This is a difficult area to carry a sidearm for many people. It can be a definite battle of the bulge; fighting one’s own waistline. I happen to be a skinnier guy, but this still is not the best position to carry for me either. If your job or day’s tasks require a lot of standing this is a very convenient location to carry and draw from. My choice of a Glock pistol with a threaded barrel and an RMR does not print at all, but the bulky firearm is hinder-some in other ways.

If you need to be seated, bend over or squat in any way you will be digging hard into your inner thigh with kydex. Conversely, the holster does not print at all. The ability of the holster not to print in appendix carry I give credit to Bravo Concealment. The fact that it has such limited use I give credit to myself for choosing such an illogical gun, but this is meant to be an encompassing review.

I chose an admittedly cumbersome and large firearm to see if Bravo Concealment even made a holster that fit it. They do so they passed test #1 before I even got the holster in my hands. If I were to have the real intent to carry appendix day in and day out I would absolutely pursue a smaller handgun like a Sig P365, Ruger LCP or Springfield Armory 911.

My intent was to carry appendix for 1 1/2 – 2 days out of the week, but it ultimately was too uncomfortable. The need to bend over, move, sit or squat is nearly inevitable in any line of work. After poking myself in the inner thigh several times by carrying appendix I moved the holster to directly over my front pocket, but still IWB. That, too, did not work out. My attempt at appendix carry was a dud and lasted only one day.

Overall, when standing upright the holster is invisible in an appendix or front pocket IWB position. It is comfortable to walk around and is completely undetectable by others. The tremendous downside lies in trying to carry a large gun. You cannot squat… sit… bend over… lean over… basically doing anything outside of merely standing is a no-no. I am being pretty blunt about how crappy this was to carry appendix so I want to reiterate a final time that the Bravo Concealment holster was not the problem. The problem is full-size, threaded pistols with an RMR on top are not fit for appendix carry, in my opinion.

hip carry: bravo concealment torsion iwb kydex holster

Hip carry was much more comfortable in a wider array of working positions during daily activities. Whether you are simply standing, sitting, crouching, squatting, lifting or any other active movement it was less prohibitive to your range of motion than appendix carry. Your general comfort was a lot better as well. I carried on the hip in a couple of manners with a few different outfits over the course of 3 – 4 days. My normal daily outfit is typically 5.11 pants and some pro-2nd Amendment T-shirt (God Bless America).

Without cracking open an entirely different can of worms, I open carry in the state of MN maybe 10% of the time. Typically gas stations because I am fueling up at night; otherwise, I am an advocate of concealed carry. While wearing a T-shirt and either doing open or concealed carry on the hip I found it very comfortable, accessible and not an impediment to my motions.

Even while sitting in a car with a seatbelt buckled the holster was no problem. One thing I will mention again, which is not a mark against Bravo Concealment, is that the few times twisting in a car (getting that DQ Blizzard glorious-ness in the drive-thru) or sitting in a booth (Perkins Tremendous Twelve, baby) hip carrying a Glock 17 with a threaded barrel and RMR bumps into quite a bit of stuff. For the record, those are not advertising plugs. I am just a fat kid at heart.

My other work ensemble is 5.11 pants and a tucked in gun-branded polo since I manage a gun shop. When I am at work I normally open carry because its a gun shop, but just to test the “tuck-ability” of this holster for a few days I conceal carried under a polo. Full disclosure, I have never used a tuck-able holster before for a polo or dress shirt so my thoughts may come across like… a newbie.

I thought it was kind of arduous to tuck in my shirt with the holster. I do not imagine it to be really easy for any branded holster, but just a thought I had. When I state arduous, I mean it took a full 60 seconds to get the comfort right as opposed to just slapping it on in 5 seconds and going about my day. Once it was tucked in though it definitely hides away. Several times I would be standing in a holster aisle, assisting customers to pick out a holster of their own and they were astonished and slightly baffled that I was carrying unbeknownst to them.

final thoughts: bravo concealment torsion iwb kydex holster

Overall, I was very happy with the use of this holster. It was easy to draw from out of the appendix and hip  positions I tried. It had good retention for a molded kydex holster. I never had concerns about my pistol being loose or coming out while carrying it whatsoever. It was also very slim compared to other generic nylon holsters I own and use to carry IWB. A final thought I had was being impressed that my tacti-cool Glock actually fit in a kydex holster that was not a custom request. While a threaded barrel, really tall iron sights and a Trijicon RMR make for a really fun day at the range it is never easy to find a holster to fit it.

In closing, I would like to thank Bravo Concealment for allowing TFB to test-drive one of their products. After a week of carry, I genuinely would have no reservations recommending anyone to give one of their holsters a try. At a price-point of $59.99 for the holster I used they are fairly priced, have strong retention, disappear under clothing and are easy to draw from.

Thank you once again to the men and women of Bravo Concealment. Be sure to check out all of their offerings and let us know your thoughts in the Comments below!