Gear Review: Versacarry Holsters
From the cars we drive, the television we watch to the internet that you’re using to read this article, some of the greatest inventions of our time have come from some person saying “forget the status quo, let’s rethink this.” At the same time, some of the worst and dangerous inventions have also come from that same line of thinking. When it comes to reviews, I try to be as diplomatic as humanly possible. I honestly don’t like publishing bad reviews. At the same time, when I find something that I feel is fundamentally dangerous, I feel the need to warn people.
Today, I’m talking about the Versacarry “holster”.
On the surface, it seems like a neat idea. Take advantage of the features present in every gun to rethink the holster as we know it. What you get is a holster that goes into the gun rather than around it. They’re inexpensive and work based off the caliber and size of the gun instead of the shape itself.
I originally picked one up at Academy Sports thinking “well, it’s inexpensive and different. Could make for a neat review at GN…”. While I’ve come to learn that there have been quite a few, I hadn’t read any reviews of it at the time and until well after I tested it so as not to sway my thoughts on the matter.
If you’re not familiar with the device, it’s a small strip of plastic that curves around the top to clip to a belt then, at the bottom, it has a spike that you insert into the barrel of your gun and that’s what really holds it in place. There’s also a plastic shield that is attached on the side to protect the trigger.
While I mentioned a couple of good things about it earlier, I feel I should mention the rest of the positives about it. Setup is easy. You just decide which side on which you want to carry it then attach the trigger shield accordingly. Once everything is in place, it is comfortable enough which is notable as I’ve only ever found a couple of holsters that I could truly call “comfortable”. It can also be used in just about any position including appendix carry.
As far as the bad, well, it outweighs the good in my opinion. For starters, the very design of the gun means you are creating an obstruction in the barrel. If you’re wondering why that’s bad, do a Google search for “gun barrel obstruction”. It’s not pretty. If there is a negligent discharge… which if you follow all the safety commandments there won’t be but if there is, instead of the bullet going through some fatty tissue in a path travelling away from you, you will instead have shrapnel flying away perpendicular to the gun and into your soft, squishy interior.
There’s also the issue of the retention rod breaking off. Now, Versacarry claims that this is a non-issue as their rods are sized “0.015 under the barrel”. As tight as the fit is in the unit I tested, I can’t honestly say I buy that. After a lot of use it might wear down but as much as I test it, that fit was still VERY tight in my gun to the point I typically had to force it in. Drawing was difficult as a result and, even though I’m using a high quality gun belt, the holster came off with the gun more often than I’m comfortable with. While retention is important in a holster, this was a bit too much retention. If the fit wasn’t so tight, I’m not sure how there would be much in the way of retention at all which gives it a whole different set of problems. If that retention rod sticks into the barrel, boom. No thank you.
I did say the holster was “comfortable enough” but that really depends on the gun you’re using. With my Glock 19, it was fine. When I tried it with my FNS-9, the stippling on the gun and texture of the handle rubbed me raw. This is because the entirety of the gun sits against you. The aggressive texture on the FNS-9 was enough to actually cause an issue through the underwear I had on. I’ve never run into that issue with traditional holsters. At the most a bit of the handle bothers me with those.
Finally, the trigger shield doesn’t exactly give me much comfort. It really seems to be there to protect the trigger when you’re putting it on. Oh, side note: you’re not able to re-holster a gun with the Versacarry. They expect you to remove the holster, attach it to your gun then put it back into your waistband. Anyway, as you jostle around, things can happen. The trigger is completely exposed. There’s another danger point for me.
In the end, the Versacarry is a neat solution in search of a problem. It gives absolutely no advantages over a traditional holster and adds several significant and potentially deadly disadvantages. I file these in the same category that I put the Uncle Mike’s holsters: save your money and get something better. There are lots of much better options out there. They are more expensive, mind you, but you definitely get what you pay for.
Like what you read? GunNoob is now part of Pew Pew Tactical. Check out the rest of our awesome resources:
Leave a Reply