In this guide, we will show you how to adjust your holster's cant, retention, and ride height.
Holster is one of the most essential everyday carry EDC items for many people.
It conceals one of the most important tools we have available to us for self-defense, our firearms.
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But, holsters are made in all different shapes and sizes so finding the right holster can be difficult.
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We will take a look at 3 ways we can adjust our concealed carry holsters to improve comfort, security, and concealment.
Most Common Concerns About Holsters
There are 4 main concerns people typically have when carrying weapons inside of their concealed carry holsters.
These concerns are comfort, security, stability, and concealment.
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Our concerns can typically have an impact on our confidence when carrying our weapons and having confidence when carrying our weapons is important for our safety.
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What Do These Concern Really Mean?
Comfort is important since most of us will carry our holsters on daily basis with the full weight of our guns.
So, being comfortable while carrying gun inside the waistband (IWB) or outside the waistband (OWB) is important.
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Will the holster be comfortable to wear while we're sitting down or doing other daily activities such as bending, squatting, etc.?
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And, is the holster going to leave us bruised if it digs into your body or bone (for those skinnier people out there) too much?
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Another important aspect of a holster is Security.
Will the holster hold your gun securely without the gun falling out when we are doing daily activities such as bending over, stretching, or squatting?
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Furthermore, is the weapon easily accessible, is it stable when holstered and easy to draw.
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Lastly, is your holster going to sufficiently conceal your weapon under clothing without printing too much?
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Without proper Concealment our weapons can become visible to everyone else including our enemies, which defeats the purpose of concealed carry.
Adjustable Holsters
Adjustable concealed carry holsters will typically allow you to adjust 3 areas: cant, retention, and ride height.
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These areas of the holsters are important for comfort, security, and concealment.
Also, consider adding a holster Wedge and or holster Claw to your holster to improve concealment by reducing printing.
What is Holster Cant?
Cant refers to how tilted forward or back your weapon is when its holstered.
Typically adjustable inside waistband IWB holsters will allow you to change your cant from 0-30 degrees depending on the holster.
But, there is some outside waistband OWB holsters that allow for 360 degree cant.
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Check out image below provided by Vedder Holsters that shows cant forward, neutral, and reverse cant.
Adjusting cant will typically improve your draw time and reduce printing for better concealment.
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Fun fact, FBI cant is one of the most famous canted carrying styles. It has a cant of about 0-20 degrees.
How To Adjust Holster Cant?
Cant is typically very simple to adjust on a IWB holster. It requires you to loosen couple screws, adjust the belt clip, and tighten screws. Yes, it really is that simple.
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Cant is typically adjusted by adjusting from the belt clip.
Check out the example video below provided by Concealment Express showing how to adjust your holsters cant.
Typically, adjusting cant will be similar on most holsters.
What is Holster Ride Height?
Ride Height refers to how high your holsters and weapon sit on your belt in relation to your hip.
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Typically, there is high, mid, and low ride height.
Adjusting ride height can improve or reduce comfort, offer less or more accessibility to your weapon, and improve or reduce your weapons concealment.
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Check out the image below showing an example of ride height provided by Vedder Holsters.
For instance, deeper ride height can improve your weapons concealment, and for bigger people, improve comfort levels by reducing digging into their abdomen.
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But, deeper ride height can also reduce accessibility by lowering your guns grip and making it more difficult to draw your weapon.
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High or mid ride height can typically improve the accessibility to your weapon by exposing more of your guns grip, but this will typically reduce your ability to conceal your gun by increasing printing.
How To Adjust Ride Height?
Adjusting ride height will typically require you to loosen couple screws, adjust height of the belt clip, and tighten the screws.
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The ride height is typically adjusted from the belt clip.
Check out this example video by Vedder Holsters that shows how to adjust ride height.
Typically, adjusting ride height is very similar on most holsters.
What is Holster Retention?
Holster retention refers to how your holster secures your gun. There are two types of holster retention: Passive and Active. Check out the image below showing your holsters retention.
Passive retention is the force applied to you gun while it's in the holster typically by the holster's own design to hold your weapon.
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Active retention requires a some sort of mechanical lock that needs to be actuated to release your weapon.
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We will talk about holsters with passive retention, since most concealed carry holsters will typically have a passive retention system.
How to Adjust Holster Retention?
Adjusting retention will typically require you to loosen or tighten couple screws on your holster.
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The retention is typically adjusted the same way on most holsters.
Check out the example video below showing how to adjust your holsters retention provided by Priority 1 Holsters.
Final Thoughts
As we've seen, the ability to adjust your holsters many areas is important for comfort, security, and concealment.
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People come in many shapes and size, but so do holsters. A holster that is typically comfortable for one person may not be for another.
But, adjusting your holster's cant, retention, and ride height might be the solution to improving your comfort, security and concealment.
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