bassjam
Member
I wanted to share my solution. Generally when backpacking and hiking I keep an LCP in my pocket because it's lightweight and is out of the way from a pack's waist band. But I wade-fish quite a bit, getting into chest-deep water and never liked the gun being constantly underwater in silty, muddy water, especially since the LCP doesn't have a rust-proof coating. I didn't like the fanny pack or chest pack solutions because a zipper or velcro slowed down access, so I made my own custom solution taking inspiration from WWI & WWII era holsters. It fits on the waist strap of my fishing pack and will fit on most backpacking packs and day packs as well. It doesn't completely hide the gun, but I think most people aren't going to give it a second notice:
Here's how it's made. I needed an OWB holster, but my gun (CZ P10M) didn't have many options and I couldn't use leather with the water which limited me. So I found a kydex IWB holster from Vedder and used this OWB conversion from LM Tactical. For the cover I used a waterproof polyester "canvas" that closely matched the color of my fishing pack.
I sewed the cover/flap double-layer using polyester thread. The red arrow is pointing to a magnet I sewed inside the flap, this is used to secure the flap over the gun. The magnet sticks lightly to the slide but it can't be too strong. The blue line where I sewed a piece of stainless steel wire from a coat hanger to give the flap some rigidity and makes access to the gun faster and easier. The area in yellow is where I sewed a piece if thin HDPE plastic from an ice cream container lid. This gives the back some structure so it folds nicely over the gun. And the Velcro is how I attach it to the holster. I mocked up several different iterations out scrap material, gluing plastic, wire, and the magnet to different locations with different flap shapes to get to this design. I've used it for a year and am happy with it.
When accessing the gun the procedure is very similar to how you'd normally do it, but instead of coming straight down to the grip I have to sweep in from behind the grip with my thumb. The flap automatically pops out of the way.
Here's how it's made. I needed an OWB holster, but my gun (CZ P10M) didn't have many options and I couldn't use leather with the water which limited me. So I found a kydex IWB holster from Vedder and used this OWB conversion from LM Tactical. For the cover I used a waterproof polyester "canvas" that closely matched the color of my fishing pack.
I sewed the cover/flap double-layer using polyester thread. The red arrow is pointing to a magnet I sewed inside the flap, this is used to secure the flap over the gun. The magnet sticks lightly to the slide but it can't be too strong. The blue line where I sewed a piece of stainless steel wire from a coat hanger to give the flap some rigidity and makes access to the gun faster and easier. The area in yellow is where I sewed a piece if thin HDPE plastic from an ice cream container lid. This gives the back some structure so it folds nicely over the gun. And the Velcro is how I attach it to the holster. I mocked up several different iterations out scrap material, gluing plastic, wire, and the magnet to different locations with different flap shapes to get to this design. I've used it for a year and am happy with it.
When accessing the gun the procedure is very similar to how you'd normally do it, but instead of coming straight down to the grip I have to sweep in from behind the grip with my thumb. The flap automatically pops out of the way.
