Got my SmartCarry

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I got my SmartCarry on Saturday. Kudos to them for the quick service; I ordered it last Monday.

It seems to be a well-constructed holster. The literature talks about some sort of "comfort strip" which I'm unable to detect. The elastic straps look like just that - elastic straps. They round the corners on the ends of them, but they're still stiff and hard, and I've found that if you don't line up the velcro strips perfectly so that there's no overlap to the sides, you're going to have something sharp digging into your lower back. I find myself trying to pull my boxers up behind the strap to alleviate this (I don't tuck in my shirts), but then you just wind up with a wedgie, and no one needs that.

The only other problem I've noticed is that the holster itself is just a little large for my body type and clothing. At 5'7", I'm not a large person. I find that I have trouble getting the holster to ride low enough to keep the butt of the gun below my waistband (I have a few scratches on the end of the slide from the metal button of the shorts I was wearing it under on Saturday), and if I do, then the bottom of the holster is pushing down against the crotch of my pants. This is especially troubling when I sit down, and the holster shoves the crotch of my pants out very unnaturally and conspicuously. I'm really not sure what the solution to this problem might be; I can't make the holster smaller, and I'm not going to get any bigger. Nor am I going to switch to MC Hammer style pants where the crotch is down around one's knees. Maybe if it were 1988 I could pull that off, but not today.

I'm also discovering it's a bit awkward having the thing sitting out in front of my thighs, especially when climbing into a car, sitting down, or climbing stairs. Sitting down seems to require a good deal of planning, but this might get better with practice and conditioning.

I'll keep the thing, and keep trying to get used to it, especially since I need some sort of carry option when I'm wearing clothing that doesn't support my IWB Comp-Tac C-TAC holster (like shorts with no belt loops), but I'm not sure if it's going to become my primary carry method.

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You can always email the owner and ask. They are usually pretty responsive.

Some of my pistols I wear just slightly off center as it will normally place the barrel down one leg when I sit down (full size CZ 75B or 1911).

I wear an undershirt, which may not be an option for you. One thing that I have heard done is to sew a portion of shirt to the back of the velcro that would be against your body providing for that needed piece of clothing.

To get it to hang lower, you will need to wear it looser. Just takes a bit to figure it out. For me, having it drop below the waistband is not an issue, although it does "print" a little bit more. People don't notice anyway.

-MTCZ

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For me, the SmartCarry works best to deep conceal my firearm when I'm at work (the local university, which is a local university, a gun-free zone) and absolutely cannot be made. No matter how much practice I have had, it is a slow draw, made even slower when I'm sitting down. Basically, with this holster accessibility and comfort are sacrificed for concealability. I can honestly say that this is the only holster out there with which I can wear a form fitting shirt tucked in and not be made.

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bill_wv, best holster review I have ever read. Whether or not you intended it, I was ROFLMAO the entire time.

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I've always been a little concerned that the SmartCarry wouldn't work for me, since I just don't have a lot of room in the front of my jeans. I've met a few guys that carried with them, and they all have a bit of a gut. My stomachs not exactly a washboard, but I don't hang over my belt. It sounds like you're experiencing the problems that I predicted. Do you think you could post some pictures?

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Umm, pictures of what?

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bill_wv wrote:

Umm, pictures of what?

Click to expand...

You wearing the SmartCarry. Yeah, I guess that's kind of a weird request, huh? :lol:

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DreQo wrote:

bill_wv wrote:

Umm, pictures of what?

Click to expand...

You wearing the SmartCarry. Yeah, I guess that's kind of a weird request, huh? :lol:

Click to expand...

Nah, not that weird. Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

My wife's out of town right now, but when she's back I'll try to get her to take some pictures of me with the SC and post them here.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkEfZUwzLAs

I was curious and found this... doesn't look too comfortable, and honestly at least in this guy's case, I certainly wouldn't ever holster a non-safety'ed firearm pointing at my crotch where the trigger could snag on my belt, underwear, shirt, etc.

I'd rather stick to a more traditional IWB such as Crossbreed's Supertuck:
http://www.crossbreedholsters.com/beltslide.html

Am I missing something?

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I don't think you're missing anything. I also prefer my IWB holster (a Comp-Tac C-TAC), but I have some clothes that it just won't work with, and which I'm not willing to give up. I also like the added concealability the SmartCarry offers for those situations in which I absolutely cannot be made. Not that it's terribly hard to do that with an IWB holster, but the SmartCarry makes it really easy, and really sure. I don't worry at all about someone detecting that I have a gun with that holster.

Also note that it's not really pointed at your delicates anymore than an IWB holster points the gun at your hip. The truth is that your little buddies (all three of 'em) actually sit behind the holster. Unless you're freakishly gifted (and, by the way, congratulations if you are), the muzzle is going to be sitting lower than all of your naughty bits; none of them are going to be in the path of an exiting round.

Now, I can't say the muzzle blast would be particularly pleasant (though I suppose some people might be into that sort of thing), but you're not actually going to install a testicle into the carpet between your feet in the unlikely event there's a discharge. Your pants, however, are going to be toast - probably front and back.

About the trigger - as long as the gun's in the holster, the trigger is completely covered, and isn't going to snag on anything. The only time that could be a concern is when you're holstering the gun, which you shouldn't be doing very often, and it's really no more likely than with an IWB holster in my opinion. It's actually surprisingly easy to safely holster the gun.

You're right about it being a little bit uncomfortable, but I actually I find it less uncomfortable than my IWB holster in most situations. There are a few specific situations in which the SmartCarry becomes a bit of a nuisance (if you waited too long to get to the urinal you may be in trouble, because it does take extra time to move around equipment in that region that wasn't placed there by way of DNA instructions), but aside from those it's actually quite comfortable. I only wear it with loose shorts, though - it may be different with jeans or pants. But at least with the shorts I use it with, it's very easy to forget that it's there.

It's certainly not for everyone (what holster is?), but the problems you're worried about are really pretty much non-issues. I have it for a very specific reason, and it serves me well in that capacity (save for the problems I mentioned in the original post). If you're happy with your IWB, then definitely stick with it. I like mine, too, but I have the SmartCarry simply because it works in some situations my IWB holster doesn't.

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bill_wv, what gun are you trying to carry in your SmartCarry?

I've been debating over whether or not I could realistically carry my G19 in a SmartCarry.

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I carry a Smith & Wesson M&P 9c in mine. The G19 is only slightly different in size.

If you want to try it, the folks that sell SmartCarry allow for a 60-day trial. If you don't like it, they'll take it back.