A review of the Smartcarry.

T

The Terminator

New member
The Smartcarry came in last week. I have tried it with a few different pistols. Mine is the medium size, regular waist. I am a 36 in the waist. I still have a decent amount of dunlap.

I first tried it with an HK P2000 in 40. It is a medium sized auto, not much different in size from a Glock 19. The hammer kept poking me in the dunlap section of my belly when sitting or driving. Ditto for the Sig P245, though it was a bit more comfortable. INext, I tried my newly acquired Kimber Ultra Carry. It is a lightweight model, with the alloy frame, officer length grip, commander length slide. It was great when standing, but still poked me some when sitting or driving. It was the smallest of the three.

I also tried the HK USP Compact, in 40, with a bobbed hammer. It felt the best as far as comfort, no potruding hammer or beavertail to poke me when sitting. I did look a lot like John Holm... you know. It does tend to crush your privates with tight jeans. If you are going to wear one of these, they work well with loosely fitting pants, like khakis which I wear a lot, or loose fitting shorts, like I have on today, or maybe gym pants, which I haven't owned in years.

Lastly, I found peace with the Smartcarry today. I picked up my HK 2000 SK, in 40. It came with 2 mags and the XG grip extender for use with a 12 round HK USP/P2000 regular magazine. Normal magazine capacity is 9 rounds. This little pistol is very much the size of the Glock 27. The longer 12 round full sized HK USP/P2000 mag adds about 3/8 of an inch to the grip length. Nirvana was here. I'm sitting here wearing it, and had forgot about it until just now. I can wear it around the house all day, and never think about it being there. That is what a comfortable ccw holster should do, be forgotten about.

Would I buy it again? Yes. Is it perfect for every firearm? Not with my build. Maybe for a slimmer person, or one with much looser fitting pants, I found a used one, said to be used only one time for $35. I am going to buy it. The cost of this new one, with shipping, was $53. Here are some photos.

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Thanks for the review, very timely.
I've been considering a Smart Carry for use with a XD subcompact, looks like it should work fine. :)
 
I have one too

No pics, though. I carry my Sig C3 (Commander size 1911) in it under scrubs some times and it hides very well. Sitting down takes a few adjustments, though. Overall, felt very secure after an hour or two.
 
I really like my SmartCarry. An important aspect to making it work is to wear it low, and to some extent perhaps rotating it for comfort. If directly OVER your privates is uncomfortable, just shift it to one side a little--everyones different.
 
Try This

Guys this has been a great holster for me i carry an xd 9mm sub or glock 26 and i have never had a problem.Try this carry method it has also worked great for me.Shift holster to strong side just of hip and raise grip just above paint line.Works great for IWB
 
The thing I don't like about the SmartCarry...

... is the same thing that makes me wince when I see people put fancy, protruding spikes and other things on the center of a Harley gas tank.

If something ever goes wrong, it's going to be a really, really bad day.
 
Obviously you've never worn one. It is not a matter of "something going wrong"; it is a matter of you doing something wrong.

At no time is anything pointed at the equipment. It is pointed parallel to the equipment, parallel to your leg, and down toward the ground (while standing).

If you are really stupid, and tend to grab your pistol with your finger inside the trigger guard whilst drawing, you may do some damage to your leg (of course, if you are so inclined, the matter of carry is somewhat inconsequential).

If you are exceptionally stupid, you may get it part way out, and who knows where it will be pointing when you negligently discharge.

And that is the key. You are in control of your weapon from the time you put it on until the time you take it off. Anything that happens between those times, you are responsible for the outcome.

In my 52 years, I have never heard of a gun just "going off". The Bradys talk about it as if it were an everyday occurrance. I'm pretty sure that if I keep my dadgum finger off the trigger, it will never happen.

That's why there are Four Rules. You have to violate more than one at a time if you wish to suffer.
 
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Reply to OrionEngnr

With a name like that, I have to assume you're a fellow P3 bubba.

Anyway, I'm a stickler for the 4 rules, and have had zero ND in 26 years of handgun shooting. I'm a big fan of the "finger on the frame" draw method, which I picked up less from shooting instructors and more from preflighting T-34's as a student, when I used to check pitot tubes while keeping a hand on the wing leading edge, to make sure I knew where my fingers were at all times while around the potentially hot object.

That said, I've never tried to draw a weapon from the vicinity of my crotch below and behind the waistband of my pants, while in a high stress/high adrenaline scenario. While I'm good under pressure (my guess is you've also dealt with your share of engine and prop malfunctions, FOUO's, instrument failures in IMC; maybe even the occasional student who tries to kill you in the pattern), I have to allow for the possibility that I could get fumble-fingered when lead threatens to start flying.

