I plan to write this review over the course of several weeks.
The folks over at Urban Carry were kind enough to loan me a black leather holster, perfect for my Smith and Wesson M&P Shield 9mm. First up I’d like to simply link to their video that describes the holster better than I could. And what follows will be my experiences with the holster.
Now you should have a good idea of what we’re talking about. Up until now, my primary concealed carry holster has been an IWB, Alien Gear holster. It conceals nicely, is quite flat, and perfect for 3 o’clock to 4 o’clock positioning. As a hefty guy, we tend to prefer various hip carry positions. Like in the video above, with a gun that sticks up a little bit above the waist line, anywhere in front of 3 o’clock, it’s digging into me. I have a Smart Carry holster that I’ve used in specific situations that allows me to get my concealed firearm in a very inconspicuous location. With a belt buckle, it won’t set off sensors, etc.
On to the Urban Carry. Up until today, I’ve worn it out twice. I kept it on into the evening, both times, after returning home. Right off the bat, this IS a holster I can appendix carry, comfortably, and I’m not worried about shooting myself. That’s primarily because the weapon is so low, that it folds with the contents of my front pocket. As a hefty guy, I’m super excited about this option opening up.
After the second day and evening of carrying it, I unloaded the Shield and did several test draws in my bedroom. I can tell two things. I need more practice drawing it, and breaking in the leather will help tremendously.
Appendix Carry
I’ve never been a fan of appendix carry. As a husky guy, I won’t deny that it’s always been uncomfortable, since all other CCW options have at least a portion of the weapon under the belt or above. That always results in poking and jabbing of the gun into my belly. Even the Smart Carry doesn’t carry low enough. With a good belt buckle, it’s good enough to help me carry where it’s frowned upon, even through metal detectors. But I’m still faced with the dilemma of comfort.
Yesterday, I carried my Shield in the Urban Carry all day. Traveled in a car. Sat around a campfire. Did a lot of sitting and getting up. Because this holster positions the entire gun on top of your thigh, below the belt, it just folds up at the standard crease of the jeans. No pinching or discomfort!
This holster is quickly becoming one of favorites! I do not believe that there is a one-holster-for-all-situations. As any CCW carrier will tell you, there are different needs for different situations. And sometimes you may even choose to have different handguns for different situations. I’m hoping for a family heirloom S&W 38 revolver someday, that I’d rotate into my CCW choices.
But one promising feature with the Urban Carry is that I foresee wearing it with shorts more comfortably than any of my other holsters. And with our warm summer coming pretty soon, I look forward to the results.
I’ve asked two LEOs to pat me down, with zero warning about the two pocket knives or the weapon in the holster, a bit closer to my junk than the photo above. One of them found it, the other didn’t. I will admit, the deputy who did a rotation in the jail with my cohorts and myself, is the one who found it. Generally, jail staff do significantly better pat downs.
Today, I’m wearing the Urban Carry on my 3+ hour Amtrak ride. Mostly sitting and going to the bathroom. Those bathrooms are just a tiny bit more roomy than an airliner’s restroom. So that was a good test to see how I could navigate the space. I had more trouble just standing up and keeping good aim, than I did with the holster. It’s attached to my belt, so didn’t see the need to unholster and find a place to safely set it, while I took care of business.
Urban Carry…+1 more
CCW hassles with safe gun storage…0
Today I wore it to church. Sitting wasn’t a problem. Before the service started, I stood up and mentally pictured me drawing. I see zero issues, after some muscle memory building, with drawing from this holster. Kneeling, with the leg that has the firearm, also a non-issue.
The next time I wore it was to see how it does while I’m riding my city bike around the block.
That ended well. Didn’t hinder me at all. I ride a Electra Loft 7i. It’s sorta a city bike cruiser. I could easily see being quick enough to position my carrying leg for a nice straight up draw. I wanted to take photos, but couldn’t really do it with enough light, and NOT front myself off in view of the public.
However I think with the amount that I’ve worn this really great holster, I’ve found two issues that stand out.
The first issue I have is that I cannot comfortably draw while in any seat of a car, with the seatbelt on. Taking off the seatbelt only marginally helps. There solutions I may use with my own setup, but I’m tasked with an honest review of this Urban Carry. That may be as a result of my belly hanging over, but it’s an issue either way.
The second issue is really just a great need for this design to be applied to a single and double magazine holder, for the other side. I love to carry a second mag at least, since I’m behind enemy lines, in California, with mag limits, even for retired LEOs.
It’s time to roll this up, and publish it. My overall opinion is that I will continue to highly recommend Urban Carry deep concealment holsters. As I’ve worn in the leather, it HAS gotten much easier to use.
