Holster Review: N82 Tactical Concealed Carry Holster

Let’s clear something up right off the bat. How do you say “N82 Tactical?” The “tactical” part is pretty easy, so we’ll focus on the “N82” part.

En – eight – two? Nope.

En – eighty two? Nope.

Nate two? Nope.

It’s “Nate Squared.”

N82 Tactical Professional Series Concealed Carry Holster

We know this because we met a whole slew of Nates at this years SHOT Show – and they were all holster makers. In fact, it seemed that the whole booth was full of Nates.  Well, at least two, and that’s plenty for most legal uses. We’re not going to get into the political ramifications of whether high-capacity Nate’s should be legal, but common sense will indicate that two is plenty. Can’t we all just agree on that?

Fortunately, we got the name thing cleared up pretty quickly and one of the Nate’s gave me a thorough rundown on their concealed carry holster designs.

It’s a good thing, because we had previously only seen these holsters in advertisements and from (an admittedly very unfair) first glance, we had a bit of a ho-hum reaction.

And, as frequently proven by our readers and former math teachers, we were very, very wrong. Here’s why.

The N82 Tactical holsters have come interesting innovations. Spurred on to entrepreneurial enterprise by the belief that holsters should be both comfortable and comforting, the dynamic Nate duo and a rental squad of Oompa Loompas created a basic design that makes for an inherently wearable, yet solid and secure inside the waistband holster.

The N82 is a multi-layer affair. A large backing panel goes between the gun and your tender midsection skin areas. The panel is large enough to completely cover the gun and all or most of the grip – depending on the specific model. This keeps sharp and abrasive metal and wood stuff away from your belly. A belt clip is affixed to the gun pocket so the whole holster with gun is tucked inside the waistband with the clip securing to your belt. Pretty simple.

Here’s where the layering comes in.

The body side of the panel is made from soft suede. N82 Tactical chose suede for several reasons. It’s a natural material, so it allows your skin to breathe and feel cool – even in hot and humid climates. Another reason for the suede lining is that it has a friction coefficient. Yeah, I told you we wouldn’t get into quantum physics in this article, but hang in there for a second. Since the whole suede area has some “grip” it serves to spread the weight of the gun over a broader area. Not that we’re calling your area broad or anything. OK, Enough of the fancy science.

Sandwiched in the middle is a layer of neoprene. If you saw the movie Jaws, or have been to Sea World, you’ll know that this is the stuff that diver’s wetsuits are made of. It’s waterproof. While you probably won’t be diving with your N82 Tactical holster, the neoprene barrier does in fact create a moisture barrier between your sweaty broad area and your expensive gun. Even if you sweat, your gun stays dry. Within reason of course. The other reason behind the neoprene moisture barrier is to prevent the leather portion of the holster from becoming mushier and mushier over time. All of the Nate’s believe that leather doesn’t break in to the right point and then stop breaking it. It continues to get softer and softer over time, especially with exposure to moisture.

The outer layer is leather. This provides structure, stability and a safe backing for your gun – whether it be steel or polymer.

For the gun pocket itself, N82 Tactical offers a couple of separate options – the Standard and Professional Series.

The original model, or Standard Series, utilizes a stetchy material to secure the gun to the leather holster panel. N82 got a lot of feedback from law enforcement customers. They loved the comfort of the tuckable design with its stretch band holster pocket, but needed additional positive retention for more active situations.

On the Professional Series models, the gun pocket is made from a polycarbonate material. Yes, the same material that is used to make impact resistant glasses, bulletproof glass and Justin Bieber CD’s. The polycarbonate is molded to that it protrudes slightly into the trigger guard of the gun to provide positive retention. When wearing the holster, your body presses the gun even more into the trigger guard mold. To draw the gun, use a rotating motion along the axis of the barrel. This releases the trigger guard and allows the gun to exit the holster. It sounds complicated, but when you wear this holster just behind the hip bone, your natural draw motion tends to rotate the gun exactly as needed to release the gun. After a couple of tries we had it down pat.

We were pleasantly surprised at the engineering involved in this concealed carry holster. While it looks simple, there’s a lot under the covers. So to speak.

Read about more carry styles and over 120 different gun holsters in The Insanely Practical Guide to Gun Holsters – available at Amazon.com! Learn more about our Insanely Practical Guides!