apologize for the blurry pictures. I was trying to do this myself and was having a bit of trouble.
The first holster I tried was the Custom Carry Concepts Shaggy (http://shop.customcarryconcepts.com/Shaggy-AIWB-SHG.htm).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6552423763_7c73a2850e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552423763/)
Holster Write Up 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552423763/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
This is a very comfortable holster. It concealed the best out of the others, but keep in mind that this was with a single stack, so it may be a bit unfair of a comparison. The build quality is good, but the leather backing will peal off after some abuse, or in my case if the thumb safety hits the top of the holster a few times. It is easily fixable with available epoxies. My only complaint was a pretty big one. The holster was ridding too low and I was not able to get a purchase on the grip that I liked. It was not bad to make for an unsafe draw, but enough to scape my fingers on my belt, making practicing annoying.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6552426765_8b414e99fc.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426765/)
Holster Write Up 11 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426765/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
Concealed with a t-shirt.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6552427049_7ddcee2f86.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552427049/)
Holster Write Up 12 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552427049/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
After trying the other holsters I have a feeling that my problem with the low ridding and hard grip purchase was due to two things. First the leather belt loops, and second the weight of a steel 1911. After trying the other holsters I do believe that the combination of these two things made the holster cant a bit causing the problem. If I position the holster to get a good grip purchase It would stay that way until I moved a lot, or sat down. As soon as this happened the butt of the gun would sag more to the left making the draw harder. It is my opinion that a solid Kydex loop sized to a proper belt would solve this.
When switching to the M&P from the 1911 I was waiting for the C&D Pardus so I altered a Comp-Tac Minotaur Spartan to carry at appendix position. It worked to practice, and train with while I waited 4 months, but was not comfortable at all. This is expected because it was not designed for this use. It is of good quality, but I am not going to elaborate on the details, because it is not really relevant for appendix carry.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6552425219_65a190921f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552425219/)
Holster Write Up 6 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552425219/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
Finally I receive the C&D Pardus (http://www.caneandderby.com/catalog/category/view/s/pardus-appendix-carry-kydex-holster/id/10/).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6552424925_675fc6e5d0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552424925/)
Holster Write Up 5 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552424925/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
This holster is of the finest Kydex I have seen. The build quality is outstanding. The edges are finished to perfection and the holster feels solid and the retention is very good with a satisfying click when inserting the pistol. This holster is very fast with no drag on the draw. Also I think the pink makes me look very manly and it matches my socks. Something that is not taken into consideration when selecting a holster that I think should be. This one does not conceal as good as the Shaggy, however it is very stable on the belt with the wider loop positions. There are a couple of drawbacks to this holster. The wider set loops can make for a hard time positioning on some pants. They are oriented in such a way that the first belt loop splits the two attachment points. As such there are some pairs of jeans I can not wear with this holster and get the position that I want. I know that Jody has mentioned this too (http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?2621-C-amp-D-Pardus-AIWB), so it would seem that his is not a lefty phenomenon. In addition there is a bump molded into the back of the holster that is supposed to push the butt of the gun in creating less of a print. It does do this, but it will also create a little pressure where it contacts the leg. I have found that sometimes I get a little uncomfortable on long days due to this feature.
Here are the pictures.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6552426069_9d46ec1ee0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426069/)
Holster Write Up 9 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426069/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6552426299_f456b15e50.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426299/)
Holster Write Up 10 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426299/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
One of the things I found is that even when I tried my buddies holsters for the right hand, when I received my left handed versions, they were just not the same. All of the holsters were of good quality but there is always a feature that would make me want to try something different. So this is the pile of gear I ended up with:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6552424319_704fd75c69.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552424319/)
Holster Write Up 3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552424319/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
Quick background....
