The Kholster holster: a tuckable, IWB holster.
Over the years, I have worn numerous holsters for off-duty carry with each one having different strengths and weaknesses. Some suffer in the quality department while others lack comfort. Some are more adept at ease of concealment than others. Here in west central Florida, the hot, muggy summers (and springs and autumns) dictate that shorts and t-shirts are the attire of choice, making adequate concealment an issue that must be addressed. In my experience, the best style of holster for concealment is the IWB or Inside the Waist Band holster. There are numerous manufacturers of IWB’s and we recently had the opportunity to test three versions from one of the newest entries: Kholster.
We received three different versions of the Kholster for testing: the “Full Moon”, the “Crescent” and the “Little Moon.” These three versions are for large, medium and small handguns respectively. All three retail for $45 at Kholster.com and are identical in features and design, the only difference being size. I tried out the “Crescent” with my H&K USP .40 compact for the past few months in the depths of the Florida summer.
These holsters do not look like any other holster on the market. The gun is held in place by a small piece of Kydex which has been heat formed to the correct shape on a mold. The Kydex is in-turn riveted to a large circle of leather which has adjustable belt clips attached. The leather prevents any part of the gun from contacting the body. You will not find any fancy stitching or hand-tooled leather here; function is the only apparent design element. It looks large and ungainly but it is the most comfortable IWB holster I have ever worn.
The Kholster is adjustable for cant, depth and retention. Mine was perfect out of the box so no adjustments were necessary. To adjust for cant and depth you simply unscrew the belt clips and move them to another hole. To adjust the retention takes a little more work. According to the website, if it is too loose or too tight you can heat the Kydex with a hair dryer and fine tune the fit around your unloaded firearm. Or you can just send it back to the manufacturer for adjustment. One of the other features that I like is that the shirt can be tucked in over the gun for greater concealment. While this is not unique to the Kholster, it is appreciated.
Concealment was on par with other IWB holsters. No surprises here. There was some initial concern that the leather crescent would show through a shirt. This fear was allayed almost immediately as the leather conformed to my waist line after the first day.
Comfort is where this holster truly shines. The leather backing keeps the gun from chafing against your body and disposes of the need to wear an undershirt. I wore the holster for an 8 hour period while working in my garage workshop one weekend and I forgot it was on after about 30 minutes.
This leather is also the source of the major problem I have with the holster. The leather prevents the thumb from wrapping around the grip until the gun has cleared the holster. This has taken some getting used to but after a few days of practicing, I have worked out a fast, accurate draw.
Kholster seems to take customer service very seriously. The holster comes with a 90 day unconditional “no strings” guarantee and a limited life time warranty. If it breaks, they fix it. It is nice to see a manufacturer stand behind their product like that.
If you are in the market for a comfortable, affordable holster, Kholster has the answer for you. At just $45 for each model, this is one of the more affordable IWB’s on the market. In the end there is nothing flashy or hi-tech here, just a supremely comfortable holster for a great price.
ed. note: A second review of the Kholster IWB holster is forthcoming by another reviewer. As Kholster was kind enough to provide more than one T&E sample, we were able to have different reviewers test them to give you, the reader, more than one perspective on the product.
Other articles that will amaze you:
I have a khoster and it is great.
Can anyone compare it to the CROSSBREED SUPERTUCK? Which would be a better buy? Most comfort? etc…
I love my Kholster. I’ve never tried a crossbreed holster so I can’t compare them.
Hey Tico, I was wondering the exact same thing. The Crossbreed Supertuck recieved some superb reviews. I’d be interested if the Kholster is better. I am looking to purchase one for my Heckler and Koch P2000.
I have a Crossbreed for my kimber ultra carry and I love it. The price for a crossbreed super tuck is $67.00 plus shipping total $78.00. It take about 5 days to arrive. I hoping the Kholster works the same way, I just purchased one,The Little Moon for $45.00 total.I Like that price better. If turns out to be just as good, I’ll buy more for my other hand guns..
I just purchased a Kholster Little Moon. I went back and forth between this one and the Crossbreed. At base price there doesn’t appear to be much difference but when the Crossbreed wanted almost $10 more to provide a cant to the holster. On the Kholster you have an almost unlimited adjustment for cant and gun height or depth.
I ordered a kholster for a Glock 23 which I was going to use for my 23 and 27. I ordered using my debit card and got the thanks for your order. I saved the conformation page and when I checked it the next day it said something was wrong with the transaction. This message was from PayPal and made little sense to me. I though the problem may have been trying to use a debit card so I reordered and changed to a 27 holster using a credit card. I got the same message the next day. I tried emails and phone messages to kholster to see if he had got my order and my money. I got not one peep for kholster. This makes me wonder about all the raves about the customer service. My bank and PayPal were the ones that talked to me and let me know the he had my money. He had one hundred dollars of my money, because both orders went through. To his credit I had both in six days. The back of the holster for 27 was rough and got rougher as I wore it. I trimmed the top so I could grasp the handle on the pistol leaving only a piece the shape of the side of the pistol. This concealed well but still felt like a piece of sand paper on my side, even with a shirt under it. I gave up and cut the rest off and I think this will be better. The other holster which I will use with my 23 when I am walking (I’m a diabetic) has a nice smooth back and is pretty comfortable. I am not going to cut it because draw and concealment is not too big a concern walking back roads. I thought about sending one back, but thought what the hell I did order both and would probably never getting in touch with him to send it back. With the ordering weirdness, the sandpaper back, having to cut off half of that one to be able to wear it and not getting any response from Kholster, I am not that impressed. These holsters may end up serving me well, time will tell. If I find myself liking them more, I guess I’m just a bitchy little girl.
This is a follow up to my previous post concerning my lack of satisfaction with my order process. I finally got in touch with Jimmy by using my email instead of the one on his site. I sent an email and received a reply the next day. He took care of my problem most generously. I have gone from not impressed to 110% impressed. The problem was communication not service. I now know the reason for all the rave about service. Kholster is service.
Danny,
Glad to hear Kholster took care of you! Sometimes these darn computers inhibit our communication, rather than enhance it. Glad to hear you were able to make contact with them and they made things right.
-Richard