SHOT Show Coverage

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.