I have been a pistol owner from the day of my 21st birthday. Never carried other than in my car until I was about 25. I really started getting serious as a shooter around 27. (I am 32 now) When I started carrying seriously I traded up my Sig 229 for a 1911 because ironically enough the 1911 is very left hand friendly. After starting to carry appendix 2 years ago and upping my shooting I swapped for some tupperware in the M&P forum, recently I am experimenting with the P30, but the jury is still out on that one. Everyone has their reasons for appendix carry but the reason I tried it was a little simple. It was the only way I could access my firearm in the car when driving. Again being left handed the door, seatbelt and seat itself do not allow for any sort of a draw in the car.
I apologize for the blurry pictures. I was trying to do this myself and was having a bit of trouble.
The first holster I tried was the Custom Carry Concepts Shaggy (http://shop.customcarryconcepts.com/Shaggy-AIWB-SHG.htm).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6552423763_7c73a2850e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552423763/)
Holster Write Up 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552423763/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
This is a very comfortable holster. It concealed the best out of the others, but keep in mind that this was with a single stack, so it may be a bit unfair of a comparison. The build quality is good, but the leather backing will peal off after some abuse, or in my case if the thumb safety hits the top of the holster a few times. It is easily fixable with available epoxies. My only complaint was a pretty big one. The holster was ridding too low and I was not able to get a purchase on the grip that I liked. It was not bad to make for an unsafe draw, but enough to scape my fingers on my belt, making practicing annoying.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6552426765_8b414e99fc.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426765/)
Holster Write Up 11 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426765/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
Concealed with a t-shirt.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6552427049_7ddcee2f86.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552427049/)
Holster Write Up 12 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552427049/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
After trying the other holsters I have a feeling that my problem with the low ridding and hard grip purchase was due to two things. First the leather belt loops, and second the weight of a steel 1911. After trying the other holsters I do believe that the combination of these two things made the holster cant a bit causing the problem. If I position the holster to get a good grip purchase It would stay that way until I moved a lot, or sat down. As soon as this happened the butt of the gun would sag more to the left making the draw harder. It is my opinion that a solid Kydex loop sized to a proper belt would solve this.
When switching to the M&P from the 1911 I was waiting for the C&D Pardus so I altered a Comp-Tac Minotaur Spartan to carry at appendix position. It worked to practice, and train with while I waited 4 months, but was not comfortable at all. This is expected because it was not designed for this use. It is of good quality, but I am not going to elaborate on the details, because it is not really relevant for appendix carry.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6552425219_65a190921f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552425219/)
Holster Write Up 6 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552425219/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
Finally I receive the C&D Pardus (http://www.caneandderby.com/catalog/category/view/s/pardus-appendix-carry-kydex-holster/id/10/).
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6552424925_675fc6e5d0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552424925/)
Holster Write Up 5 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552424925/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
This holster is of the finest Kydex I have seen. The build quality is outstanding. The edges are finished to perfection and the holster feels solid and the retention is very good with a satisfying click when inserting the pistol. This holster is very fast with no drag on the draw. Also I think the pink makes me look very manly and it matches my socks. Something that is not taken into consideration when selecting a holster that I think should be. This one does not conceal as good as the Shaggy, however it is very stable on the belt with the wider loop positions. There are a couple of drawbacks to this holster. The wider set loops can make for a hard time positioning on some pants. They are oriented in such a way that the first belt loop splits the two attachment points. As such there are some pairs of jeans I can not wear with this holster and get the position that I want. I know that Jody has mentioned this too (http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?2621-C-amp-D-Pardus-AIWB), so it would seem that his is not a lefty phenomenon. In addition there is a bump molded into the back of the holster that is supposed to push the butt of the gun in creating less of a print. It does do this, but it will also create a little pressure where it contacts the leg. I have found that sometimes I get a little uncomfortable on long days due to this feature.
Here are the pictures.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6552426069_9d46ec1ee0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426069/)
Holster Write Up 9 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426069/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6552426299_f456b15e50.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426299/)
Holster Write Up 10 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/72663770@N08/6552426299/) by Jay Koller (http://www.flickr.com/people/72663770@N08/), on Flickr