In my quest for lo-vis concealed carry options, I’ve always had a hard time finding the right magazine carrier. I didn’t want anything ‘outside the waistband’ which could either print or be exposed if my shirt were to ride up. Already carrying my Glock 17 appendix carry, I needed something that would be comfortable to wear IWB appendix opposite my Glock. The number 1 issue with this is comfort. Sure it’s easy to conceal appendix, but is it really comfortable?
The SOB Deep Concealment Holster I carry my Glock 17 in, is by far the most comfortable AIWB holster I’ve ever tried. Now that the bar has been set with that, I needed to find a way to carry my spare mag that was damn near just as comfortable. I consulted a few industry experts (former Army Delta and DEVGRU) to get their opinions. Their answers were damn near identical! Both said that they have made their own AIWB mag carriers because there were none on the market that met their expectations. They both proceeded to tell me that they are coming out with ‘their version’ of what they think is best in 2017 (more to come on that).
So in the mean time I still needed to find something. After scouring the internet I came across a company called Phlster. I’ve heard of them before with regards to their Kydex holsters, but that was about it. As I was searching around online for low-vis tourniquet carry I was directed to their site. Once on their site I noticed their new IWB Magazine Carrier design. I read a little bit about it, looked closely at the pictures and watched their video on it. I was sold on it at that point.
The Phlster IWB Magazine Carrier is a very minimalist design. One of the ways they do that is to remove all the eyelets and screws, which usually require a little more Kydex material around the edges to accommodate those. In place of that, Phlster uses a low profile clamshell design that is held together via shock cord. The shock cord allows the magazine carrier to conform to most double stack magazines.
The other cool feature is that the holster is ambidextrous. The carrier can be worn on either side of the body and the magazine orientation can go either way.
The magazine carrier comes equipped with a single soft loop for IWB carry. I opted for the tuckable hook, so that I could hook the carrier directly to my pants behind my belt.
From Phlster:
Eliminating the excessive hardware allowed us to reduce the overall profile of the carrier, improve the ergonomics and comfort, and increase the number of features. The shock cord wrap makes the carrier auto-tensioning and can be further tightened without the use of any tools. Eliminating the rivets allows us to make the carrier smaller and locate the mounting features on the centerline of the carrier, eliminating uncomfortable poke-points from the profile of the carrier.
This magazine carrier comes equipped with a single soft loop, which is adjustable to fit all popular belt widths and has two ride-height adjustments. Additional mounting holes allow the user to configure the carrier with a belt clip, tuckable strut, or carriage via a device like the Pocket Shield (not included).
The carrier is ambidextrous and can be carried with rounds facing forward or rearward in any position on the belt.
Designed around the full-size Glock 9mm/.40 magazines, the carrier will also fit most popular double-stack pistol magazines, like M&P, P320, XD, and HK. Double stack pistol mags with slimmer profiles like Hi-Power and P226 may not be ideal for this carrier.
*Available from Snake Hound Machine for as low as $24.95.
