By Sarah Carling
USA -(Ammoland.com)- It’s totally elusive, impossible to find and might not even exist at all, I’m talking of course about the perfect gun holster for concealed carry.
My search for this magical beast is further complicated by the fact that I am a petite woman and my ability to conceal a firearm is limited at best.
So what makes finding perfect gun holster for a woman so difficult? I think much of the problem is that holsters simply aren’t designed with women in mind, the style of our clothing is so different to that of a man that what conceals easily even under a man’s form fitting T-shirt can quite possibly stick out like a sore thumb on a woman. Our clothing is often slimmer at the waist, to accentuate the shape of our bodies, but that leaves us with the conundrum of it being more fitted at the exact place where we need to hide our firearm.
Hips don’t help either, conceal with a holster on your hip they say, well nope, that rarely works for women either. The prominence of our hip bones makes that an extremely uncomfortable place to carry and in doing so rules out hip carry as an option. With that ruled out there goes some holster options too.
Going back to our clothing there’s also the issue of belts. Women don’t tend to wear belts as often, I know I don’t, and gun belts made for women are hard to find.
Though there are some options out there is you search hard enough, like this one from The Well Armed Woman.
But I don’t want to wear a belt every day, some of my clothing just isn’t suited to it and the belts that are flattering on me simply aren’t suitable for a holster.
With all of this in mind, I began my own personal search for the perfect gun holster before I even had my concealed carry license.
The Remora Gun Holsters
I started with a Remora IWB Holster. This was actually a great place to start as it allowed me to try every inside the waistband carry position I could think of and taught me a lot about where on my body I was most able to conceal, as it turns out just behind my hip bone and appendix carry are both comfortable for me and I’m able to conceal there.
The Remora was also great because I didn’t need a belt, the sticky fabric holds the holster in place with the friction between waistband and belt. But unfortunately, after wearing the Remora for a time I realized that it wasn’t the perfect holster for me. For more info visit www.remoraholsterstore.com
Miss Concealed Gun Holsters
Next, I tried the Miss Concealed Hidden Heat Lace Gun Holster, this holster holds the firearm close to your body on or around the waist band. Again, this holster was great in that it didn’t require a belt and it offered much more flexibility in the clothing options I had. Unfortunately for me I could never quite get it tight enough to be comfortable for all day wear (though I have friends who don’t have that problem and love this holster) so on I went in my search for the perfect gun holster. For more info visit : www.missconcealed.com
Alien Gear Gun Holsters
Third on my list was the Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 2.0 (the 3.0 wasn’t yet available). This is a holster designed to be worn behind the hip with a belt. The wide backing spreads the weight of the gun across the waistband instead of it being concentrated in one place. I loved the fit and feel of this holster, it was so comfortable to wear and the neoprene fabric that backs it (this is a neoprene and kydex style) stays cool even in the heat of summer. Was this the perfect gun holster? Sadly this one wasn’t quite right either, I have a toddler and spend much of my time bending down to pick her up or otherwise do something for her and every time I bent my jeans would angle away from my body taking my firearm with them causing it to stick out at a 45 degree angle.
It was at this point that I realized that like the hidden heat I needed something that kept the gun close into my body.
For more info visit: www.aliengearholsters.com
Can Can Concealment Gun Holsters
That was when I found the Can Can Concealment Hip Hugger Big Shebang Gun Holster. This holster is a hip height compression holster that can be worn under any clothing. The compression keeps the firearm tucked tight into your body and snug in place.
It offers 4 carry positions (or space for 4 firearms?) and three accessories pockets, which meant that I could carry my firearm, knife, flashlight and spare magazine all in one holster! This has been my go to holster now for the last 6 months and even over the summer months it has kept my firearm totally concealed in comfort. For more info visit: www.cancanconcealment.com
Of course it’s still not the perfect gun holster, it’s a little difficult to get on and off which can be tedious when you’re in and out of the house.
So my search continues for the perfect gun holster, I think next I’ll try the well armed woman’s inside the waistband holster with ulticlip stay tuned to AmmoLand for future updates.
About Sarah Carling
Sarah Carling can be found here on Ammoland and on her own blog at SimplyArmed.com. She is originally from the UK and is now an Ex-pat Brit who found her love of shooting later in life after moving to the US. Sarah is an avid firearms enthusiast and proficient in pistol shooting (especially the M1911 Platform). She started using firearms in 2010 and soon fell in love with all aspects. Sarah has quickly become an advocate for the shooting sports encouraging women to learn and improve their firearms skills both through her work as an instructor and her position as a local leader for The Well Armed Women and as a certified NRA firearms instructor.
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimplyArmed
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/simplyarmed
- Website: https://simplyarmed
Here’s a tip for your Can Can Concealment Hip Hugger, when putting it on, do the hooks up higher around your waist. Then pull down to the hips. Similarly, to remove, pull the garment up around the waist, un-do the hooks. I put one on in the morning and don’t take it off until bedtime.