Remora no-clip IWB holster – value!

[Erich]

Have you ever run across a product and said, “Man, where have you been all my life? I could have used this for the last 25 years!” Well, that’s my feeling after two weeks of wearing the inexpensive no-clip IWB holster from Remora Concealment and Security Products.

http://www.remoraholsters.com/

When I started carrying (about 25 years ago), I was a poor college student. I needed something that would allow me (a southpaw) to carry concealed safely and securely. What I got, though, were a succession of schlocky holsters that were either bulky or didn’t protect the gun or would fly out on the draw. And this only after long searching for left-handed holsters. If I were to run across a college kid today in that situation, I’d give a quick, easy referral to the $30 Remora no-clip IWB holster.

No clip?! Well, you have certainly seen the DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster, the one with the rubberized "grippy" outer surface designed to keep the holster in your pocket. I've had a few for years now - big problem with them is that the grippiness fades over time and the holster doesn't sit so well in the pocket. Anyhow, I've tried used the Nemesis holsters IWB on occasion. A belt holds them pretty firmly in place, and they add very little bulk. The problem is that the pocket-holster design of the Nemesis is not ideal for such use: it’s a little oversized, designed to release the gun quickly on the draw. Not the security you want for IWB.

Nemesis and handmade mag pouch with CZ RAMI

Turns out that I'm not the only one who's attempted this. The fellow who invented the Remora holster (promising name!) took the Nemesis-in-the-waistband idea and really improved on it. Little subtle improvements, like using an even grippier rubber coating, using a heavier liner, closing the bottom of the holster, fitting the holster better to the gun, and using grippy stuff on the binding over the seams (holds the gun in the holster better).
Remora holster below, DeSantis Nemesis above – note the grippy binding used on the Remora

And note the upgraded and more-structured lining of the Remora (L)

Exteriors are similar grippy stuff – Nemesis above, Remora below

 

[Erich]

Anyhow, I ordered one (obviously) for my CZ RAMI after reading about the Remora product, and my holster came two weeks ago yesterday. Lightning fast service: they had it across the country to me in two business days. (Remora’s owner, Alan Bogdan, threw in a free mag holder, too - a really well designed one - because I'd had a little delay in being able to pay for my holster since his site had been hacked – it’s totally fixed now.) I unpacked the holster, loaded in the gun and immediately went on a hike in the foothills. After two weeks of serious wearing it (in the rain, sweating on it on hikes including one up a mountain, at the range, among non-gunny people, doing yardwork and lifting), I think it's a winner. (If I were a retailer, I would carry this line.)

The Remora no-clip IWB holster is ambidextrous out of the box ( – no more searching for Southpaw holsters!). The rubber used is, if anything, a bit stickier than that on the DeSantis Nemesis. The Remora holster holds the gun in place. It’s suitable for a wide variety of IWB carry positions (cant and depth), according to user preference. It does not slip down or around (or at all) in the waistband. It releases the gun on the draw. It does not come out with the draw. It protects the gun from sweat and rain. And – thanks to the no-clip design – it accomplishes all of these things in as thin a package as is possible. Remora holsters are available for a very broad variety of handguns (see their site).

The Remora no-clip IWB holster works much better with a belt than without a belt (though I’ve worn it without a belt around the house and getting the mail and such). It does not allow for particularly rapid one-hand re-holstering. Not being a gun gamer, I'm not in a hurry to reholster. And I note that a whole lot of people seem to shoot themselves while undertaking such unnecessary (there’s rarely a real-world prize for being the first one to disarm himself) shenanigans. And this holster is a tool: I’m no longer a poor college student and am fortunate to be able to afford whatever I want – I note that some folks can make a bit of a fetish out of their gun and holster. That’s not my style: I just want something that works, and don’t take any real pride in owning fancy gear. On the contrary: I find that I worry about messing it up. This Remora holster is something that will get used.

This size of Remora also has proven to work great with my Walther PPS

Remora advertises a “Lifetime ‘No Questions Asked’ Warranty”. Judging from the really great service I got on ordering (which included several emails offering to take care of any hassles from the temporarily hacked website in any way convenient to me, as well as having Alan pay attention to what I was ordering the holster for and send me the correct holster for my gun and not the incorrect one that I’d oafishly ordered), I have great confidence that Remora will back this up. But, after two weeks of wearing the thing pretty heavily, I doubt replacement will be necessary.

The Remora mag pouch deserves some praise as well: it holds the double-stack magazine upright in the pocket. The magazine does not shift around and it does not slide out of the pouch during rough movement. The pouch allows the magazine to be drawn but remains in the pocket itself. Absolutely worth the money.

In all seriousness: Remora, where have you been all my life?!

