Trouble with IWB design.

[JellyJar]

Many years ago I bought a Milt Sparks summer IWB. Like many IWB holsters it has a steel reinforced mouth to prevent the holster from collapsing. That mouth digs into my side and is so uncomfortable that I cannot stand to wear the thing for more than a minute or two.

Has anyone else experienced this issue with this design feature in this model or other holsters? If so are there holsters that have a similar feature but is comfortable?

 

[stu454]

IWB comfort is a hit and miss for everyone.

One man's ultimate is another man's torture.

Mitch Rosen offers a 'Slim' line with a holster similar to the Summer Special but thinner. It's $215 but Rosen's holsters are very well made and useful.

http://www.mitchrosen.com/product_line/product_line.html

 

[Old Fuff]

You didn't mention what handgun, but I presume it's a large one. Consider these suggestions:

1. Try a pair of pants that are one size larger then you usually wear. You have to make room for the holstered gun.

2. Tight fitting jeans are not your friend...

3. A quality belt is a must, and if this is a heavy gun consider suspenders in addition to the belt.

 

[stu454]

What's your build? Skinny or love handles? IWB carry was easier for me when I weighed 190 at 5'11" as opposed to 210.

As old fuff noted, size your pants around 2" over your regular size in the waist.

 

[usmarine0352_2005]

.
I'll say two words:



Crossbreed Supertuck




.......and I think many people will agree.



Try one. At $55 bucks it's an amazing deal and most likely the last IWB I'll ever need to buy.

 

[JTQ]

Try Concealco. They use a leather tab at the leading edge of the holster to keep it open. No metal. I don't have one, but it looks like a good, comfortable design.

http://www.concealco.com/

 

[jcowan]

I feel your pain. After carrying mine in the same position for 28 years, I tried a new holster. I bought a Front Line IWB for my Glock 19. It is the type that you can tuck your shirt in. The quality of the holster is fantastic but I never left the house before I switched back to my original. I can only carry deep down, This one just rides too high and I cant get used to it. The cheap suede deep down is the only thing I like, or no holster is fine for me too. Keep trying till you find what fits. Also I always wear a t-shirt between the gun and me. If I am wearing a t-shirt untucked, I wear a tank top under it. I would like a good quality leather deep down, I just cant find it.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Perhaps you might find a design with clips or loops on either side and a non-reinforced mouth more comfortable. The Milt Sparks Watch Six is a great example of this type. I like UBG's offerings even better - virtually equal quality without the 5-6-month wait. If made of sufficiently stiff leather, they will collapse only minimally, if at all, when the gun is out, unless you sit on or roll over on them.

 

[Husaberg Man]

Many years ago I bought a Milt Sparks summer IWB. Like many IWB holsters it has a steel reinforced mouth to prevent the holster from collapsing. That mouth digs into my side and is so uncomfortable that I cannot stand to wear the thing for more than a minute or two.

Has anyone else experienced this issue with this design feature in this model or other holsters? If so are there holsters that have a similar feature but is comfortable?

Are you sure you need a holster that doesn't collapse? I have a few IWB holsters that I could never get comfortable with, and finally went to one that collapsed. It occured to me I usually don't need to unholster the weapon, so what's the problem with a little inconvenience to re-holster it?

Just a thought.

 

[fastbolt]

I seldom use IWB holsters anymore. I owned a respectable number of them in both leather and plastic, open top and with a retention strap/thumb-break, factory-made to hand-made and covering a wide price range.

At 509/170 I still find them uncomfortable over the course of long day/night, meaning for 8-18 hours and getting in & out of various seated situations.

Besides, I like my slacks and jeans to fit the same whether or not I'm wearing a holstered handgun, and stopped buying larger size pants to suit the requirements of carrying IWB many years ago. I sometimes like to wear thinner belts, too.

I know a handful of guys who prefer IWB and that's fine for them. To each their own.

I do prefer a holster which is designed to allow safe and relatively easy holstering/reholstering, though. I think that's a subject not fully appreciated by some folks who have never had to reholster a belt gun after an adrenalin surge and some strenuous physical exertion.

I've often thought that there were a couple of broad categories of holsters among the many types being offered. Those which were fine for carrying a gun around on the belt, without it being drawn, presented and subsequently reholstered very often ... kind of like a belt-mounted carrying case ... and then those which were more oriented toward all aspects of being a 'working' holster.

I consider this latter type to facilitate relatively easy and SAFE holstering when only one hand may be available ... and especially when an outer garment is being lifted/displaced with the same hand in order to accomplish holstering. Errant fingers, loose clothing and jacket/coat waist ties have a way of becoming caught by the mouths of holsters upon occasion, and this can be problematic (and certainly unsafe).

The significant majority of the IWB holsters which remain in my collection, just in case I find I do need one for some situation or circumstance sometime, offer mouths which remain open to facilitate holstering. Some are more comfortable than others (I'm thinking of a stiff plastic one versus the wide reinforced mouth of the leather Summer Special).

Sorry I don't have an answer for you.

I have literally felt your pain, though.

 

[Guillermo]

Personally I think that IWB holsters were invented by those that look longingly to the days of the Spanish Inquisition.

In order to hold your pants up you have to grind the gun into your body.

Thankfully I work for myself and can go untucked and carry on a 5-11 reinforced belt.

 

[Zundfolge]

The problem isn't IWB, the problem is the reinforced mouth.

Reinforced mouths are great if you have to unholster and reholster a lot, but I've had a ton of different IWB holsters without reinforcement and they all work great and are very comfortable.

 

[Guillermo]

u r a better man than me zunda-din

 

[villemur]

I really like the hybrid IWB holsters. I have an MTAC for my XD compact and a Kholster for my 1911 - I think that these style holsters coupled with a good gun belt are about as comfortable as you're going to get for IWB.

 

[bigfatdave]

Steel sounds uncomfortable, but should it really be signifigantly wider than the pistol?
Is there any up & down adjustment available? If the steel hoop is right under the belt, that wouldn't be helpful ... so move it above/below if possible.

Or go with Kydex as at least part of the holster, it doesn't need steel to stay open.

Oh, and another endorsement for CrossBreed, I use a SuperTuck for every carry pistol I own, except for tiny mouseguns.

 

[DBR]

I have had very good results with the Ken Null UNS IWB over the past fifteen years. With a bit of practice re-holstering is easy and the holster is very fast on the draw.

http://www.klnullholsters.com/

I also have used suspenders for years combined with a medium stiff belt. I like the Filson harness leather single ply belts. If you use good suspenders attached to you trousers (not your belt) you don't have to tighten your belt until your eyes bulge to carry even a heavy gun like a steel 1911 comfortably IWB.

I like Welch suspenders:http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Work-...79930?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1269918911&sr=8-3

For slimmer guns I like the Kramer line of IWB holsters.