Thigh Holster ideas?

I've got a XD-40 subcompact and am looking for a thigh holster for when I go hiking/camping. Sadly most of them that I find are for the 4" or 5" XD's while I've got a little 3".

I did find the following that can be made specifically for my model:

http://www.falcoholsters.com/eshop/...holster-with-extra-magazine-pouch-it-562.html

Any other suggestions? Anyone ever used a Falco holster before and can comment on them?

Get a blackhawk serpa. I have a 3.8" XDm (technically not a compact or SC even though it has a shorter than normal barrel) and my wife has an XD-9SC. Both of the guns fit into the exact same serpa holster. From there you can also use the SERPA on all sorts of different attachments to fit your needs. There's a belt, paddle, and molle adapter in addition to the leg/thigh adapter. And if you find yourself constantly switching between different types you can get a male/female adapter to make it so that you don't have to remove/rescrew the holster to each adapter every time.

Not saying this is the "best" holster out there, but it does provide a lot of versatility and I know it will fit your gun.

I don't suggest a thigh holster for hiking, they tend to dig into your leg after a long day wearing them. Especially if you're like me and you enjoy walking a decently long distance.

If for whatever reason you don't want to carry on your belt while camping and hiking, I would instead suggest a shoulder holster, or in the case of hiking perhaps a holster attached to a backpack strap.

I disagree with the following statement.

If for whatever reason you don't want to carry on your belt while camping and hiking, I would instead suggest a shoulder holster, or in the case of hiking perhaps a holster attached to a backpack strap.

If for some reason you become you become separated from your backpack you don't want to lose your method of self defense or your 10 essentials kit so neither should be attached to your backpack.

Michigander said:

I don't suggest a thigh holster for hiking, they tend to dig into your leg after a long day wearing them. Especially if you're like me and you enjoy walking a decently long distance.

If for whatever reason you don't want to carry on your belt while camping and hiking, I would instead suggest a shoulder holster, or in the case of hiking perhaps a holster attached to a backpack strap.

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I'm curious, but how does it dig into your leg? I've been wearing a thigh holster for 12+ hours a day for the past 2.5 months and have never had this issue and I don't see how it would dig into my leg when hiking, but doesn't dig into my leg when walking 2-5 miles around base every day. Though I have seen people with them not properly set up and the base of the rig down at the person's knee and I can see that digging into the lower leg when walking (I actually had that issue when I first got it, simply had to adjust it up a few inches to solve it).

Also I'm with the other poster about not liking the idea of the holster being attached to a backpack strap. I don't like the thought of my gun being attached to my backpack when I take off the backpack.

As for shoulder holsters. If you choose to go this route, make sure you get a GOOD one that also has a strap across the front, properly secures the holster in place, and the front sight doesn't extend past the leather when holstered. I see too many people walking around with shoulder holsters and the things just kind of flop around. Also most of the ones I see are a major pain to draw from (for example the one given to me but I don't use has the issue where the front sight goes past the leather holster, so trying to draw the gun causes the sight to get caught on the leather and took me over 30 seconds to get the stupid thing out the first time) and typically takes both hands to reliably get the gun out of the holster.

Big difference between walking 2-5 miles in a day and walking 10-15, especially if doing so with a loaded pack and going uphill and down. Things magnify, which is why there are apocryphal* stories about hikers cutting the handles of their toothbrushes in half to save
weight. To keep the holster from flopping back and forth and wasting a hiker's energy, it will likely be tightly cinched to the thigh unless one can find a rather stiff extension to hang it from.

*Blame Reader's Digest and their efforts to teach me a new word every day.

All points made in this thread are accurate, the issue is that one must decide on what individual needs and circumstances dictate to be the best option.

jeeper1 said:

If for some reason you become you become separated from your backpack you don't want to lose your method of self defense or your 10 essentials kit so neither should be attached to your backpack.

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If you're in the middle of the woods, you may very well be able to carry your gun in hand without too much worry. If not, you can have a separate holster, or some other mechanism that allows transfer of a single holster from shoulder strap to belt carry.

One other note on thigh rigs, while I don't think the Serpa itself is a good design, the Serpa thigh rig itself is quite good.

