streetsamurai7
Dungeon Master
I did my research and couldn't find anyone else talking about this holster, so I thought I'd share my thoughts, for what they are worth.
I've wanted one of the Urban Carry holsters ever since I saw the ads for the G2 online. I finally picked one up a couple months ago, as I wanted to try it out to see if it would work for me.
Overall, the construction seems to be very good. It's thick leather, and has a pretty beefy steel belt clip on it that has held up well. The G3 features a new locking device down inside the holster, which clips around the front of your trigger guard to help retain your firearm during the draw. The retention is adjustable via a philips head screw. I've found the retention to be fine, though you will want to continue to adjust it while "breaking in" the holster.
If you read the reviews on their website, you'll see the term "breaking in" being thrown around every single time someone has a complaint about the holster's fit or function. They say you really need to "break it in" for it to work properly, and suggest wearing it around the house empty, and using leather conditioner to accelerate the process. I purchased Bick 4 leather conditioner with the holster directly from Urban Carry, and have applied it twice. I still don't think it is fully "broken in" as they keep saying, but it is getting there.
As far as function goes, the holster does work... kindof... with a lot of practice. The holster needs to be positioned just right on your body, and you may need to do more moves to draw the firearm than they do in the ad. I'm running a Glock 19X, and the grip is a bit big for the holster. More on that in a moment. For me, I can't get the grip to clear my belt 100% of the time, and often if I have sat down, then stood back up, the holster has shifted enough that I cannot get the firearm to draw, sometimes with both hands pulling on it. It's worth noting that I am using a Nexbelt EDC belt, which is quite stiff, and has helped slightly with this, but not alleviated the problem. Oh, and forget about drawing in the car. I'd have to lay my seat completely back to even have a chance to draw.
For concealability, it's interesting. It certainly doesn't look like I have a gun down my pants, but it definitely looks like I have "something" behind my pocket if one looks closely. I think the main benefit is that with it riding below your belt, it's not in the usual place someone would look for you to be wearing a gun. But then you have this leather flap sitting outside your belt which is visible if your shirt is tucked in.
Overall, I think this holster would be an ok option if you were running a single stack pocket pistol. The flatter pistol would, in my opinion, hide easier, and bypass your belt easier when you were drawing it. For a double-stack or larger frame firearm, your mileage may vary. For me, I don't feel safe wearing it around town, but I'm working on it.
In closing, there are 2 major things that I dislike about this holster.
1) While the retention clip is better than no retention, I don't love the idea of voluntarily putting something inside the trigger guard of my weapon as part of the holster design. There is a bumper piece that is there to prevent you from accidentally putting your gun in too far and actuating the trigger, but that just doesn't seem very safe to me, who likes to carry with one in the pipe.
2) The holster, while comfortable, does not stay in a static position. The leather allows it to move and shift as you move around. This is fine until it is time to draw, and for me, often the angles have changed enough where the firearm simply won't clear my belt. I've practiced with it at home quite a bit, and while I can get it to draw probably 90% of the time, that's simply not good enough for me. Especially compared to my Bravo Concealment Torsion, which works 100% of the time.
I hope this review helps, or at least that you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this highly marketed holster.
I've wanted one of the Urban Carry holsters ever since I saw the ads for the G2 online. I finally picked one up a couple months ago, as I wanted to try it out to see if it would work for me.
Overall, the construction seems to be very good. It's thick leather, and has a pretty beefy steel belt clip on it that has held up well. The G3 features a new locking device down inside the holster, which clips around the front of your trigger guard to help retain your firearm during the draw. The retention is adjustable via a philips head screw. I've found the retention to be fine, though you will want to continue to adjust it while "breaking in" the holster.
If you read the reviews on their website, you'll see the term "breaking in" being thrown around every single time someone has a complaint about the holster's fit or function. They say you really need to "break it in" for it to work properly, and suggest wearing it around the house empty, and using leather conditioner to accelerate the process. I purchased Bick 4 leather conditioner with the holster directly from Urban Carry, and have applied it twice. I still don't think it is fully "broken in" as they keep saying, but it is getting there.
As far as function goes, the holster does work... kindof... with a lot of practice. The holster needs to be positioned just right on your body, and you may need to do more moves to draw the firearm than they do in the ad. I'm running a Glock 19X, and the grip is a bit big for the holster. More on that in a moment. For me, I can't get the grip to clear my belt 100% of the time, and often if I have sat down, then stood back up, the holster has shifted enough that I cannot get the firearm to draw, sometimes with both hands pulling on it. It's worth noting that I am using a Nexbelt EDC belt, which is quite stiff, and has helped slightly with this, but not alleviated the problem. Oh, and forget about drawing in the car. I'd have to lay my seat completely back to even have a chance to draw.
For concealability, it's interesting. It certainly doesn't look like I have a gun down my pants, but it definitely looks like I have "something" behind my pocket if one looks closely. I think the main benefit is that with it riding below your belt, it's not in the usual place someone would look for you to be wearing a gun. But then you have this leather flap sitting outside your belt which is visible if your shirt is tucked in.
Overall, I think this holster would be an ok option if you were running a single stack pocket pistol. The flatter pistol would, in my opinion, hide easier, and bypass your belt easier when you were drawing it. For a double-stack or larger frame firearm, your mileage may vary. For me, I don't feel safe wearing it around town, but I'm working on it.
In closing, there are 2 major things that I dislike about this holster.
1) While the retention clip is better than no retention, I don't love the idea of voluntarily putting something inside the trigger guard of my weapon as part of the holster design. There is a bumper piece that is there to prevent you from accidentally putting your gun in too far and actuating the trigger, but that just doesn't seem very safe to me, who likes to carry with one in the pipe.
2) The holster, while comfortable, does not stay in a static position. The leather allows it to move and shift as you move around. This is fine until it is time to draw, and for me, often the angles have changed enough where the firearm simply won't clear my belt. I've practiced with it at home quite a bit, and while I can get it to draw probably 90% of the time, that's simply not good enough for me. Especially compared to my Bravo Concealment Torsion, which works 100% of the time.
I hope this review helps, or at least that you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this highly marketed holster.
