Late last year I acquired seven AIWB (Appendix Inside Waist Band) holsters for testing and review. There are many, many such holsters on the market now, some good, and some not so good. I could have asked for and received more holsters but to have been even-handed in my testing, it would have taken me far too long to use each one long enough to provide a fair evaluation. So, I chose these as my guinea pigs:
Cook's IWB Holster with Adjustable Belt Clip, their #1 best seller currently; G-Code Holster's
Incog Eclipse; Blade-Tech's
Klipt. I also tested four
Remora holsters: the standard no-clip holster, the Micro, the Carbon Carry Hybrid holster, and the Clip IWB holster.
I carried my S&W M&P Shield in these holsters over a period of half a year, alternating them, getting each experience in my daily carry activities, winter, spring and summer. This is important since, like most of you, my activities vary from day to day and week to week. As the seasons change, so do my clothing needs and preferences. A good holster should be adaptable to all of these varying conditions and requirements. As you will see, some were, and some were not. I will discuss each holster in turn, then my conclusions at the end of this article.
Cook's IWB Holster with Adjustable Belt Clip
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Cook's with the Shield
body side |
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Cook's with the Shield
belt side |
This is a kydex holster with carbon fiber imprint. It has an ABS 1 1/2" belt clip that is adjustable for cant. The holster was shipped with an extra 1.75" clip.
As you can tell from the photos, the quality of this holster is right up there with the best. Fine attention to detail. Smooth edges and corners. The carbon imprint (an option) is flawless. The Shield fits perfectly. The tension was as I like it originally and I never had to adjust it, although a screw is placed correctly if that is needed.
The sweat guard works as it should and is no bigger than it needs to be. Note that the magazine release is also covered. For AWIB carry I settled on the 1.5" clip, slightly canted as you see. Gave it the best concealment under a T-shirt, which are the mainstays of my summer wardrobe.
The Cook's holster is easy on and easy off yet holds to the belt firmly and won't come off unless you open the clip and deliberately take it off. I carried this one many times and it was always comfortable, didn't pinch or poke and holstered easily and unholstered just as nicely. I found that it conceals your weapon very well. I have worn the Shield in this holster to many public events, all day, under a basic T-shirt and no one has ever been the wiser. After one all-day outing my wife asked me after we returned home if I carried a gun that day. Silly question, but still it spoke volumes about this holster.
G-Code Holster's Incog Eclipse
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| G-Code Incog Eclipse |
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| G-Code Incog Eclipse |
G-Code says that their INCOG series holsters are "joint development projects between Haley Strategic Partners and G-Code Holsters."
As with the Cook's holster, this is a single-clip, kydex (I think. More on this later on...) holster that has what G-Code refers to as "tactical fuzz" bonded to the outer surface. This "fuzz" is what G-Code calls a suede-like synthetic outer laminate which is supposed to dampen noise during movement and reduce the "reflective signature in the IR spectrum and blend with the surrounding environment." All this may be true in certain situations, but for an AIWB holster the fuzz's main advantage is comfort and friction. I'm not overly worried about reflective IR signatures or blending in with AIWB carry.
Of all of the holsters I tested for this writeup, I found the Eclipse to be the best. It wasn't far and away more comfortable than Cook's, but I think the "fuzz" is a bit softer, tends to grab a bit more on my clothing and doesn't move around much at all. For me, I'd say I prefer it. Not by a lot, but still I tended to reach for the Eclipse instead of the Cook's more often.
I haven't found the need to change the position of the clip but it is easily done. The aluminum stand-off looks kind of funky at first, but it is solid and puts the clip out even with the holster body. Note that the clip is sprung outward and is plastic, not metal. I hate metal clips. Thin, springy, sharp and tend to catch on things and are pretty obvious. Not this one. It flexes open easily, grabs the belt, even my thin nylon one, tenaciously and somehow almost disappears. How do they do that?
And, it's a 'tuckable'. I hardly ever tuck my shirt over my weapon. I've done it, and it works, but typically I don't bother.
Blade-Tech's Klipt
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| Blade-Tech Klipt |
This holster is a less expensive and basic version of the Cook's and Eclipse holsters, and many other similarly designed kydex holsters on the market. Its main virtue is the cost: $29 msrp. This is likely due to the fact that these holsters are moulded from injected thermoplastic, not kydex. Can't tell you much more than that except I would venture that because they are moulded on an assembly line, Blade-Tech can produce in volume and bring the costs down.
Injection moulding can produce as fine a holster as kydex, so don't let that stand in the way of regarding the holster for what it is and what it can do. I'd say that this holster performs all of the functions as the previous two almost as well at far less. The Klipt concealed and secured the Shield as well as the Cook's or Eclipse, stayed where I put it, is lightweight and offers an easy draw and re-holster. It certainly came in third in the comfort department, but not by much. There were times, when wearing it all day, that I would have been hard pressed to quickly declare which of the three holsters I had on.
There is not much more to say other than if you want an inexpensive yet quality AIWB holster, this one is definitely worth consideration.