Well, the main thoughts for the thigh holster are that a) my backpack has a belt that will certainly get in the way of a holster there, b) quickness of draw in the woods if an animal shows up, and c) as noted above, an unwillingness to be parted from my sidearm when I drop my pack.

I can see how the chafing issue could come up, though hopefully it'd be minimized by the longer underwear I'd be wearing. I'm not sure if a shoulder holster would also work (again, because of the backpack issue).

Anyone had any experience with a chest holster for hiking?

Numenor said:

Well, the main thoughts for the thigh holster are that a) my backpack has a belt that will certainly get in the way of a holster there, b) quickness of draw in the woods if an animal shows up, and c) as noted above, an unwillingness to be parted from my sidearm when I drop my pack.

I can see how the chafing issue could come up, though hopefully it'd be minimized by the longer underwear I'd be wearing. I'm not sure if a shoulder holster would also work (again, because of the backpack issue).

Anyone had any experience with a chest holster for hiking?

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I just got this image of a tactical vest with a molle holster attached to it while hiking...

I have Serpa thigh rig that I wear around the house. It is the most comfortable holster that I have. When the weather starts to cool down, I plan to start hiking in the mountains around Phoenix and I will carrying my SIG P220 match with it.

I'll be watching this thread closely. I took an old Paraclete thigh holster with me to Afghanistan and wound up being issued a ballistic nylon Blackhawk. I've been leaning to the Serpa thigh holster myself, but I'm torn on what I really need vs. what I really want.

REALteach4u said:

I'll be watching this thread closely. I took an old Paraclete thigh holster with me to Afghanistan and wound up being issued a ballistic nylon Blackhawk. I've been leaning to the Serpa thigh holster myself, but I'm torn on what I really need vs. what I really want.

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I was issued a blackhawk "tactical" leg holster when I came out here. The thing is a freaking airsoft holster and a pain to try and get adjusted for a lefty; not to mention it had almost not retention outside of a velcro strap over the top of the gun. I dropped the money on the Serpa (if you're a righty grab one before coming out, chances are high that the BX will be sold out because so many people end up switching to them and so they fly off the shelf when they come in) and am glad that I did. If you're a lefty then there will likely be one at the BX, or at least every time I go there's usually 3-5+ on the shelf (glad I'm a lefty). It beats the hell out of what was issued to me and is far better (imo) than the shoulder holsters, if those are even an option for you.

EDIT: It looks like I was issued the Blackhawk Omega VI Universal Thigh Rig and not one of the cheapo holsters some of the other people got. I'm still not a fan of that holster though because it is a pain to adjust and the only retension is the velcro over the top that you have to remove to draw the gun (if you have it set up where you can simply push the velcro out of the way like in the pic and draw the gun then the gun has the potential to slide out of the holster, something I have seen happen to others).

Michigander said:

I don't suggest a thigh holster for hiking, they tend to dig into your leg after a long day wearing them. Especially if you're like me and you enjoy walking a decently long distance.

If for whatever reason you don't want to carry on your belt while camping and hiking, I would instead suggest a shoulder holster, or in the case of hiking perhaps a holster attached to a backpack strap.

Click to expand...

Oddly enough, for special occasions like that, the best holster I've found is a Crossman, available at your local OC friendly Walmart. It's disigned around their co2 pistols, which range from compact auto sized to hand canons, and bloody heavy. It's the only holster I've found in-store anywhere that will fit my Tanfoglio 10mm.
The retention strap is a combo button & quick-buckle. The quick buckle holds tight when in use, but when released, it goes loose. A couple quick stitches fixed that in about 2 minutes. The "belt loop" is a 4 inch x 2 inch velcro strap with smaller straps at the bottom to prevent release. This makes it easy to firmly secure it to my 2" belt, or to the 1" webbing on my camera bag. And, of course, it has an extra magazine pouch, which snugly fits my 10 round, 10mm mag. When it's in place, it takes 2 firmly planted feet, a good grip, and a long pull to force it off (I tried, worried about being easily disarmed). But, with the quick-buckle, I can draw and aim in about 1 second without trying too hard.

While I wouldn't advise it as your regular carry holster (i mean, it is from walmart. I presume the stitching will start coming loose in a few months), it works great on my camera bag (hiking pack style) on the shoulder straps, the hip strap, and mount points on the shoulder straps.