Can’t find a comfortable carry solution for OWB carry.

C

corneileous

New member
First and foremost, I really like carrying my Springfield XDE 45 in my bare arms kydex OWB holster but carrying it comfortably has been a bit of a challenge.

Found out right away that both my Alien Gear and Crossbreed leather belts may work ok for IWB carry but they don’t work worth a flip for carrying a pistol in an OWB holster configuration whether it’s the gun/holster combination I’ve been wearing, or even with my beretta PX4 compact 9mm in a leather pancake holster so, after learning about proper gun belt stiffness, I bought one of those “G” hook nylon tactical belts from Volund Gearworks.

Awesome belt, this thing aces the droop test with flying colors but, I still have to cinch the thing down pretty tight in order to hold my pants up. I am a pretty big guy with a bit of a gut so, that might the majority of it. Plus, I’m a truck driver so, I do a lot of sitting. It seems like how tight the belt has to be in order to hold everything up while standing, is far too tight while sitting and by the end of the day, my gut’s kinda sore. Lol.

Am I just wearing the belt wrong, or what? I’m thinking about getting one of those Kore Essentials belts that have easy, on-the-fly adjustability with that click-track system they have so that when I get outta the truck, I can easily tighten it and when I get back in, I can easily loosen it.

Suggestions? Ideas? Help?

Thanks.


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I've always had a concealment issue carrying owb but not a comfort issue, even when the best belt/holster combo. Pancake style is best but still sits off the beltline to much for me unless I'm wearing a jacket.

FWIW, suspenders that clip to the belt are the best way to go so the belt isn't cinched so tight.

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Skippy said:
I've always had a concealment issue carrying owb but not a comfort issue, even when the best belt/holster combo. Pancake style is best but still sits off the beltline to much for me unless I'm wearing a jacket.

FWIW, suspenders that clip to the belt are the best way to go so the belt isn't cinched so tight.

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Man, I was hoping not to hear the spenders recommendation but I’ve kinda thought about that being my only solution. lol.

If I wore a jacket all day every day, I’d just look into a shoulder holster but that’s not gonna happen.

I’ve currently gone back to pocket carry just to give my gut a break but, I really prefer OWB carry for better accessibility.

As far as printing, I’m really not concerned about it since here in Oklahoma, nobody really cares about full commitment to either open carry or concealed carry so if I print just a little bit, it’s no big deal. My new longer t-shirts cover up pretty good so maybe to the trains eye, one might know what’s under my shirt tail. Lol.


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corneileous said:
Man, I was hoping not to hear the spenders recommendation but I’ve kinda thought about that being my only solution. lol. ....
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It wasn't hard for me, but probably because I wear them over an undershirt but under an untucked top shirt, usually a t-shirt, button-up shirt or sweatshirt. I guess suspenders are not for everyone, but it took a lot of pressure off my back and kidneys and kept my pants up. I have no butt.



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Skippy said:
It wasn't hard for me, but probably because I wear them over an undershirt but under an untucked top shirt, usually a t-shirt, button-up shirt or sweatshirt. I guess suspenders are not for everyone, but it took a lot of pressure off my back and kidneys and kept my pants up. I have no butt.



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Lol, according to my lovely girlfriend, I don’t have that much of a butt either but who knows, I may have to look into suspenders.

I’m just too hot natured, even in the wintertime to wear two shirts for shoulder carry. It’s gotta be a really cold day for me to even have a light jacket on all day long.


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I'm afraid I can't help you, because I have the opposite problem. According to my doctors, I am "obese" (but not "morbidly obese") -- which means "stout" in plain English. I have no trouble wearing an OWB holster, but when I try IWB the extra notch or two needed on my belt to allow the gun and holster to fit inside my waistband doesn't allow my pants to stay up very well.
 
Aguila Blanca said:
I'm afraid I can't help you, because I have the opposite problem. According to my doctors, I am "obese" (but not "morbidly obese") -- which means "stout" in plain English. I have no trouble wearing an OWB holster, but when I try IWB the extra notch or two needed on my belt to allow the gun and holster to fit inside my waistband doesn't allow my pants to stay up very well.
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Perhaps maybe you can help me, since whatever you do works, and you seem to be of similar, well-fed build as me...Lol. I don’t really think my gun choice matters because for one, I consider my little single-stack XDE Springfield and kydex pancake holster to be fairly light and I’ve heard of a lot of people carrying a full-size, all stainless steel 1911 in complete comfort but, what belt do you use? What holster do you use?

Sometimes I wonder if that might’ve been part of my problem when I carried an ultra-light Ruger LC9S IWB was from the hole spacing and the flimsy-ness on either of those leather belts and if this nylon stiff belt I have been wearing, would’ve yielded better results.


