Accessibility V. Concealment in the Winter

[Cypher]

My question is how do you balance concealment with accessibility in the winter.

This morning I had my gun under a shirt under a coat and all I could think of was how many layers of clothing I was going to have to dig through if I had to get to that gun. I tried tucking the shirt behind the gun and wearing the coat over but I might has well stuffed a pillow under my jacket.

I could wear less under the coat but then when I get where I'm going and I'm inside the heated building I'm going to stand out like a sore thumb.

I'm thinking of just wearing some poly-pros and silks under my outer layer but then I stand out like a sore thumb walking around outside with temperatures in the teens and no coat plus the poly-pros actually work and any thing warm enough to keep me outside is going to make me sweat like a pig inside.

I will not carry a gun in my coat pocket unless I'm going to be out in it for a while and not taking the coat off.

Some of the time I can wear medium long johns under a flannel shirt and just wear a fleece vest maybe I can just make that my winter uniform.

How do you guys dress for the cold and still keep your handgun accessible?

[msstate56]

I'd like others from up north's opinions on this as well. I'd like to piggyback on to this and ask if there are any snow skiers/ snowmobilers that carry. I'm from the land of "oh my God what is this white stuff that's not even sticking to the ground," but I like to travel north to enjoy winter sports. So far I've basically been pocket carrying in my ski jacket, but that's obviously not ideal. My normal mode of carry is 4 o'clock IWB when not bundled up. Thanks.

[Dave J]

With AIWB, it's usually not too difficult to clear multiple layers of clothing at once, at least for my normal manner of dress. Typically I have an outer jacket, and some type of untucked L/S pullover shirt covering the gun. Ideally, your innermost layer over the gun is about as long or longer than the other layers, so when you grab it to clear, everything else just moves along with it. (hopefully that description makes sense!)

If conditions require so much clothing that an AIWB draw is no longer feasible, I'm a big fan of a BUG in an outer coat pocket, and I wear an extra holster on the belt so I've got a place to stow it if the coat needs to come off. The pocket holster just stays with the coat, and the BUG goes behind the hip in an OWB pancake, since my primary is riding AIWB. I don't do that often, but it's worked well for me on several occasions.

[GMSweet]

NH here... I'm a warm blooded guy and most who know me realize that winter wear for me isn't a coat. Thin gloves for cold days, add a scarf for colder days, and ear muffs for really cold days. I get by mostly with fleece and two inner layers. I carry at 3:00/3:30 and my problem with most coats are the shock cords at 3 and 9 so I keep a couple of soft-shell zip ups that are over sized just in case it's below zero and I need to be out without being active.

If I were to take up snowmobiling again, I would likely look at something like the Berne Echo Zero to move my pistol off my hip but still have it holstered and available. I have no personal experience with the product, but I like the concept and I wouldn't have to worry about wearing snow pants getting in the way. Especially since I used to only wear long underwear as a lower base layer even at -20.

Oh, and good warm socks/boots. If my feet get cold, I'm done for.

BTW, I am not one of the fashion guys wearing a business style trench, short trench, or pea coat like many of my coworkers.

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[jetfire]

Not to pimp my own work but I literally just did a video about this. It's already 15 minutes long so I couldn't cover all the different methods people carry, so if your personal method isn't in there, I'm sorry.

https://youtu.be/ycwiDmMVJXM

Short version: winter carry sucks and I want to move to Florida. I do carry a pocket gun a lot of the time when the temps get below 20 up here.


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[JHC]

Not to pimp my own work but I literally just did a video about this. It's already 15 minutes long so I couldn't cover all the different methods people carry, so if your personal method isn't in there, I'm sorry.

https://youtu.be/ycwiDmMVJXM

Short version: winter carry sucks and I want to move to Florida. I do carry a pocket gun a lot of the time when the temps get below 20 up here.


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Really great job with that. Shared.

[Hambo]

Short version: winter carry sucks and I want to move to Florida.

We do have issues with winter carry in Florida. It's just that it's for three days instead of 3-4 months.

[TGS]

I don't know if my opinion works for the Rockies. Where I currently live, cold is enduring a sub-optimal heating system in the building or being outside for relatively short periods of time. This is accomplished by AIWB with a shirt, sweater, and regular jacket or OWB in a suit with a 3/4 length topcoat, maybe a sweater underneath the suit jacket too.

It doesn't change my draw very much in either option. With a shorter casual jacket, I can leave it unbuttoned or buttoned. With a longer jacket like the top coat, the jacket must be unbuttoned.

[TGS]

Not to pimp my own work but I literally just did a video about this. It's already 15 minutes long so I couldn't cover all the different methods people carry, so if your personal method isn't in there, I'm sorry.

https://youtu.be/ycwiDmMVJXM

Short version: winter carry sucks and I want to move to Florida. I do carry a pocket gun a lot of the time when the temps get below 20 up here.


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Didn't watch the whole thing, so sorry if I missed it, but..

why unzip the outer jacket/vest? That seems like a really bad idea prone to failure, especially since it's not something you practice under stress and you don't have a big EDC pull cord like on Vertx gear.

If I zip up my outer jacket, I just use my entire hand as a hook and then crush to lift up both garments (or just the jacket, if I'm not wearing a sweater over the gun as well.

[OnionsAndDragons]

Two things I rely on a goodly bit:

Layers. A fleece lined hoodie is part of my essential wardrobe in the fall and winter months, and is often my cover garment. If I have to look presentable, I will wear a decent polo or some such under it with a performance T of some sort, and just cover the gun with the polo in the bathroom as soon as I get to my destination.

In the deep winter I will wear the above hoodie as my middle layer, concealing the gun, with a heavy coat that has a bifurcated zipper system. I keep the top all zipped up, but unzip the bottom up to my waist, so all I have to grab and clear is my hoodie as in my standard aiwb draw.

If it's super-monkey-balls-freezing-cold I may run a pocket J-frame in the jacket, but that is not a preference.