Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 2.0 Holster Review

Comfortable, secure and incredibly affordable. All three of these words describe the Cloak Tuck 2.0 holster from Alien Gear Holsters.

During the creation of the Glock 42 holster list, I was introduced to the Alien Gear line of holsters. Several readers wrote to me and told me that these holsters were extremely comfortable and priced very aggressively. After contacting the company for more information, they offered to send me a Cloak Tuck 2.0 to try out.

I agreed to try out their holster, and have worn this holster extensively for about three months. I found it to be a good holster that is a great value.

General Information

At its core, the Cloak Tuck 2.0 is an inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster. Its design allows for carry with a covering garment or with a shirt tucked in over it. It is designed to be configured by the customer for a variety of carry styles and can easily be upgraded to accept other handguns that you might own.

Construction

Like some other existing designs, this holster is a “hybrid,” matching several different materials together to make a single carry rig. However, Alien Gear did not make a simple copy of anyone else’s design. Similar to some other rigs, the Cloak Tuck 2.0 uses a plastic half-shell that is molded for the specific gun model you wish to carry.

Instead of using Kydex for the shell, Alien Gear uses Boltaron. Boltaron is an alternative plastic that has similar properties to Kydex. According to several people who have worked with both, I’ve been told that Boltaron tends to be a little harder for holster makers to work with, but is more resistant to extreme hot temperatures. I would imagine that most people carrying a gun would not have any performance issues with a holster made from either material. However, I could see how one material might do a little better if it was kept in a hot car on a summer day.

Instead of leather, Alien Gear uses a multi-layer backer that is extremely soft and flexible, yet offers very good stability. The backer uses an ABS polymer core for strength, with a black vinyl facing outward for a leather-like look. On the body side of the backer is a layer of soft neoprene.

Neoprene is a synthetic rubber-like material that is used in many applications such as wet suits, gloves and gas masks. On the Cloak Tuck, the neoprene acts as a cushion between the hard edges of the pistol and the body. Additionally, it is very flexible. That allows the backer to wrap around the body without discomfort or a break-in period.

Although neoprene is a very durable material, it can break down if exposed to certain chemicals such as acetone, bleach and kerosine. I did not douse the backer with any gun cleaning chemicals, and would advise any Cloak Tuck owners to avoid them as well.

The hard shells are attached to the backer via four screws. As stated, these shells are molded to the specific gun. When a gun is inserted into the rig, the backer holds it tight in the shell. You can adjust retention by tightening the screws down.

Two nylon clips – one at each end of the backer – are used to attach the holster to the belt. Each clip is attached by a single screw to the holster. This allows the clips to move with the body, which may help eliminate any unnatural bulges when you are moving about in public.

Here’s a video from Alien Gear that explains a little more about the holster:

Transformation

Each Cloak Tuck 2.0 holster can be configured in a variety of ways to match your needs. First off, the shells are interchangeable. So one backer can be used with several guns, or simply upgraded should you decide to change your primary concealed carry handgun. The company even has a policy to make an upgrade nearly painless. Read the company policy section below.

The second way these holster can transform to meet your needs is through the adjustability of the clips. In addition to swinging back and forth, the clips can be independently adjusted for ride height and cant. Both clips have three different height positions, so adjusting them up and down can tilt the gun or keep it higher or lower in the waistband.

Company Policies

Alien Gear advises they have an “Iron-Clad Triple Guarantee.” While I was initially skeptical of a marketing-driven phrase, the company does offer three very consumer-friendly policies. They are worth going over in greater detail.

30 Day Test Drive

Alien Gear offers a month long “test drive” of the company’s rigs. If you try it and don’t like it, the company states they will “buy it back.” A lot of companies don’t offer this. If they did, I would have a much smaller box of unused holsters.

Free Shell Trades

As I mentioned in the Transformation section above, it is very easy to swap the half shell to accommodate a new pistol. If you upgrade your carry choice, Alien Gear offers to trade your current shell for a shell to match your new pistol. Send them the old one, and they will send you the new one. Also, there are no limits on the number of times you can trade.

