johnh
10-06-2011, 07:31 PM
I, like many forum members who carry concealed regularly, have devoted quite a bit of time and resources to finding quality, comfortable holsters for my regular carry guns. It took many years of experimenting to decide what rigs worked best for me, for particular situations. One area that I have not had the best luck with was in identifying an outside the waistband (OWB) holster that I could use regularly for concealed carry. While inside the waistband (IWB) holsters have their advantages in terms of concealment, they are never as comfortable as an OWB rig. The fact that the gun has to be wedged between your body , waistband, and belt, means that there will be more contact between the gun and your torso. In addition, the pants waistband will be stretched making for a much less comfortable fit. While I am happy enough with my regular carry IWB rigs, I have long wanted to find an OWB rig that would allow me to hide a gun under an untucked shirt well enough to carry concealed that way. But this raised its own set of challenges.
The primary issue with OWB rigs is obviously printing. The gun being outside the waistband makes it much more likely to make an impression on clothing that covers it, and that can be noticed. I tend to think that most shooters worry more about this than is necessary. When you put on a gun, cover it with a shirt, and look in the mirror, you know it is there. You know where to look for it, and will recognized the impression it makes on the covering clothes. This printing seems quite visible to the wearer, but may not be to an observer not looking for a gun. Never-the-less, it is important when carrying concealed to do one’s best to keep concealment as complete as possible. So for an OWB holster to work for concealed carry, it must minimize printing. My past experiments with various holsters never produced a satisfactory result when carrying anything but the smallest of handguns.
With that in mind, I contacted Edward Kaye, owner of Stellar Rigs Holsters (http://www.stellarrigs.com/). Stellar Rigs has been a sponsor of KahrTalk since the very early days of the forum, and has provided many a member with his high quality products. I asked if they could provide me a kydex OWB rig that would effectively conceal a mid-sized Glock pistol, while being comfortable to wear and providing effective retention. They assured me that this would be no problem. I know some members might ask “why not leather?” Kydex wears better, tends to be lighter, has more capability to offer adjustments to carry configuration (such as changes to cant), retains shape, and has the ability to retain the pistol using just the tension of the kydex. Leather is pretty, but unless you need a soft surface (such as for a backer), kydex wins in all other areas.
In short order, Stellar Rigs provided me one of their hand made Paddle models, in my preferred color of Coyote Brown. Yes, I know, that is the latest fad in gear colors, but Tan/FDE/Coyote is the new black. It also matches the rest of my non-concealed carry gear for when I am serving as a range officer or just having fun with the guys putting some lead down range.
My first impressions of the Stellar Paddle Holster had to be that it is an extremely solid piece of gear. The materials Stellar uses are not the very thin kydex offered by some other brands. This is a good thickness of kydex that will not break any time soon. I suspect you could stand on it and not do any damage. It is not so thick as to be bulky—just a reassuring amount of material if you have ever (as I have) had a holster break. Thin kydex can be brittle. The color is a good approximation of military FDE. You may not see that in my pictures, but it goes very well with my other similarly colored gear. Of course it can be had in black if you prefer that. ;)
The fit of the holster to pistol is simply perfect. It has been precisely contoured to the Glock platform that I wanted to use this rig for. I know, not a Kahr but I am well covered in holsters for the small guns I carry. My purpose here was to achieve a comfortable way of carrying a larger pistol, OWB. The fit of Stellar’s rig to my Glock 23 is perfect. The retention is just enough to hold the gun solidly in place even during sudden movement—including jumping up and down, as well as going prone. Cheap, mass produced kydex holsters always fail such tests. They lack proper fit to pistol frames, and thus proper retention. The generic mass produced holsters that claim to fit more than one brand of pistol are even worse. Stellar’s holsters will not fail you while on the move. If fit of the kydex alone is not good enough, Stellar has included tension screws with rubber spacers that allow further tuning. I did not need to adjust them in any way. Another important feature of Stellar’s holster body is that the kydex is kept intentionally smooth. There are no sharp or rough edges, and all corners have been rounded off to prevent snagging. This holster will not hang up on your garments, avoiding any possible interference with drawing, holstering, or creating suspicious angles in covering clothing.
For the paddle and mounting hardware, Stellar has chosen to use factory Bladetech components. As they point out on their web site, these are some of the best paddles made today. The material is robust without being bulky. Equally important is the fact that the Bladetech paddle allows for four positions of height adjustment just using screws. Stellar added to this by making the holster body feature seven wisely placed holes for adjusting holster cant and position using the two main attachment screws that mount it to the paddle. With these options, you can choose from a variety of cant and height options. In my case it was perfect out of the box. Stellar seemed to have read my mind in terms of what I needed to best carry my G23 concealed under a loose fitting shirt. The Bladtech paddle uses a j-hook method of gripping the belt that works very well at holding the holster in place, while still allowing it to be removed without major effort. Stellar could have made their own paddles I am sure, but there is great wisdom in recognizing that there is no reason to reinvent the wheel. Bladetech got the paddle right, so they just added a better holster.
