Pants suitable for Pocket J-frame carry

[spyderco monkey]

In Las Vegas, its shorts weather 8 months out of the year. And wearing my shorts, the J frame concealed very nicely when dropped in a front pocket.

Well last week it finally hit 'pants' weather, and I tossed on my Levi 514's - and found my J frame printed to an absurd degree. It was like Han Solo in the carbonite level of definition; tossed into the pocket without a holster a gun guy would be able to ID that I had an XS big dot instead of a ramp front sight. That level of printing.

I just purchased a pair of Levi 505's - 'relaxed fit' - and they print less then 514's, but theres still a distinctly gun shaped crescent formed by the grip. Still not great.

So, can anyone here suggest a brand / style of pants thats more amenable to pocket carry? They don't have to be jeans, they just cant be external cargo pocketed pants.

[GearFondler]

Carhartt's usually have deep and generous pockets... The carpenter's pants and shorts I wear from Carhartt work great with my 642.

[RJ]

Can't you just get a bigger pair of jeans? I don't mean to be "that guy" but it seems like an option to try at least. There's just no getting around the fact you have a gun in your pocket with tight pants. Obviously a good thin-walled pocket holster will help. I've tried both a Desantis Nemesis (synthetic) and an A-holster (kydex), either work well but I prefer the Nemesis. It's a bit more flexible and conforms better to my pockets.

[CDH]

Carhartt and Duluth. Cargo conceals better than carpenter.

[camsdaddy]

Blue mountain from Tractor supply work well for me. They are cheap and hold up well.

[HeavyDuty]

Duluth is my preference.

[BillSWPA]

That size gun with jeans is really pushing the limits of pocket carry. Eddie Bauer jeans have deeper pockets than many others, and relaxed fit may help.

Normally when I pocket carry, I use dress slacks. Relaxed fit and pleats really help.

An Aholster pocket holster will keep printing to a minimum.


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[Malamute]

Ive worn Carhartts mostly, but LL Bean jeans have been OK-ish also. I carry a speedloader in the same pocket to fill in the space left under the barrel, it changes the appearance of the lump in the pocket. Yes, its a lot of junk in the pocket, but I tend to carry a lot of junk in my pockets anyway, so it may as well be useful junk. Im also carrying a Colt D frame instead of a J. Its been fine, but a pocket holster seems to raise the gun in the pocket, which i didnt like. If any holster, its a milk jug plastic holster made to keep from raising the gun up. It was mainly to reduce pocket and pants leg wear spots from the barrel and cylinder edge.

I go mostly holster-less. Ive been trying some iron on patches to help reinforce the pocket material so the barrel and sight dont wear through as much, it also stiffens the material and probably helps break up the print aspect. Its been OK so far (month), have to see how they hold up over time.

[Hieronymous]

I am pocket carrying my P365 right now (in a pocket holster) in a pair of 5.11 Jeans. The flexible material helps in the draw. I can grab the grip while applying pressure to the outer portion of the pocket to create more space to pull it out without difficulty. I have a pair of khaki's (Johnnie-O) which have a flexible fabric which works in a similar fashion (albeit more shallow pockets). I have an air weight 442 which I carry occasionally in similar fashion.

[Guerrero]

Wrangler Riggs Workwear carpenter pants. @LittleLebowski put it best: "cavernous" pockets. They're my "go-to" pants.