Given that possibility, I'll stick with my IWB, OWB, and pocket rigs.

Cheers.
 
Like he said, with a smartcarry the gun is never pointed at your body--it points down directly between your legs. The gun is parallel to you.
 
When holstered, sure...

... but is this necessarily true throughout all stages of the draw, especially if you snag your shirt, underwear, or pants waistband during the draw?
 
I would like to note that many ND's have been recorded with all types of carry, many even upon re-holstering the pistol. We can all search and find these. However, I cannot find a single instance of a Smartcarried pistol being ND'd. I am sure that it has happened somewhere, nonetheless.

To blame the holster or type of carry is to shift responsibility from the primary safety tool, the brain. This method is no safer or less safe than any other, if the shooter does his/her part. To make a snap judgement based upon speculation without experiences is just what it is.
 
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Any holster can be improperly unholstered with the gun pointing inward at your body and unintentionally fired. A shot to the leg can be fatal.

No holster requires no training.
 
What snap judgement?

I'm just looking at the location, the layers of fabric likely to surround the holster, and the probable adrenaline state if it had to be carried.

It's called Operational Risk Assessment. It's a pretty standard process for military and aviation. Sorry if you don't like it, but my assessment is that it's not a system I'd want to play with.

Plus side: deep concealment, regardless of clothing type.

Minus side: not the easiest location to access; located in vicinity of overlap of multiple layers of garment, making it easier to get tangled on the draw; if caught by surprise, and trying to draw quickly, it seems to me one is likely to try to go faster than the system will readily permit, making a dexterity-related error more likely.

There may not have been any problems, so far. However, I'd be curious to know how many SmartCarry users have actually had to draw when already behind the curve. My guess is there have not been many reported cases where that has been the scenario.

I also don't think there have been nearly as many SmartCarry users as there are users of other systems, first because the system hasn't been around that long, and second because a lot of people want something more accessible. At least one of us wants something not sitting in that location... So, given that other systems make up the vast majority, it's not surprising that so far the NDs have happened with other systems.

In the SmartCarry location, if the gun is parallel and an ND occurs, probably nothing happens. However, if something happens during draw or reholster, there are good odds the weapon is pointed at either the family jewels or one of the femoral arteries.

I believe in Murphy too much to go with that possibility. To reiterate, I do a lot of shooting, and have been shooting handguns for 26 years. I have not had an ND, in tens of thousands of rounds. I do not expect to have an ND. But, if I ever do, it won't be with a SmartCarry because I will not use that system.
 
User error vs mishap

Note: I never had a wreck which threw me forward over my Harley, when I owned one. I still refused to accessorize my tank with anything sharp or pointy, just in case. For that matter, I also wore a helmet and PPE. Cars sometimes have a say in what happens to a biker.

With a weapon system, an attacker may have a say in how skillfully you draw. You say you've never had an ND. Great. How many times have you had to draw while under attack? Is there a possibility that bullets coming your way, or a punch or kick landing at just the wrong time, could cause you to fumble a draw? If there is no possibility, you are either a much mightier soul than I am, or else you are a supreme optimist.
 
Can you draw with the Smart carry in the seated position? How about kneeling behind cover? I have developed a little extra padding around the mid section myself and without having the smart carry to test my concern are these positions that I can easily draw from now with my IWB rig.

I do like the idea of being able to carry with shorts on or not having to wear a belt.
 
I did a couple of seated draws, not real easy, but, it can be done if necessary. I was thinking about this while driving. I keep a pistol close by when driving anyways. Or even if it is the only one that you have, it would be easier to unholster from the Smartcarry when driving.

Kneeling? Not so bad if the strong side leg is down. This isn't rocket science, but some folks just simply don't like it. I don't mind it for its applicable dress methods. I'd wear it with shorts in a minute. The biggest advantage is that you can carry a larger pistol. No mini's or compacts are demanded, yet they are even more comfortable. With shorts, my Kimber Ultra Carry is OK, so is the Sig 245. But, like I mentioned, they like to get pokey when seated, as in driving.

As far as layers of clothing, the only thing on the outer layer of the holster should be your pants. The draw is not as fast as iwb, owb, or in most cases, pocket carry. It is faster than ankle, when standing, and faster than a fanny pack/man purse. It is not the have all and be all of ccw, but it is a good option to have when you want to dress a certain way, and when some methods of carry won't really conceal the pistol. Best -
 
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