That brings me to the most important point, how has it worked for my original intended purpose? The answer is very, very well. When it first arrived I took some time and experimented with various clothing. I quickly discovered that the Stellar Paddle holds the gun closer to my body that other OWB rigs I have tried. This greatly reduces the potential for printing. I am a thin man, and do not have much waist diameter or torso thickness to hide pistol grips. If a gun protrudes to the side, front, or back, it will show on me as a tell-tale bulge. Thus most OWB rigs fail as they tend to let a pistol tilt out, back, or forward too far to hide when I bend over even a minimal amount. This does not happen with the Stellar Paddle Holster unless I wear a tight shirt—something I never do when carrying concealed unless using a pocket holster or low set IWB rig. It was immediately apparent that I could easily carry the medium sized Glock 23 under a loose fitting, untucked shirt in this holster with minimal risk of printing. That cleared me to move on to the only valid test of everyday carry.
As good fortune would have it, the holster arrived just in time for a long family vacation trip to visit my wife’s family in Minnesota. I wore the Stellar paddle and my G23 as often as possible on the trip, typically under an un-tucked button-up shirt and cargo shorts, combined with a quality leather pistol belt. This is a very good test as shorts do not hold up a holster as well as pants, and summer weather meant that my shirt was fairly light. I regularly checked my reflection for printing and saw no obvious issues. I also had my wife monitor this, and she reported the same. She is prone to saying “you are printing honey” if she sees me slip. In addition to hiding well, the OWB rig had the fringe benefit of being much more comfortable than an IWB when driving. Sitting in a van for eight hours tends to expose every little aspect of a carry rig’s comfort issues. I could have forgotten I was wearing the Stellar Paddle Holster. Hands down, this rig met every one of my expectations for comfort, and far exceeded my expectation for concealability. It proved itself then, and has continued to do so since.
I highly recommend the Stellar Rigs Paddle Holster to forum members. Anyone seeking a high quality OWB holster for concealed carry, range, duty, or competition use would be very well served by one of these rigs. I have never been happier with an outside the waistband holster, and it has become a key part of my concealed carry gear. It also goes with me on every range trip. I have finally found an OWB rig that I can wear in complete comfort while remaining confident that my concealed carry pistol stays concealed. I will also be trying out one of Stellar’s pocket rigs as soon as funds permit me to pick up the PM9 I have been carefully budgeting for. Anyone seeking a high quality concealed carry holster owes it to themselves to get to the Stellar Rigs web site and check out their product line. I am very sure you will be pleased with your purchase!
Stellar Rigs Holsters web site (http://www.stellarrigs.com/)
Side View (Notice the Cool Color! :D)
http://kahrtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=81&pictureid=540
View of Paddle and Adjustments
http://kahrtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=81&pictureid=541
Top View Showing Contours
http://kahrtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=81&pictureid=542
The primary issue with OWB rigs is obviously printing. The gun being outside the waistband makes it much more likely to make an impression on clothing that covers it, and that can be noticed. I tend to think that most shooters worry more about this than is necessary. When you put on a gun, cover it with a shirt, and look in the mirror, you know it is there. You know where to look for it, and will recognized the impression it makes on the covering clothes. This printing seems quite visible to the wearer, but may not be to an observer not looking for a gun. Never-the-less, it is important when carrying concealed to do one’s best to keep concealment as complete as possible. So for an OWB holster to work for concealed carry, it must minimize printing. My past experiments with various holsters never produced a satisfactory result when carrying anything but the smallest of handguns.
With that in mind, I contacted Edward Kaye, owner of Stellar Rigs Holsters (http://www.stellarrigs.com/). Stellar Rigs has been a sponsor of KahrTalk since the very early days of the forum, and has provided many a member with his high quality products. I asked if they could provide me a kydex OWB rig that would effectively conceal a mid-sized Glock pistol, while being comfortable to wear and providing effective retention. They assured me that this would be no problem. I know some members might ask “why not leather?” Kydex wears better, tends to be lighter, has more capability to offer adjustments to carry configuration (such as changes to cant), retains shape, and has the ability to retain the pistol using just the tension of the kydex. Leather is pretty, but unless you need a soft surface (such as for a backer), kydex wins in all other areas.
In short order, Stellar Rigs provided me one of their hand made Paddle models, in my preferred color of Coyote Brown. Yes, I know, that is the latest fad in gear colors, but Tan/FDE/Coyote is the new black. It also matches the rest of my non-concealed carry gear for when I am serving as a range officer or just having fun with the guys putting some lead down range.
