Like most people who carry a firearm on a regular basis, I own a plethora of holsters. I own holsters from Andrews Leather, Brommeland, Galco, and others. This is because we are always looking to find a way to carry our handgun in a comfortable way: inside the waistband, saddle holsters, pancake holsters, 4 o'clock, small of the back, shoulder holsters, cross draw, belly bands, pocket carry, ankle carry, fanny packs, day packs, you name it, I have tried them all.
Each carry method has its drawbacks, and its benefits. Some handguns are better suited to one method than another. Some conceal better, and all require a level of discomfort and a modification of our clothing choices. Not only that, but each time we decide to buy and carry a different handgun, we have to buy new holsters.
In 1988, when I first started to carry, I began like so many others: I bought a cheap nylon holster from Uncle Mike's for my Smith and Wesson model 59. I think it cost me somewhere around $8. Uncomfortable, not secure, and a pain, I was soon looking for something better. My S&W 4506 soon found a home in a leather fanny pack. At the time, they were ubiquitous. Everyone had a fanny pack, from Suzie Soccermom to the dad down the street. No one thought twice about seeing them. It seemed like I had found the perfect answer.
Fashions change, and soon the fanny pack was out of fashion, and wearing one just screamed "I have a gun!" I tried baggy shirts and OWB rigs, but the outline of a gun, and the fact that my shirt rode up, made that a less than optimal mode of carry. Inside the waistband is good, but is uncomfortable, means you have to have larger pants, and you usually have to wear an untucked shirt.
I have been carrying a J frame in a pocket holster for awhile now, because it is difficult to dress in a businesslike manner and still carry a pistol. I also have an ankle holster for the J frame, but ankle holsters take too long to draw from.
That is how I decided to buy an MTAC holster from Comp-Tac. The holster itself is an inside the waistband holster, and it also allows you to wear a tucked in shirt. Now even though tuckable IWB holsters have been around for awhile, this is the first one that I have bought. It has a kydex holster mounted on a leather backing. You get the comfort of leather, but also have a secure kydex holster. The beauty of it is, it only costs $85. The MaxCon V is more than twice that much. Another advantage, is that the kydex portion of the holster can be changed out, with the spares costing less than $40. The clips that go on your belt can be changed to different colors, and they can even be exchanged for different styles that are more inconspicuous.I bought mine for an M&P, and also got the spare shell for the Shield.
I tried it on with a tucked in dress shirt, and my full sized M&P40 was comfortable and didn't show outlines of a pistol. The draw wasn't noticeably slower than usual, and we will see how it feels when I wear it all day.
Disclaimer: I was given no payment or discounts for this review, and it was done entirely because I felt like it.
Keep us posted on this, if you will. I have a Crossbreed and was considering the MTAC because of the changeable Kydex parts.
ReplyDeleteI have to tell you, though, that the holster I'm wearing the most is a $30 Rhino holster (let's see, yup, right where you'd think. This little guy goes between the belt and pants, so it's not quite as good as the Crossbreed IWB, but it's way better than the OWB holsters in my drawer. I wear this when I'm not out in the Florida summer sun too much.