First time gun owner. Looking for as simple a carry as i can get. I am 62 and retired live in the Houston, Tx area, so our weather is usually nice. Most of the time i am in drawstring shorts, and other time it's Wrangler jeans. I was looking to NOT to spend a lot of money on belts and holsters. came across Sticky & Remora. (I also am giving 3Speed -deep conceal, some serious thought). I'd really appreciate some input from actual users !
If you do a search on this forum for "Remora" you'll find a whole lot of responses that can be generally summed up as, "There are better options".
Belly band and smart carry are the two most-oft-cited alternatives if you can't wear a belt. Why are these options "better"? Because they are still secured to your body in some way.
Originally Posted by SouthNarc
You can get a excellent Bladetech IWB holster and great leather belt for about $125.00 total. Than you can carry a suitable handgun for self defense.
I have a Remora. Don't like it in the slightest. I never even tried to go out of the house with it. The fundamental flaw is that it depends on a lot of belt tension to keep it up, but that belt tension then prevents you from drawing the gun, or the gun comes out with the holster too if there isn't enough tension. It also did not do a very good job of concealing the gun at all. This was with a P30, which is a bit bigger than "compact" and into the "service gun" size range, but hardly huge by any means.
J.Ja
Owner/President of Titanium Crowbar, LLC
http://tactipac.com/fusionpac-iwb-ho...o-information/
http://3speedholster.com/
I am leaning towards the 3 Speed deep conceal system (Much like the Smart Carry, it just looks to be a bit sturdier). I think I can handle drawing from my crotch area.
I have a Remora and a Smartcarry and use them both. The Smartcarry is great for carrying in places where being caught will likely get me thrown out or worse, ostracized from my liberal social circle. It's deep concealment on a very personal level. I can use it with either my Glock 23 or, with a slight adjustment, a Kahr PM9 (which is totally invisible down there.) The SC is perfect for carrying in places where I need to tuck my shirt in too.
The Remora has a different use profile. Since I don't believe in "dressing around the gun", I carry a smaller pistol when it's all my wardrobe will allow. I'm also partial to board shorts and flip flops. The Kahr, stowed in the Remora, will disappear under any T-Shirt I own, at 3 o'clock, and requires only the slightest tension at the waistband to hold still. I have tried carrying AIWB with it but there's too much movement in front and the tension isn't steady enough (it will move). But at 3 it's rock solid. I also use the Remora for pocket carry, but the PM9 is a tad big to disappear into all but the deepest pockets. I've carried this rig to the beach, amusement parks, around the house, pretty much everywhere and never had an issue with retention or concealment.
The downsides are that reloads require two hands to safely execute, preferably involving removal of the holster from the waistband, making it hard to train with. I also don't think it's suitable for larger pistols. It's a great gun sock type case, but I'm pretty sure you'd need more tension, like from a belt, to stuff a G19 in your sweatpants with one, and if I'm going to wear a belt then I'll use a better holster (and bigger gun.)
All in all, I think the Remora is a great summer carry option for small handguns, by small I mean single stack sub compacts and 5 shot revolvers, when wardrobe and weather aren't friendly to carrying larger guns. The Smartcarry is great for deep concealment of any pistol, but it isn't the most comfortable thing to wear on really hot days.
What gun do you want to carry? Do you already have a carry gun or are looking for that too?
I wouldn't mess with any of that deep concealment stuff if I didn't have to. I've tried several of them and ended up with a j frame in my pocket all of the time, and a real gun at about 3:30 IWB whenever I can. If I was retired that would be a lot more often, as it is, I carry the real gun to the office and then lose it and the jacket when I get to my desk (I don't work in an NPE)
Buy a decent belt, a milt sparks summer special, and some loud Hawaiian shirts to go with your shorts or jeans and then head to the range.
I have a Remora for every pistol I own, from a LCP to a Glock 21. I am a huge fan. I don't always use one, but I couldn't imagine not having them available. The Remora is far better than the Sticky holster, IMHO. I bought one Sticky holster last year and I did not care for it at all. Alan Bogden, the head honcho at Remora, is a great guy to do business with. The Remora magazine pouches are pretty handy, too.
If a weapon cannot easily be reholstered with one hand, other options should be looked at. A good belt & quality holster are a wise investment.
Unless you're a working assassin, that seems like pure dogma to me. Why are you putting so much emphasis on reholstering? I understand why it would be preferable, but saying a one handed reholstering is a must rules out most deep concealment solutions and lots of clothing options. Outside of making training easier, I don't see how being able to quickly reholstering a gun is an advantage. Every sensible thing I've read or been taught emphasizes a reluctant reholstering.
Also, I don't think anyone has said that Remora's are the best holster for all situations, just for some. Of course if you are an advocate of the "dress around the gun" paradigm, then have fun wearing a belt at the beach or while working out, but I'm going to keep my options open.
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