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I'm a bigger guy and deal with "droopy drawers" a lot. I have found a good stiff leather belt and a Don Hume open top owb leather holster worn at the 4 o'clock position works great for my shield or xds. I can't do iwb either. I do have to cinch the belt relatively tight as I also have no butt according to my wife. If I am going to sit for a bit while driving, I will loosen the belt a notch if needed then tighten it up when I get out of the truck. I have also been thinking about getting some sort of holster to mount in the truck while driving. Getting to my pistol while sitting with a seat belt on would definitely be an issue if it was needed in a hurry.
 
AFK said:
I'm a bigger guy and deal with "droopy drawers" a lot. I have found a good stiff leather belt and a Don Hume open top owb leather holster worn at the 4 o'clock position works great for my shield or xds. I can't do iwb either. I do have to cinch the belt relatively tight as I also have no butt according to my wife. If I am going to sit for a bit while driving, I will loosen the belt a notch if needed then tighten it up when I get out of the truck. I have also been thinking about getting some sort of holster to mount in the truck while driving. Getting to my pistol while sitting with a seat belt on would definitely be an issue if it was needed in a hurry.
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I take it yours cuts into you too if you leave it tight when you sit down as well? I guess I’ll find out somewhat this weekend and a lot more next week if my new Kore essentials click tactical gun belt will be a good replacement or not. I’m hoping it will because of how they claim it’s extreme easyness of how it can be loosened it tightened even while sitting because thats what I think primarily is the problem with my volund belt is that it’s a pain in the butt to buckle up and tighten, and you pretty much gotta be standing to loosen it because of it’s design. You thread the right end into a stretchy loop on the left end, then you take the strap with the g hook that’s attached to the left end and hook it to a loop on the right end. Then you grab the loose end of the strap, and pull it to the left end to tighten it, then secure the loose end of the strap to the Velcro on the left side.

It’s a nice belt, and even through practice, it’s not as much of a pain as it started out as but it’s still practically impossible to loosen it or tighten it while I’m sitting.


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Yeah , while I'm sitting it has a tendency to dig in to my "love handles" when the belt is too tight as well. Sounds like you're on the right track as to what will work for you. I am always amazed at what people SAY they can carry comfortably compared to me, but everyone is built differently. Maybe it's the wrong approach, but I try to adapt my carry gear to what I like to wear, which is mostly jeans and a t-shirt. This is also a reason I just picked up a G42 for pocket carry. When fit in to a Boraii pocket holster it disappears in my pocket and it is super light.
 
I am also "blessed" with 'extra-padding', but typically I do not have many issues when I put on a OWB. My usual carry is IWB with a tuckable from High Noon, and a belt from, well they aren't in business anymore, but its a sharkskin belt. The gun is either a full size 1911 or a Sig 228.

I think the only detail I didn't glean from the thread is which position do you set your holster at? If I am carrying IWB, its usually 3 - 330. OWB I go a little further back, 4-430, and my OWB holsters are canted, not sure how many degrees, but whatever the typical cant is.

Have you tried inquiring at a local leather shop for belt or holster ideas? They might be able to customize something for you, that ordering online might not be able to provide.
 
AFK said:
Yeah , while I'm sitting it has a tendency to dig in to my "love handles" when the belt is too tight as well. Sounds like you're on the right track as to what will work for you. I am always amazed at what people SAY they can carry comfortably compared to me, but everyone is built differently. Maybe it's the wrong approach, but I try to adapt my carry gear to what I like to wear, which is mostly jeans and a t-shirt. This is also a reason I just picked up a G42 for pocket carry. When fit in to a Boraii pocket holster it disappears in my pocket and it is super light.
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Yeah, until I can try my new belt, I’ve just gone back to pocket carrying the Springfield. I could just say the hell with OWB carrying altogether but if it weren’t so difficult to draw from a pocket, especially when I’m seated, I’d just stay with pocket carry but, that’s not the case. My holster does print a little bit but, I’m not too worried about it.

But my belt cuts in below my navel where my pants button up, and the stiffness of the belt kinda digs in where my waist and thighs come together right on top of my legs.

Don’t really have a comfort problem on the love-handle portion. Lol.


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spacemanspiff said:
I am also "blessed" with 'extra-padding', but typically I do not have many issues when I put on a OWB. My usual carry is IWB with a tuckable from High Noon, and a belt from, well they aren't in business anymore, but its a sharkskin belt. The gun is either a full size 1911 or a Sig 228.
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Are you seated for long periods of time? If it weren’t for that, my volund belt would probably work great. Lol.