 

[Erich]

Wanted to update this: Alan sent me one of his RFT (reinforced top - allows for one-hand reholstering) holsters for my Ruger P90. I've given it a pretty serious workout for about a month, and I think it's pretty amazing.

http://www.remoraholsters.com/Reinforced_Top_Holsters.html (note the 22 models presently made - no "one size fits all" mentality here)

The RFT is a regular Remora clipless IWB, but with some sort of internal stiffening band that holds the mouth of the holster open to receive the gun. I was pretty skeptical, since I figured there either would not be enough tension to hold the gun in the holster or else it would not be strong enough to hold the holster open sufficiently. Another concern I had was that the open-mouth holster would add to the thickness of the carry rig and diminish concealability.

As you may recall from the initial post on this thread, I don't feel a personal need to reholster one-handed in a hurry. I'm no gun-gamer and it's my educated opinion that a whole lot of the rushed holstering one sees in so much training is no less silly (and a heck of a lot more dangerous - this is where those Walter Mittys tend to put led into their own legs) than the fat guy I just saw waddling down the street in Royal Robbins pants, 5.11 boots, and a Shoot-Me-First vest.

However, not everyone agrees with me, and I've seen a lot of "How do you holster it?" concern on the various forums where I've mentioned my happiness with the original Remora design. And, I have to admit, it's not a bad thing to be able to one-hand holster a gun: I can even think of a couple of (reasonably implausible, in my life) situations in which it might be a good thing to be able to do. So, I certainly understand why Alan engineered and has brought the RFT to market.

So, like I said, I got one of these for my Ruger P90. The P90 is a pig. Friend Mas refers to it as the "AK47 of .45s", and I suspect he's talking about the bulk of the thing as well as its reliability. Frankly, the thickness of the gun puts it right about at the limit of what I like to carry IWB (appendix, of course - hat-tip to Gabe Suarez). The slide's not too bad, but the frame runs about 1.3" where it counts - I'm pretty trim, but this can get to be uncomfortable with the wrong holster.

Which is why I was interested in trying the Remora. As noted above, the RFT's open-mouth design gave me some concern. In over a month of wearing the thing, I've found that the RFT is engineered perfectly well, and - in fact - I'd prefer this holster over the regular Remora model, just for the slight added benefit of the option of one-hand holstering.

So. What did I do with the P90/RFT combo over that test period? Housework - cooking, cleaning, laundry. Sitting around reading and watching TV. Completely cleaning and re-arranging the garage. Driving for hours on the interstate. Running errands, in and out and in and out and in and out of the car. Major yardwork - chopping and hauling brush. Going out to dinner. Going to the range. Going to church, dressed nice. Playing with kids: board games on the floor and running around the yard. Attending charity board meetings. Going shopping. Getting in and out of all manner of vehicles. And I climbed halfway up the mountain behind the house a couple of times, clambering over rocks on all fours, jumping down, stepping up - real physical.

Through all of this (as with the regular Remora), the RFT never moved - so long as I had my belt properly tightened. I was able to run to the mailbox with the RFT/P90 combo stuffed in my beltless shorts, but I wouldn't consider it secure without some sort of pressure from a belt wedging the sticky holster between me and my pants. (This was not an issue with my PPS - which I now carry in nothing other than the Remora - but that gun is a lot lighter. Even with the additional sticky surface to add friction to the larger RFT holster for the P90, the weight of the gun and all those heavy .45 rounds on board can cause an unbelted holster to shift in the waistband with moderate activity.) Of course, I'd not recommend anyone carry a gun IWB without a belt, but I wanted to note that the RFT cannot magically negate the mass of a large gun - as I said, run to the mailbox without a belt, fine, just always use a belt to secure the holster when carrying for real.

I have to tell you, the second clamber up the mountain over the rocks (this past Saturday) really was a workout. I was trying to shake the thing loose, lunging and jumping from rock to rock. No go - the RFT really held the P90 solidly against my abdomen.

Now, the re-holsterability. It works. It sort of amazes me, because I never would have even tried to engineer something like this. (Alan's good at this stuff! ) I own two Milt Sparks holsters. The Remora RFT allows much easier one-handed holstering than they do (though it's not as pretty by a factor of about a hundred ) with the same level of carry security - for a heck of a lot less money.

Here's the really amazing part: the holster is not bulkier than the non-RFT Remora. When the holster is inserted into the pant, the internal stiffening band curls within the pant but does not flare out. When the gun is removed, the band provides sufficient outward push to keep the mouth of the holster open. Even with the belt tight. Reholstering is as simple as sliding the gun easily into the mouth of the holster; once the gun is seated, the internal friction of the holster and the pressure from the waistband against the outside of the holster makes sure the gun doesn't move. Even when you're leaping from boulder to boulder . . . .

Like the original Remora, the RFT completely protects those parts of the gun that it covers from sweat. Let me tell you, I sweated like nobody's business doing some of the activities detailed above. Nothing got through to the parts of the gun that were covered. Not surprising for a company out of Florida, Remoras are also available with sweat guards.

The Remora RFT really works for me - I'm surprised to say it, but I'd recommend it even over the original Remora product.