shooter521
Certified Glock Nut
For the past 4 years or so, my deep-cover/BUG has been a Colt Pony Pocketlite .380, carried in a kydex pocket holster from Stellar Rigs that had been modified by Jeff @ RM Holster Works. I recently replaced the Colt with a Kahr P380, so I needed to find a good pocket holster for it.
Stellar Rigs offers a couple different pocket holsters for the P380, and Kahr even sells them on their website; that's a pretty good endorsement. While I'd been fairly happy with their holster for the Colt, there were a couple things about it I didn't care for, so I decided to see what else was available. Raven offers a pocket holster for the P380, but the prospect of waiting 8+ weeks didn't thrill me. In my research, I stumbled across the website of Alabama Holster Company - Concealment Products That "Just Plian Work". I liked what I saw in the design of their kydex pocket rig, and at $25.00, the price was certainly right, so I decided to give it a try.
After about 4 weeks, my holster arrived. Here is the description from Alabama's website:
Our Front Pocket Holster design is very effective at masking the outline of the gun and keeping the gun in an upright, ready position in the pocket. The outside of the holster remains mostly smooth (looks like a billfold) to mask the outline of the gun while the inside, the side toward your leg, is formed to the shape of the gun. The holster is curved to conform to the shape of your leg. We use thin (.060) Kydex for this design. With the gun holstered in the pocket, obtain a good firing grip on it and discretely break the retention by pushing on the thumb tab or simply draw the gun briskly. Upon drawing, the thumb tab and the hooked end will catch your pocket and the holster will remain inside.
A key feature of this holster is that it takes up the entire bottom of the pocket which is what keeps the gun from floating around and also keeps the holster from drawing with the gun. It is available for both square bottom and round bottom pockets. It is a very thin and effective design. As with all of our designs the trigger is covered completely and all edges are smoothed and polished.
I ordered a round bottom, left-handed holster. It is constructed from a single folded sheet of kydex, and is designed so that the two sides can never open or separate (a major complaint I had about the Stellar holster). The workmanship is outstanding; there's not a rough or sharp edge anywhere on the thing. The level of retention is surprising, given the lack of tension-adjustment screws, and having only one side tightly molded to the gun. The thinness of the kydex itself, coupled with the curved profile that "hugs" the leg, makes for an extremely comfortable and concealable holster. Now, on with the pics!
P380/Alabama combo (left) and Pony Pocketlite/Stellar Rigs combo (right), front side (away from the body). The Alabama holster covers much more of the gun, which helps mask its outline, as well as keeping the gun in position by filling up more of the pocket. The slight forward cant of the gun allows plenty of room for a secure firing grip inside the pocket.
P380/Alabama combo (left) and Pony Pocketlite/Stellar Rigs combo (right), back side (next to the body). The Alabama holster almost completely covers the gun on this side, which protects the inside of the pocket from sharp edges (sights, slide serrations, etc).
The thumb shelf is clearly visible at the holster mouth. The idea is to use the thumb to push the holster off the gun as you begin the drawstroke, in the manner shown below:
This technique can work, but IMO, it compromises the firing grip. Being a firm believer in "the first grip you get is the one you're going to live or die with," I prefer to lock the thumb down as soon as the hand hits the gun. The Stellar Rig required using the "social finger" push the holster off the gun, so that muscle memory was already developed, and fortunately, the same technique works with the Alabama holster, as well:
Finally, how does the P380 conceal in the Alabama holster? Much better than the Colt/Stellar combo, I must say. The rounded bottom edge and curved profile allow the Alabama holster to virtually disappear in all kinds of pants, including a pair of jeans I have that are "a little snug" and wouldn't allow me to carry the Colt or anything else in the front pocket without serious printing. Not anymore...
So I've now got a reliable, high-quality and reasonably accurate pistol in a comfortable, inexpensive holster that allows me to carry discreetly any time in pretty much any mode of dress. Yeah, I'm happy.
Stellar Rigs offers a couple different pocket holsters for the P380, and Kahr even sells them on their website; that's a pretty good endorsement. While I'd been fairly happy with their holster for the Colt, there were a couple things about it I didn't care for, so I decided to see what else was available. Raven offers a pocket holster for the P380, but the prospect of waiting 8+ weeks didn't thrill me. In my research, I stumbled across the website of Alabama Holster Company - Concealment Products That "Just Plian Work". I liked what I saw in the design of their kydex pocket rig, and at $25.00, the price was certainly right, so I decided to give it a try.
After about 4 weeks, my holster arrived. Here is the description from Alabama's website:
Our Front Pocket Holster design is very effective at masking the outline of the gun and keeping the gun in an upright, ready position in the pocket. The outside of the holster remains mostly smooth (looks like a billfold) to mask the outline of the gun while the inside, the side toward your leg, is formed to the shape of the gun. The holster is curved to conform to the shape of your leg. We use thin (.060) Kydex for this design. With the gun holstered in the pocket, obtain a good firing grip on it and discretely break the retention by pushing on the thumb tab or simply draw the gun briskly. Upon drawing, the thumb tab and the hooked end will catch your pocket and the holster will remain inside.
A key feature of this holster is that it takes up the entire bottom of the pocket which is what keeps the gun from floating around and also keeps the holster from drawing with the gun. It is available for both square bottom and round bottom pockets. It is a very thin and effective design. As with all of our designs the trigger is covered completely and all edges are smoothed and polished.
I ordered a round bottom, left-handed holster. It is constructed from a single folded sheet of kydex, and is designed so that the two sides can never open or separate (a major complaint I had about the Stellar holster). The workmanship is outstanding; there's not a rough or sharp edge anywhere on the thing. The level of retention is surprising, given the lack of tension-adjustment screws, and having only one side tightly molded to the gun. The thinness of the kydex itself, coupled with the curved profile that "hugs" the leg, makes for an extremely comfortable and concealable holster. Now, on with the pics!
P380/Alabama combo (left) and Pony Pocketlite/Stellar Rigs combo (right), front side (away from the body). The Alabama holster covers much more of the gun, which helps mask its outline, as well as keeping the gun in position by filling up more of the pocket. The slight forward cant of the gun allows plenty of room for a secure firing grip inside the pocket.
P380/Alabama combo (left) and Pony Pocketlite/Stellar Rigs combo (right), back side (next to the body). The Alabama holster almost completely covers the gun on this side, which protects the inside of the pocket from sharp edges (sights, slide serrations, etc).
The thumb shelf is clearly visible at the holster mouth. The idea is to use the thumb to push the holster off the gun as you begin the drawstroke, in the manner shown below:
This technique can work, but IMO, it compromises the firing grip. Being a firm believer in "the first grip you get is the one you're going to live or die with," I prefer to lock the thumb down as soon as the hand hits the gun. The Stellar Rig required using the "social finger" push the holster off the gun, so that muscle memory was already developed, and fortunately, the same technique works with the Alabama holster, as well:
Finally, how does the P380 conceal in the Alabama holster? Much better than the Colt/Stellar combo, I must say. The rounded bottom edge and curved profile allow the Alabama holster to virtually disappear in all kinds of pants, including a pair of jeans I have that are "a little snug" and wouldn't allow me to carry the Colt or anything else in the front pocket without serious printing. Not anymore...
So I've now got a reliable, high-quality and reasonably accurate pistol in a comfortable, inexpensive holster that allows me to carry discreetly any time in pretty much any mode of dress. Yeah, I'm happy.
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Original thread here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...6526-review_alabama_kydex_pocket_holster.html
Original thread here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...6526-review_alabama_kydex_pocket_holster.html
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