Ultimate conceal carry holster (cell phone pulls up)

[edhaus]

At a recent gun show I saw a holster advertised as the "ultimate conceal carry holster". It slips into pants behind front pocket and is attached to cell phone holster. On need to present, one pulls up on cell phone holster and up comes the weapon ready to grip and present. On first inspection this looks very good. Extreme concealability, quick presentation, comfortable (I tried one on), no need for special belt, and one size fits all handguns. I have not found much feedback searching through the threads here and am surprised it is not more popular. Carry for me must be well concealled and my choice is J frame in front pants pocket. I'd prefer to have more rounds available but IW is too risky in getting noticed. Walther PPS looks like a possible weapon choice, but if holster gives flexibility and comfort, it appears the best option. Please comments on the pros and cons of this holster.

[Claude Clay]

be careful when you answer your gun

----------------------
hey mister, your shoe is ringing.....

years ago saw them sold as beeper holders. were a bit flimsly than.
if this really works for you--perhaps buy 2. practice a lot with one and a little with the one you carry.

[edhaus]

Thanks for the technical warning.
Have you used one or just heard about them? The smart carry is well regarded by many but seems to me it would be hard to get the gun out quickly and talk about possible confusion.

[JCMAG]

I was intrigued, so I did some research about your mystery holster. I found their website and it has some demonstration videos.

http://www.concealedcomfort.com/video.shtml

It looks like the real deal. This might be just about the only way that I could conceal my XD45 in summer attire. I'd be really interested in trying it.

If you get the holster, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would appreciate a review.

[Sistema1927]

The "pager pals" have been around for many years, thus the name. (Who carries a pager anymore?) I haven't used one, or heard pros or cons from anyone else.

However, the "Kel Tec Wallet" caught my eye. Didn't the ATF rule years ago that this concept turns a pistol into an AOW?

[urednecku]

I'd like to hear more about it, too.

[igpoobah]

This looks very promising. I'd like to try one.

[Awtha]

I did buy one of these at a gun show about 3 months ago. . . . ."IF" you tend to wear your pants so that they'll fall off at a sneeze it'll work just fine. . . . . if however you wear your dungarees like everyone else you'll be fiddling trying to get the pistol grip past your belt. My opinion is save your $$$$. Everything I've tried for a concealed pants holster hasn't worked for me. I do wear a vest purchased from the NRA catalog which works for me but it wont work in the summer heat here in florida.

[edhaus]

Awtha, do you think it might work with pleated pants. I wear them way more than blue jeans. The 442 in front pocket works ok for blue jeans.

[spwenger]

...I have had to draw on a hostile human, I had one hand occupied with checking his arm so he could not deploy his knife. Be very careful of any carry system that requires two hands to draw - in an emergency Mr. Murphy will probably be tying up at least one of your hands.

[belus]

I agree with Awtha and Spwenger. It's not a good concept.

If you need the highest level of concealment, and you must wear a tucked in shirt, either a smaller gun in a pocket holster or a tuckable IWB are what you should be looking for.

Otherwise a wide IWB that can pull the butt of the gun close to your body can't be beat.

I'll never carry a pistol in a holster not designed for it. The one size fits all are less secure and slower to draw from.

What gun were you planning on using? I had this rig built by Dave at Little Bear Custom Holsters for something in the neighborhood of $120. He's fast, well worth the money and the gun is invisible to my girlfriend even in our hot Arizona summers.

[edhaus]

It is good to read these comments. I have 2 carry holsters at this time, one as stated, a pocket for the 442, and a good IWB tuckable from Black Hills Leather for a Dan Wesson CBOB. The Dan is alot to carry and risks printing IWB. I am not totally comfortable carrying in condition one either. I am worlds more confident shooting it than the 442. I also have a 4" K frame which is a fine shooter, but not really a conceal weapon. I would consider a single stack double action 9mm or 45acp as ideal in small to mid size.
The appeal of this unusual holster is its deep concealment, apparent comfort, and by demonstration, ease of draw even with one hand (watch the video from JCMAG's post). With tuckable IWB it is no simple thing to draw with good speed. So this holster has a hook in my imagination and I am hoping to get more feedback from other who have experience, good or bad, with these holsters.

[ultradoc]

I bought this type of holster at a gun show along with a holster that my P3AT fits into. The P3AT holster looks like you have a wallet in your pocket. I have only carried the 'pocket pager' a few times. While you are standing up it's comfy but when you are sitting down it's not to comfy. Also, if and when you draw the 'pocket pager' the butt of my XD-9 s.c. gets hung up in my belt buckle area sometimes. It does pull your pants down a bit too. Also, I have a Crimson Trace laser sight. I have to be carefull that the button on the grip sight doesn't stay on when the weapon is holstered. I just make sure that the weapon isn't holstered too tight-snug. I would try it before you buy it if you can. Good luck. I don't have any regrets on this purchase. Oh, one more thing. If you can take your weapon to make sure that the holster fits properly.

[the naked prophet]

It does look like you stuffed an entire pillow down the front of your pants if you wear one.

The only novelty holster I've ever seen that works well is the SmartCarry. I use one when concealing a holster on my waist is impractical.

[wristtwister]

THE LAW says that my gun must be concealed... I certainly don't care if the print of the gun is showing, so I use leather belt holsters and loose shirts. I can carry full sized Beretta's, SR-9's, .45's... and a bunch of "smaller guns" without it even being obvious... so I don't worry about "trick" holsters and "especially designed concealed carry" gadgets.

Fall, winter, and spring, my jackets cover my piece, and even carrying full size, you'd never know I was packin' unless you pulled my coat back. Like penis envy, too many people who carry think that "concealed" means the gun has to be "invisible", and the guy with the most invisible gun wins... which is not at all correct. While I carry concealed, I don't look at other people to see if they are carrying unless I have a reason to look... if I do, I'm probably in the process of pulling mine out from under cover.

Getting paranoid about whether your gun is "showing" or not is pretty pathological... so worry about whether or not you can get it out in a hurry... not whether or not somebody might guess you are carrying a gun concealed. Unless they're cops and asking you for ID, it's a "none-ya"... so just keep them guessing.

WT

[bobhalou]

Thank you JCMAG I just ordered one! Bobhalou

[franx1911a]

I wear a Smart Carry, especially in the summer. For me there is no problem getting the pistol past my belt, usually I keep the butt of the pistol right behind my belt.... its not a speed holster, but with practice I can present fairly quickly and its very concealed when I wear just shorts and a t-shirt tucked in.

[george29]

I feel old. That Cellphone holster has got to be 10 years old at least.

[orionengnr]

The "Pager Pal" type holster design is at least ten years old, and is sold at gun shows by hucksters. Do a search for "pager pal".

Yes, I bought one years ago--looked like a great idea,

After trying it a few times, it went into the "unused holster box" (every CCW carrier has one). Eventually, it went to eBay, and sold for about 1/2 price.

If you really want to try it, buy it off eBay and pay 1/2 price. Because it will be back on eBay within 6 months.

[edhaus]

What did you find that was unsatisfactory about the "pager pal"? Saying that hucksters sell them is pretty strong talk about a holster. Please explain more clearly why this is a sham. I am really thinking about buying one, but don't want to buy something that will be useless.

[slzy]

iirc,getting a pistol in or out of a pager pal was difficult.