Remora
Remora holsters have been a conundrum for me since I got my first one almost five years ago. I have used pretty much all of their holsters except for their new shoulder holster rig. Sometimes I love them. Sometimes I don't. When the pistol comes out of the carry holster for the day, it goes into a Remora and into the drawer or safe. If I keep a pistol close by in the house, it will be in a Remora. If I zip out to the yard or maybe just down to the store, I may slide the pistol in a Remora under my waistband and take off.
Other times when I'm moving about a lot, like sitting, kneeling and bending, the Remora will work up from it's AIWB position and I can feel it riding too high under my belt and have to take the time to reposition it. I was doing yard work one day and my Remora-clad LCP fell out onto the lawn.
I strongly suspect that if I carried in the strong-side position, I would not have this issue. But, I don't.
So, I have this odd relationship with the Remora. I have some. I use them often, but not for extended out-in-the-world concealed carry. I reviewed the newer ones below.
Standard no-clip holster
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| Remora standard clipless holster |
This is the one that sometimes gives me fits. It is a high-friction, clipless holster with a smooth interior for an easy draw, and high-friction outer material to adhere between your waistband and body, or undershirt. It's biggest drawbacks are, using it in the AIWB position, it's tendency to work up and out of the waistband position, and the inability to re-holster with one hand. (I don't buy the notion that this isn't necessary. One may have one hand occupied with supporting or helping another person, or that hand or arm may be injured so that two hands are necessary to put the gun safely away.)
Micro
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| Remora Micro |
The Micro is essentially a standard Remora holster, open at the bottom as well as the top, with a swiveling metal clip attached. These modification perform two functions: the open bottom allows similarly shaped guns with varying barrel lengths to fit. It is much like the 'belt slide' design, but for IWB carry. The swiveling clip – why they put the clip on a swivel is beyond me – keeps the small surface area holster in place. And makes it tuckable.
This is a surprisingly comfortable holster and pretty much disappears under a light shirt. Two handed holstering is a must. But, I don't like steel clips and the bottom of the clip-swivel sometimes hangs up trying to don the holster.
It is inexpensive. It works. Of bells and whistles, there are none.
Carbon Carry Hybrid holster
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| Remora Carbon Carry with Shield |
The Carbon Copy is Remora's foray into the world of standard type hybrid holsters. I think the main difference is Remora's "no-slip" material on the back side of the leather backing which enhances it's IWB capability. Otherwise, it is very similar to other hybrid design holsters with leather backing and kydex shells. Better made than some, especially the Crossbreed brand.
I have tried this holster for AIWB and although it works, it is better used for strong side carry in my opinion. The Remora folks also advertise this as an optional OWB carry holster and it probably will work that way too, but I didn't try it.
Clip IWB holster
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| Remora IWB Clip (Remora's photo) |
I have used Remora's photo of this holster because I found the holster to be unsatisfactory and took none with my gun inserted. The basic idea is good, and one I had implemented before on a Remora holster, although in a different fashion. Turing the "clipless" holster into a "clip" holster is a means to overcome the tendency of the clipless design to work up and out of the waistband when carried in the appendix or cross draw positions. I earlier took a Remora clipless with mag pouch attached, drilled a hole between the holster and mag pouch, on the sewn seam there, and attached a kydex clip to it. This worked perfectly in the AIWB position, being comfortable (the wide surface area of the holster plus mag pouch contributing to that) and the clip kept it in place.
This design, from Remora, on the other hand has a big problem. It is very difficult to put on and even harder to take off. The metal clip is fitted over a loop sewn onto the holster. The clip stays there because there is a short lip bent into the end of the clip so that it can't slide back off the loop. The end of the clip that goes over the belt is also bent down into a channel and back up forming a lip. Getting the clip over your belt and waistband is hard due to the bend of the clip at the bottom of the loop – it catches something, pants, belt, and snags up. After you do manage to get your belt over that lip and under the clip proper, it holds tight. Trying to remove the clip is a struggle. You have to seriously pull the clip apart, no easy task for some of us with old and or weaker hands, then struggle to get that lip at the end of the loop to release the belt.
I tried this a number of times and finally gave up.
Remora, use a good plastic clip and attach it securely to the holster in such a way that it doesn't interfere with getting the holster on and off. And, forget the swivel thing.
Conclusion
After months of use and testing, it has come down to a toss-up between the Cook's holster and the Eclipse. I am leaning more toward the Eclipse for two reasons: 1. the holster is a bit smaller and the tactical fuzz makes it a bit, but not a lot, more comfortable, and 2. the clip is better.
After extensive use of holsters for mid-sized semi-autos like the Shield and the Ruger SR9c I have come to favor the minimal designs. Less is more in the sense of, with the right design, an AIWB holster should be as small and unobtrusive as possible while meeting the requirements of security, accessibility, concealment and comfort. Personally, I find a small, conforming excellently designed synthetic holster to be much more useable, comfortable and secure than a slab of leather, clips and kydex or plastic stuck inside my pants.
For the ones I tested for this article I am declaring the G-Code Eclipse as the one that meets my requirements the best.