I think the only detail I didn't glean from the thread is which position do you set your holster at? If I am carrying IWB, its usually 3 - 330. OWB I go a little further back, 4-430, and my OWB holsters are canted, not sure how many degrees, but whatever the typical cant is.
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I carry my holster strong-side on my right hip between the 3 and 4 o’clock position. I think it has the standard, 10° FBI cant if I’m not mistaken.



Have you tried inquiring at a local leather shop for belt or holster ideas? They might be able to customize something for you, that ordering online might not be able to provide.
Click to expand...


As of now, no. I’m only on my first actual gun belt; well, unless you count my other two belts I tried that I already had, that I don’t think really count anyways because as flimsy as they are, especially failing the droop-test, they’re just pretty much nothing more than a thick leather dress belt in my opinion.

But I may have to do that if this new belt I bought doesn’t work.


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Anson gun belt(has the track) with poly insert for leather, and Wilderness Tactical 5 stitch for nylon. Best 2 gun belts I've owned. Sometimes a simple holster is better than all that fancy kydex with extra clips and bells and whistles. Look at Don Hume JIT belt slide holsters. They're around 25-30 bucks. Wear it at 3 o'clock.
 
Siggy-06 said:
Anson gun belt(has the track) with poly insert for leather, and Wilderness Tactical 5 stitch for nylon. Best 2 gun belts I've owned. Sometimes a simple holster is better than all that fancy kydex with extra clips and bells and whistles. Look at Don Hume JIT belt slide holsters. They're around 25-30 bucks. Wear it at 3 o'clock.
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Never heard of the Anson belt but I considered the wilderness tactical 5-stitch.

But I just kinda have the feeling that for me sitting all day in a truck that no matter what belt I use, I’m gonna have to cinch it down to hold everything up which is gonna cause the uncomfortableness when I sit.

But there’s nothing fancy about my holster. It’s just plain kydex that I probably overspent an extra 15 bucks on from a paddle holster attachment that I’ll probably never use, and another 5 bucks I think it was on a parts kit that I thought I needed. Lol.

I never looked into those Don Hume holsters since I already have a holster but at least Bare Arms, who made mine, was able to make it custom to laser sight I run on my pistol.


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I use a Kangaroo Carry shoulder holster. Sometimes I will flip it 180 degrees and literally wear it backwards. The end result is that it ends up in the 3 oclock position and functions like an OWB holster, except it hangs off the shoulder strap and the belly band, instead of my pants.
 
Andy Blozinski said:
I use a Kangaroo Carry shoulder holster. Sometimes I will flip it 180 degrees and literally wear it backwards. The end result is that it ends up in the 3 oclock position and functions like an OWB holster, except it hangs off the shoulder strap and the belly band, instead of my pants.
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Interesting.


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It's probably the kydex that's causing the grief. No 'give'. It won't flex when you do or mold itself to your shape like leather does. Kydex is more like carrying one's firearm in a plastic box.
"...which means "stout" in plain English...." No, it doesn't. snicker.
 
T. O'Heir said:
It's probably the kydex that's causing the grief. No 'give'. It won't flex when you do or mold itself to your shape like leather does. Kydex is more like carrying one's firearm in a plastic box.
"...which means "stout" in plain English...." No, it doesn't. snicker.
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Well yeah, I get that and no, that kydex doesn’t form at all but see, I had the same issue when I carried my PX4 compact in one of those black leather thumb break pancake holsters you get from Beretta.

I’m not gonna lie to you, since I got the high-rise option for my Springfield that acts as kind of a sweat guard meaning that the plastic goes all the way up to the back of the slide, it is a little more uncomfortable if you don’t have a shirt tail tucked in between you and the holster but my primarily and pretty much my only real problem is the discomfort around where my pants button up at from having to cinch the belt up so tight to hold everything up.

Between the two holsters at pretty much the same tightness, the kydex holster for the Springfield is a whole lot more solid feeling than the leather one for the Beretta. It also holds itself tighter to my body as well and it doesn’t flop outward from my side as well.

Even though since I paid a premium price of about 100 bucks from Beretta for that holster, I’m sure there’s probably much better options out there that are a lot stiffer than that one. At one point when I was checking out leather holsters for the Springfield, I don’t think I could find any that could be custom-made since I run a laser on the Picatinny rail.


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This has been a great read - I too have had all those issues and still do unless I strap on the Suspenders - And then hope I don't have to drop trow for the rest of the day.

I have a Bladetech Ultimate Carry Belt - Very Stiff and easily adjusts to before dinner and after.

My main carry is a Heavy 1911 ultra carry - in a Leather Pancake holster at the 3 o'clock -

Pants are usually 5.11 Strykers - Almost like the most comfortable pants to wear. But you do look like a Rambo in them -
 
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