“Forever” Warranty

I can’t quantify forever, but that is how long the company states they will stand behind this holster. They state:

If any part of your Alien Gear Holster ever breaks for any reason, including the clips, we’ll repair or replace it for free.

That’s about the most straightforward warranty anyone could offer. There are no weasel words or ways to shift the blame of a breakage onto the user.

How Does It Wear?

The Cloak Tuck 2.0 is one of the most comfortable IWB-style holsters I have ever tried. I own a wide range of IWB rigs from the classic Milt Sparks Summer Special to a variety of modern hybrid rigs. None, including the Cloak Tuck 2.0, are as comfortable as wearing an OWB belt rig. However, the Alien Gear holster comes pretty close.

I received three shells with my rig: one for the Glock 19, another for the Bersa BP9 and the last one for the Kahr CM9. I’ve carried all three pistols for various purposes and figured they would give me a good cross-section of size and weight to test in this holster.

The Glock is the heaviest and largest of the three guns. I tend to default to the Summer Special for this gun due to other rigs not really doing a good job of handling the pistol’s size and weight. I found the Cloak Tuck 2.0 did a good job with the G19. To me, the Summer Special had a slight edge in the feeling of security, but the Cloak Tuck had a real advantage in comfort.

With the Glock 19, I did not feel that the tuckable aspect of the rig worked very well for me. To my eye, the gun was a bit too obvious. However, keep in mind that the G19 is large enough to be considered a duty gun. In fact, when I started my law enforcement career as a reserve deputy, I carried my Glock 19 in a Safariland 070 SSIII as my duty pistol.

With the BP9, the Cloak Tuck 2.0 really shined. If you are not familiar with the Bersa pistol, it is a single stack 9mm handgun that is close to the G19’s size, but thinner. Size-wise, the BP9 is just about the perfect CCW gun for me. You can read my review of the gun here.

With the single-stack 9mm, the Alien Gear holster was extremely comfortable and held the gun very securely. With a neutral cant and mid-ride, I would position the gun just behind my strong-side hip and wear it all day. It was very comfortable throughout all kinds of activity including walking, working in the yard and sitting for several hours at my desk and in a car.

The tuckable feature worked much better with the Bersa than it did with the Glock. However, I was a touch self-conscious about it. A non-gun person would probably never notice it, but to me it was easy to spot.

The CM9 is a small, compact 9mm pistol that I’ve carried as a backup gun in police work and as a straight CCW pistol. It is small enough to ride in a large pocket, but I prefer to carry it on my waistline. My preferred rig for this gun has been the Tuckable IWB from RKBA Holsters.

With the Alien Gear rig, the CM9 was exceptionally easy and comfortable to carry. Since the gun is substantially smaller than the other pistols, it was much easier to conceal under a tucked shirt. I’ve really enjoyed carrying this gun in the RKBA holster, but the Alien Gear model was more comfortable – especially when carried for several hours in a stretch.

Final Thoughts

I think the Cloak Tuck 2.0 is one of the best values in IWB holsters available. They are very comfortable, are available for a wide range of pistols and are backed by very good guarantees. Mix in the incredibly reasonable price of $35.88 and you can probably see they are really a great deal. ( Ed. note: At the time of this writing, it looks like Alien Gear is running a special that allows you to buy two of their holsters for as little as $49.88.)

If you are looking for a quality IWB rig, and have been dissatisfied by the lack of comfort associated with other rigs, check out the Cloak Tuck 2.0.

Disclosure

As with all of my reviews, I want you to know about any possible conflicts or interests that may have influenced my thoughts on the gear.

Alien Gear shipped me the Cloak Tuck 2.0 free of charge with the intent that I try it out and write a review of it. They offered no money or other form of compensation for me to write the review, much less give it a positive review. I am not currently in any discussions with Alien Gear about them being an advertiser, sponsor or otherwise contributing anything of value to this or any of my businesses.

GunsHolstersAndGear.com is an independent, for-profit website. I do not charge readers a dime to access the information I provide.

Some of the links on this page and site are affiliate links to companies like Amazon and Palmetto State Armory. These links take you to the products mentioned in the article. Should you decide to purchase something from one of those companies, I make a small commission.

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Any questions, comments or concerns are welcomed. Feel free to leave a comment below.