Have you ever received or purchased something that grew on you over time? The Versacarry Comfort Flex Deluxe IWB Holster played that role with me recently when they sent me one to try. I must admit I didn’t have very high hopes, even before it arrived, because I’m biased against leather inside-the-waistband holsters. I tell my concealed carry students all the time to stay away from them because the mouth of the holster tends to close too easily when the gun is removed, violating one of my cardinal rules about holsters: the mouth must remain open so you can reholster using only one hand.
But Versacarry has done something that more leather holster companies are doing nowadays: they added a layer of polymer—not sure if it’s authentic Kydex or something else—in between two layers of water buffalo leather on the outside panel to increase the stiffness of the shell, effectively erasing the issue of the mouth closing under the pressure of your belt keeping your pants up. And it works. When I drew my Shield 9 mm out of the holster, it stayed open. Maybe not as wide open as a Kydex-only shell, but it was certainly an improvement over traditional all-leather gun pockets.
The Comfort Flex Deluxe is an interesting mix of materials. In addition to the leather and polymer combination in front, the back is a mix of more leather sewn to a padded backer made from closed-cell foam held in place by an unknown swatch of synthetic material that looks and acts like neoprene. All these layers work together to form a comfortable sweat guard that protects the leather from perspiration while making the holster practically disappear feel-wise even with the gun inside.
One drawback of all the comfort padding on the back, however, is that the gun has a tough time going in at first. Thankfully, Versacarry includes helpful instructions on how to work the leather so that this issue gets easier. After wearing it all day with a gun inside, it did get better.
A single steel clip with a 15-degree forward cant holds the holster firmly to the belt but with no options to add a claw. Non-claw holsters aren’t a deal killer for me, but I would like to see the option. However, since it’s winter, I threw on a semi-heavy hoodie that completely hid the gun.
Because these holsters are not designed for a particular gun model, there is a bit of universalism to be expected. While the leather itself will begin to conform to your gun the longer you wear it, there is also a retention adjustment near the trigger guard the tightens or loosens the polymer layer inside the front leather.
The $44.99 MSRP is a great price point for the high-quality Versacarry Comfort Flex Deluxe IWB Holster.
