A Top Tier Holster with an added benefit!
When it comes to appendix Inside The Waistband Holster rigs the popular choice has been the side car style originally designed by Lucas from T-Rex Arms.
Tier1 Concealed have a feature that even had John Lovell from Warrior Poet Society switching over..
A Sidecar style holster is great for many reasons, comfort, concealability and its also nice to have a spare mag on you integrated into the design.
But the one knock on these style of holsters is for people maybe on the "huskier side" is that they can sometimes dig in and be a bit uncomfortable if you are carrying a few extra pounds.
Also if you are very skinny the rigidityof the design may print or be uncomfortable digging into your pelvis bones with no give..
If only the holster could conform to your body a bit more and print less
Well Tier 1 Concealed may be the solution you are looking for...
The answer?
Bungie cord! Genius!
Now the holster is split into two parts the pistol holding part of the holster and the mag carrier portion and they are attached to one another using bungie cord woven together
Another added benefit is the Claw attachment which pushes thegrip of the gun in towards your body which decreases printing even further, so the holster flexes and the claw pushes against your belt pushing the gun nice and snug to your body as seen in the picture
This does two things it allows the holster to conform to the shape of your body and flex and makes it more comfortable and more concealable - Win!
Jared from Tier1 recently said "I introduced this flexible design a little over 3 years ago. The flexibility of the holster is designed to give relief when in different positions like sitting, bending or crouching, as well as to conform to the body better. It was designed to keep the gun and mag in the same place for a consistent draw/purchase. The holster intentionally puts the mag behind the gun side helping to better conceal the mag and to assist the gun side in concealing the grip and allowing the "claw" to do its job better. Great craftsmanship is awesome but ultimately it's the function that matters in the end. Everyone is built differently though, and one size or design does not fit all"
Other awesome holster manufacturers have now adopted this style and now and it's becoming more common in the holster world just like the original sidecar design.
Who doesn't love to get creative with their custom holsters, after all they are custom so we might as well get a bit creative with the designs and now we can customize even further with bungie shock cord color!
The holsters come in a myriad and full spectrum of colors and combos which is nice to seethat Tier1 hasa wide variety of Kydex Colors and options.
We believe this design is here to stay and have heard only great things from people who went this route, I have heard very little downsides and enjoy wearing mine being on the huskier side myself its nice to have the holster flex a bit more than a normal appendix rig.
So I decided to take the plunge. This Holster was my first experience with a holster with a spare mag attachment using bungie cord. I had never carried with a mag carrier attached and was curious what all the hype was about.
The trend for these sort of holsters exploded in the past few years. Everybody is making them or a variation of them, so the options are in abundance requiring a fair bit of research and shopping around to find the right balance of price, quality and lead time.
Before this I had carried Outside The Waistband at 4 O'clock and appendix with a carbon fiber inside the waistband holster with no claw. The one thing about that appendix holster was thegripof the gun would slightly print and a claw would have drove the butt of the grip into my body much better and printed less.
So my next holster I decided I wanted a holster with a claw and with a mag carrier attached.
I had shopped around and weighed up my options and decided to go with Tier1 Concealed.
I decided to go with Tier 1 for a variety of reasons. Their Holsters looked quality from the pictures, people seemed happy with them posting their new holsters on instagram. I heard a view reviews from reputable influencers in the industry and I wanted to see what all the hype was about.
And an extra added bonus was thattheir website didn't suck. It was easy to configure my Holster with clean description and drop down menus to choose from.
I decided to go with an Axis Holster allowing me to run my weapon light - A TLR-7, A spare 21 round mag so I have the option of carrying a 21 round mag or a 17 or rounder sitting deeper in the mag carrier - I placed my order and waited patiently.
After about 3 weeks my new holster arrived. I was excited!
I opened the package eagerly, and it came in a nice draw string bag with the Tier1 Concealed logo - Nice touch!
First impressions -
I had ordered an Axis Slim in Black Carbon Fiber inPremium Kydex (I love me some Carbon Fiber). with a 21 mag option I figured I can carry the max or a 15 or 17 rounder will sit deeper in it and not cause any printing.
I wanted the Axis Slim and not the normal Axis as I want as little width and kydex as possible I figured the narrower design will be beneficial for a variety of reasons and less to carry in my pants.
The Kydex looks great and good quality, the thickness is great, edges are smooth and the holster glistens beautifully when light hits it, I ordered a spare bungie shock cord incase I wanted to switch that out. The back in black looked good also.
I slid my p320 into the holster - perfect fit...
I then proceeded to hold the gun inside the holster upside down (safety checked and cleared weapon before doing this)
The gun stayed in the holster - great retention.
I then put the holster in my pants, hooked the hooks on my belt and tried a few draws from concealment. Nice smooth draw and nice click reholstering.
I checked in the mirror almost zero printing in a t shirt and in heavier clothes no printing, nobody would know I was carrying.
I wore it for the day, the claw definitely did a good job of driving the butt of the gun into my body, it was fairly comfortable.
I would only carry this holster with a belt though, I carry my other single appendix holster with sweatpants with a good adjustable draw string waistband from time to time and the same with shorts with that type of waistband I can get away with it.
But with the additional weight of the weapon light, mag carrier and spare mag, this Appendix rig wouldn't work for that.
In winter this Holster will be my go to, summer a bit too heavy for me personally, but that is partly due to my configuration but its the most complete rig I have. A 17 round gun with Red dot, weapon light and a spare 21 round mag, you can't beat that. Whatever your configuration this holster can most likely accommodate!
The pricewas on the high side.
The holster has smooth edges, high build quality but it is a lot of kydex to have in your pants, so it won't be as comfortable as a single IWB Holster and if you are on the small side, you may run into issues with printing. Equally if you are a bigger guy it may dig into you a bit. If you are in the middle in the sweet spot, you will fair better.
The shock cord allows the holster to flex and contour to my body which I think makes it a lot more comfortable, but still a single IWB Holster and separate mag carrier can achieve the same result with less Kydex in your pants.
For a system like that we would recommend theKobra Kydex Concealerand thisMag Carrier
Itwould work out to be cheaper and you could opt to not carry the mag carrier if you wanted to so you have more flexibility and it would be more comfortable.
I would highly recommend this holster if you are looking to carry everything but the kitchen sink relatively easily but this holster is one of the most expensive holsters on the market.
Overall I give the Holster 4 Stars. Their lead time was a couple of weeks so if you are in a rush you may want to go for a Quick Ship holster but if you are happy to wait then go for it!
Comment below if you have a Tier 1 Axis what's your verdict?
