Category Archives: Products – Holsters

Camille Conceals Concealed Carry Purses

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Camille Conceals Concealed Carry Purses

I just wanted to take a moment to recommend a couple of friends of mine, the people that run Camille Conceals Concealed Carry Purses. Based out of Colorado, they produce some very nice and innovative Women’s concealed carry products.

Camille Conceals Women’s Concealed Carry purses and holsters

I don’t carry concealed carry purses for sale, for a very simple reason. I found out long ago, that I just don’t have any sense of style, at least when it comes to women’s accessories.

The conventional wisdom regarding off-body carry of a concealed weapon is usually “don’t do that”. In principle, I agree with that. However, lets be honest here, womens clothing was not made for concealment in general. As a result, sometimes a purse carry is the only real option available for many people.

If you have to go that way, you might as well make the most of it.

Husband and Wife team

Camille Conceals is a husband and wife team out of Colorado. They work the gun show circuit, same as I do, and they really do go the extra mile to make good products for their customers.

There are plenty of people out there selling other peoples products. Heck, I’m one of those myself. Camille Conceals actually builds their own products for sale. The Grip Hugger holster that I sell at the gun shows, comes from them, for example.

If you are wanting to try out purse carry, it’s worth your time to have a look at Camille Conceals and their line of concealed carry purses.

Camille Conceals Concealed Carry Purses

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Strong Leather Gun Belts can make a big difference

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Wear a Strong Leather Gun Belt for improved comfort and security

Strong Leather Gun Belts Display at a Gun Show

Strong Leather Gun Belts Display at a Gun Show

Strong leather gun belts can really improve your ability to conceal carry. One thing that I see over and over at the shows, is people trying to find a holster (especially an OWB or “Outside the Waistband” holster) that they can just “clip on” and use, because they don’t like to wear a belt.  I have to tell them that I don’t have a good concealment holster that does that, and the IWB’s (or “Inside the Waistband”) that are clipped work better with a belt on, preferably a strong one.

Guns have Mass

Why is this?  Well, it’s not too hard to figure out. Guns have a good amount of mass and weight, even the smaller ones.  The more mass and weight you hang on your pants, the more problematic they are going to be to control.  A good belt such as a reinforced gun belt or a thick leather belt not only helps to distribute that mass and weight around a bit more, but it helps to prevent unwanted movement, both of the holster and weapon, and of of the pants.

Types of Gun Belts

Belts that are suitable for holster work tend to fit into one of three broad categories. Duty Belts such as what you see police working with.  “Reinforced belts” that are multiple layers of thin leather with materials inserted into them such as kydex or steel.  Thick leather belts that rely on their overall thickness of material to provide the necessary support.

Duty Belts

Duty Belts are usually not something that the average person will be getting. They tend to be wider than usual (up to 2″ or more, and a lot of them are expensive. And, of course, their appearance can be a bit obvious even to an untrained observer.

Duty Belts from Amazon

Reinforced Belts

Many people end up with various types of reinforced belts. For this example, a reinforced belt typically is two pieces of thin leather with a metal or kydex “stiffener” between them. There are many examples of various reinforced belts out there. Most tend to be on the pricier side of the market.

Reinforced Gun Belts

Strong Leather Gun Belts

I sell this type of gun belt at the gun shows. With a well constructed thick leather belt, you have one solid piece of leather. Any sewing on them is strictly for show.

Thick Leather Belts from Amazon

Dress Belts

A typical dress belt is not constructed with enough strength to be able to withstand the stress than a gun holster will put on it.  As a result, I do not recommend that you use a typical dress belt for gun duty in any capacity.

Strong Leather Gun Belts I sell at the gun shows

The Strong leather belts that I sell at the gun shows are one piece of cowhide leather, 1 1/2 inches wide.  They use stainless roller buckle hardware, with stainless chicago screws.

These strong leather gun belts are longer than a typical dress belt of the same marked size.  A normal dress belt measures from the start of the leather, to the middle hole punched in it.  The strong leather belts that I carry at the gun shows, measure from the start of the leather, to the first punched hole.

This makes them four inches longer than a typical dress belt of the same size.  Normally when you are buying a gun belt, you add a few inches to accommodate your holster.  This belt already has that accomodation built in.