My first impressions of the Stellar Paddle Holster had to be that it is an extremely solid piece of gear. The materials Stellar uses are not the very thin kydex offered by some other brands. This is a good thickness of kydex that will not break any time soon. I suspect you could stand on it and not do any damage. It is not so thick as to be bulky—just a reassuring amount of material if you have ever (as I have) had a holster break. Thin kydex can be brittle. The color is a good approximation of military FDE. You may not see that in my pictures, but it goes very well with my other similarly colored gear. Of course it can be had in black if you prefer that. ;)
The fit of the holster to pistol is simply perfect. It has been precisely contoured to the Glock platform that I wanted to use this rig for. I know, not a Kahr but I am well covered in holsters for the small guns I carry. My purpose here was to achieve a comfortable way of carrying a larger pistol, OWB. The fit of Stellar’s rig to my Glock 23 is perfect. The retention is just enough to hold the gun solidly in place even during sudden movement—including jumping up and down, as well as going prone. Cheap, mass produced kydex holsters always fail such tests. They lack proper fit to pistol frames, and thus proper retention. The generic mass produced holsters that claim to fit more than one brand of pistol are even worse. Stellar’s holsters will not fail you while on the move. If fit of the kydex alone is not good enough, Stellar has included tension screws with rubber spacers that allow further tuning. I did not need to adjust them in any way. Another important feature of Stellar’s holster body is that the kydex is kept intentionally smooth. There are no sharp or rough edges, and all corners have been rounded off to prevent snagging. This holster will not hang up on your garments, avoiding any possible interference with drawing, holstering, or creating suspicious angles in covering clothing.
For the paddle and mounting hardware, Stellar has chosen to use factory Bladetech components. As they point out on their web site, these are some of the best paddles made today. The material is robust without being bulky. Equally important is the fact that the Bladetech paddle allows for four positions of height adjustment just using screws. Stellar added to this by making the holster body feature seven wisely placed holes for adjusting holster cant and position using the two main attachment screws that mount it to the paddle. With these options, you can choose from a variety of cant and height options. In my case it was perfect out of the box. Stellar seemed to have read my mind in terms of what I needed to best carry my G23 concealed under a loose fitting shirt. The Bladtech paddle uses a j-hook method of gripping the belt that works very well at holding the holster in place, while still allowing it to be removed without major effort. Stellar could have made their own paddles I am sure, but there is great wisdom in recognizing that there is no reason to reinvent the wheel. Bladetech got the paddle right, so they just added a better holster.
That brings me to the most important point, how has it worked for my original intended purpose? The answer is very, very well. When it first arrived I took some time and experimented with various clothing. I quickly discovered that the Stellar Paddle holds the gun closer to my body that other OWB rigs I have tried. This greatly reduces the potential for printing. I am a thin man, and do not have much waist diameter or torso thickness to hide pistol grips. If a gun protrudes to the side, front, or back, it will show on me as a tell-tale bulge. Thus most OWB rigs fail as they tend to let a pistol tilt out, back, or forward too far to hide when I bend over even a minimal amount. This does not happen with the Stellar Paddle Holster unless I wear a tight shirt—something I never do when carrying concealed unless using a pocket holster or low set IWB rig. It was immediately apparent that I could easily carry the medium sized Glock 23 under a loose fitting, untucked shirt in this holster with minimal risk of printing. That cleared me to move on to the only valid test of everyday carry.
As good fortune would have it, the holster arrived just in time for a long family vacation trip to visit my wife’s family in Minnesota. I wore the Stellar paddle and my G23 as often as possible on the trip, typically under an un-tucked button-up shirt and cargo shorts, combined with a quality leather pistol belt. This is a very good test as shorts do not hold up a holster as well as pants, and summer weather meant that my shirt was fairly light. I regularly checked my reflection for printing and saw no obvious issues. I also had my wife monitor this, and she reported the same. She is prone to saying “you are printing honey” if she sees me slip. In addition to hiding well, the OWB rig had the fringe benefit of being much more comfortable than an IWB when driving. Sitting in a van for eight hours tends to expose every little aspect of a carry rig’s comfort issues. I could have forgotten I was wearing the Stellar Paddle Holster. Hands down, this rig met every one of my expectations for comfort, and far exceeded my expectation for concealability. It proved itself then, and has continued to do so since.
I highly recommend the Stellar Rigs Paddle Holster to forum members. Anyone seeking a high quality OWB holster for concealed carry, range, duty, or competition use would be very well served by one of these rigs. I have never been happier with an outside the waistband holster, and it has become a key part of my concealed carry gear. It also goes with me on every range trip. I have finally found an OWB rig that I can wear in complete comfort while remaining confident that my concealed carry pistol stays concealed. I will also be trying out one of Stellar’s pocket rigs as soon as funds permit me to pick up the PM9 I have been carefully budgeting for. Anyone seeking a high quality concealed carry holster owes it to themselves to get to the Stellar Rigs web site and check out their product line. I am very sure you will be pleased with your purchase!
Stellar Rigs Holsters web site (http://www.stellarrigs.com/)
Side View (Notice the Cool Color! :D)
http://kahrtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=81&pictureid=540
View of Paddle and Adjustments
http://kahrtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=81&pictureid=541
Top View Showing Contours
http://kahrtalk.com/picture.php?albumid=81&pictureid=542