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Thread: Phlster Enigma. A game changer in belt free carry?

  1. #181
    Site Supporter dontshakepandas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JCS View Post
    I will say another "downside" to this thing is having to take it off in the car and put it back on when I go somewhere that I have to de-gun. I can get it back on but you really need to be standing and drop the pants down to properly put it on. Otherwise it's going to ride up like crazy.
    This is a good point and one I was thinking about last night. With a standard holster, I have always preferred to remove the entire rig even if it was just a quick run into the post office just to minimize handling of the firearm outside of the holster. The Enigma is probably going to make me change to just removing the firearm and leaving everything else in place unless I'm going to be spending an extended period of time in the glorious safety of the gun free zone.

    Definitely not my preference, but its a minor trade off.

    The only other slight annoyance I've found so far is that at night I've always just removed my carry gun and holster together and sat it on my nightstand. I can still do that with the Enigma, but it becomes a pretty big mess with the belt and leg leash still attached. I may have to switch to just putting that entire rig in the safe and setting up a separate pistol/holster combo just for night stand duty.

  2. #182
    Quote Originally Posted by dontshakepandas View Post
    This is a good point and one I was thinking about last night. With a standard holster, I have always preferred to remove the entire rig even if it was just a quick run into the post office just to minimize handling of the firearm outside of the holster. The Enigma is probably going to make me change to just removing the firearm and leaving everything else in place unless I'm going to be spending an extended period of time in the glorious safety of the gun free zone.

    Definitely not my preference, but its a minor trade off.

    The only other slight annoyance I've found so far is that at night I've always just removed my carry gun and holster together and sat it on my nightstand. I can still do that with the Enigma, but it becomes a pretty big mess with the belt and leg leash still attached. I may have to switch to just putting that entire rig in the safe and setting up a separate pistol/holster combo just for night stand duty.
    Here is a possible option for you. This guy is making a “papoose” for the enigma. You can get one that’s for carry comfort only or one with a pouch also to hold everything when you take it off. This is from the FB phlster concealment group. I don’t know how much they are but I signed up for the waitlist. https://levodesigns.us7.list-manage....5XT_xKiTmvnezY
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    "Shooting is 90% mental. The rest is in your head." -Nils

  3. #183
    Site Supporter dontshakepandas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JCS View Post
    Here is a possible option for you. This guy is making a “papoose” for the enigma. You can get one that’s for carry comfort only or one with a pouch also to hold everything when you take it off. This is from the FB phlster concealment group. I don’t know how much they are but I signed up for the waitlist. https://levodesigns.us7.list-manage....5XT_xKiTmvnezY
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    I'm on the waitlist also. From the website it looks like they will be ~$30. I wasn't sure what the purpose of the pouch was though.

  4. #184
    Hoplophilic doc SAWBONES's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JCS View Post
    Running it closer to the slide pulls the slide more into my body. With my body style, winged holsters tend to pull the slide away from my stomach and it prints more than the grip for me. This slight adjustment gave me better concealment.
    That's my experience too, so on the slide-side of the rig I'm using the closest (farthest inward) hole, and on the butt side the farthest-outward hole.
    I also use the upper holes on both sides in order to pull the grip and rear of the slide into the abdomen (also using a foam wedge) for best concealment.

    Quote Originally Posted by JCS View Post
    To me this fine tuning is what the enigma really excels at. It is a pain to set up. I've probably spent 2-3 hours setting it up, making tweaks but now that I have it where I want it's good and I just throw it on.
    Yeah, once you've gone through the adjust-test routine several times, finding the sweet spot is worth the trouble.

    I still haven't got the leg leash perfectly set up yet, though; slips down the thigh a bit sometimes.

    Anyway, it works with beltless exercise gear and casual elastic- or drawstring-waisted pants, and equally well with outer-belted dress pants too, as long as the outer belt isn't too tight.

    Acquisition of the master grip is definitely slower if the gun's gripframe is partly overlapped by the pants waistline, as is necessary in my case for concealment's sake in the NPE, but the gun simply disappears.
    "Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
    And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
    I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman

  5. #185
    Hoplophilic doc SAWBONES's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JCS View Post
    I also sand off about about 1/4” of the wing where it interfaces with the enigma or a belt. I have to do this on all holsters. When I carried a Glock I would completely remove the vertical portion of the wing that provides the camming action.
    Just FWIW, they (the Hauptmans) say not to do this to the ENIGMA faceplate edges, since it's a laminated material, and may de-laminate at sanded edges.
    Others (this is on Facebook PHLster Concealment Workshop) have recommended gentle melting (without open flame) of annoying edges, using heated metal.
    (I had started to do a bit of edge-sanding too before reading their recommendations.)
    "Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
    And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
    I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman

  6. #186
    Quote Originally Posted by SAWBONES View Post
    Just FWIW, they (the Hauptmans) say not to do this to the ENIGMA faceplate edges, since it's a laminated material, and may de-laminate at sanded edges.
    Others (this is on Facebook PHLster Concealment Workshop) have recommended gentle melting (without open flame) of annoying edges, using heated metal.
    (I had started to do a bit of edge-sanding too before reading their recommendations.)
    Interesting. Thanks for the heads up. I did sand the edges to round them over. I’ll keep an eye on it to see if it causes issues.
    "Shooting is 90% mental. The rest is in your head." -Nils

  7. #187
    Quote Originally Posted by dontshakepandas View Post


    I’m still trying to get the adjustment on the leg leash right, but that ships work itself out with some trial and error.
    This was a total bitch today, kept sliding down and then creating extra tension. Not sure if this would've happened with tighter fitting pants but I had something wide legged on today. Had to remove it altogether for a bit. Keeping the leash high on the thigh seemed to have worked; I had to loop the leash through a big round hole instead of a slot for that.
    Doesn't read posts longer than two paragraphs.

  8. #188
    Site Supporter dontshakepandas's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by YVK View Post
    This was a total bitch today, kept sliding down and then creating extra tension. Not sure if this would've happened with tighter fitting pants but I had something wide legged on today. Had to remove it altogether for a bit. Keeping the leash high on the thigh seemed to have worked; I had to loop the leash through a big round hole instead of a slot for that.
    I had a similar issue this morning, but think I finally got it settled.

    I found that keeping it higher on the leg than I originally imagined was helpful. I also found that having it a little tighter than I would have imagined is working really well for me. I have it tight enough that it grips onto my leg and won’t slide down on its own without the vertical portion bring what actually hold it in place. This allows me to leave a little slack in the vertical part of the leash so I don’t feel a tug when I walk. I feel it around my leg for the first few minutes after putting it on, but then it just becomes normal and I don’t notice it.

  9. #189
    We've had them since the first batch, we've found the only way to keep it from loosening and falling behind the knee is to have it high on the thigh, just an inch or two below the upper insertion point of the hamstring.

    Someone else asked how are people carrying spare mags in the Enigma, we use Snake Eater Tactical Burro pouches.

  10. #190
    Got mine in the mail today. I used my DSG S&W Shield holster. It took a little creativity to get the holster attached to the frame so that the squeeze on the rubber gaskets would work for the proper retention. The suggestion that was given in the assembly videos to use the the small female end from the screw set on the holster previously worked great. Several years ago I bought a big box of the screws that are used in holster construction and used two that are 5-6 threads longer than what is included in the Enigma kit.

    I have worn it for 5 or 6 hours now and it seems to be pretty good. It definitely hides the gun better than a belt mounted holster.

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