Our Dress Belts

The people that make the strong leather gun belts that I sell at the gun shows, have added a new line, and I am just now starting to carry it.  It’s a Dress Belt, but it’s made with the same attention to detail that the strong leather gun belts are made with.

The new Dress belts are made from Water Buffalo.  They are 1 1/4 inch wide.  Rather than the roller buckles used on the strong leather gun belts, these use more traditional hardware.  Chicago Screws are used, same as the strong leather gun belts, but these are black.

And most importantly, they have the same “extra length” that the strong leather gun belts have.  As a result, they are four inches longer than a typical dress belt of the same sizing.

 

The Pinch Test

Take a belt in your hand. Place your thumb and index finger on the top edge and bottom edge of the belt, and try to push them together.  If you can do this easily, this probably won’t make a good holster belt for you.  If you can’t push them together easily, you probably will do OK.

Be sure to apply the “squeeze test” liberally. My experience has been that most belts are more about fashion appeal than practical use. Many of them are just not strong enough to actually help out in this situation.

All three of the belt types discussed should pass the pinch test with flying colors.  The thick leather belts that I sell at the gun shows pass this test with ease.

Final Thoughts

Bear in mind, that these tips at most helpful when you are carrying waistline or below. IWB (Inside the waist), OWB (outside the waist), pocket holster (Yeah, it helps a little), and even ankle holster (keeps your pants in the right place).  If you are carrying above the waist, such as a belly band, Packin’ Tee t-shirt, or a shoulder holster, then a strong belt system isn’t important for your carry ability, although it’s still not a bad idea in general.

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Nylon IWB Holster

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Nylon IWB Holster “Inside the Waistband”

There are lots and lots of holster styles out there. A lot of first time carriers will gravitate towards the lower end of the price spectrum first.  That tends to be a Nylon IWB Holster. Lets face it, who wants to spend a hundred bucks on something that turns out to suck rocks?

One of the most basic holster designs for concealed carry work is the Nylon IWB Holster. These are usually inexpensive and offer an option for those first getting started. Some people will stay with this style, most will eventually find something more suitable.

Nylon IWB Holster

Size “00” IWB nylon holster

Holster Features

This holster is ambidextrous, in that you can move the mounting clip to either side. It comes from the factory set up to go “right handed”.  You can move the clip from that position to the other side, allowing left handed use. You can do this with simple tools, such as a tongue depressor.  I use a “tactical butterknife” that I keep in my tool kit at the shows.

This design does not need a good gun belt to operate. However, I strongly recommend a good gun belt for any waist mounted holster, inside or outside. The better the belt, the better your experience will be.

Retention

This holster design actually has a crude form of retention on it, the strap going up over the top is actually two strips of Velcro that attach together. You put the gun in, you press the Velcro closed over it.  When you need to draw the gun, you simply pull the gun quickly out of the holster.  This separates the Velcro and releases the gun.

Adjustments

The Velcro strip, as it comes from the factory, is a bit long.  This needs to be adjusted before use.  By adjusted, I mean trimmed down short enough to not be so much of an annoyance while carrying, while still long enough to hold the gun in place when you aren’t trying to draw it.

Clip Notes

The metal clip on this holster isn’t especially tight. If you aren’t wearing it on a belt, especially if you don’t trim up the retention strap, you may draw the entire rig (gun and holster) when you attempt to draw the gun. This is not a good thing. You should take the time to adjust the length of the retention strap before you actually use it.  Be sure to practice drawing (with an unloaded gun for safety in this instance) until you are confident that you have the right adjustment.

Please don’t try to just trim it short right off the bat, as you can’t “cut it longer” if you get too short.

Pros:

The Nylon IWB Holster are inexpensive compared to many options. Price can vary wildly depending on manufacturer.

Ambidextrous design means you don’t have to buy another one to, say, try out Small of Back carry. You just move the clip to the other side and give it a try.

It’s not as “picky” as many holster designs are, in that one size can fit a number of different guns. However, you will still want to pay attention and get the correct size.

Cons:

This is by no means a “buy it for life” type option. A holster like this is going to have a limited lifespan.

Materials like this can become “broken in” and softer. If the opening of the holster is feeling “soft” or malleable, you need to be careful with it in use.  A broken in / soft holster can bow inwards upon insertion of the gun.  In Extreme cases, this can cause an accidental discharge of the gun.  You should always pay close attention when holstering your weapon.

Nylon IWB Holsters

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