Holster Review: VersaCarry Gun Holster Fightin’ Words

By design, there’s not much to the VersaCarry holster.

Controversy keeps things interesting. And entertaining – if you’re one to thrive on raised voices and the occasional sucker punch.

Fortunately for spirited conversation, the gun holster industry continues to produce designs that result in fightin’ words. Some folks absolutely love the VersaCarry gun holster and others absolutely hate it. We stayed out of the internet commando debate until we had the chance to try one out for a while. Here’s what we found.

The Dope

The VersaCarry gun holster represents a minimalist approach to holster design. Consisting of a vertical kydex/plastic strap, with a secondary Kydex/plastic trigger guard panel, the gun is secured by a vertical plastic plug that goes into the muzzle of your pistol. You might think of this approach as waistband carry with a little bit of extra security. The VersaCarry holster will absolutely prevent your gun from falling into your pants, and it will certainly keep your pistol in place on your belt due to the 1 3/4” clip molded into the primary strap. While light and small, we found the design to be solid and strong.

We weren’t crazy about stuffing a big plastic plug into the muzzle of a loaded gun

The VersaCarry requires a two handed holstering operation. First, mount your pistol to the VersaCarry by placing the muzzle over the 1 3/8” plug. The cant of the plug relative to the vertical strap secures your gun alongside the strap. Next, slide both the pistol and VersaCarry into your pants and mount the clip over your belt. The secondary trigger shield protects the outside of the trigger guard area, but not the inside – that is directly against your body. So be very, very careful of the trigger while mounting this gun holster. To draw, simply assume a firing grip and pull upwards. Place your gun muzzle over the blue plug and mount the whole thing inside your waistband.

Benefits

The minimalist design means the VersaCarry is perhaps the lightest gun holster on the market. It’s also likely the thinnest. As far as IWB holsters go, this one takes up very little space inside the belt line. It’s easy to insert the gun and the draw is smooth.

Drawbacks

In no particular order, here we go…

The VersaCarry is ambidextrous and you can configure it with or without the trigger panel

First, we aren’t crazy about jamming anything inside the muzzle of a loaded gun. While the muzzle plug seems solid enough, the idea of part of it snapping off inside the muzzle from movement or perhaps a physical struggle is disconcerting.

Second, one side of the trigger guard is completely uncovered. Use your imagination for the potential implications. At minimum, you really don’t want to carry common designs like the Glock, Springfield XD, or Smith & Wesson M&P unless your model has a positive safety lever. Not with a round chambered anyway.

Third, the interior side of your gun rests directly against your body. Comfort aside, you’ll need to be vigilant about cleaning and protection the metal parts.

Fourth, retention for this gun holster is based on pressure only on the sides. With one side of the gun directly against your body, and the other pressed against a Kydex/plastic strap, there’s not much friction to hold the gun in place. While it can’t move downward due to the muzzle plug, it can easily move upwards. Most other IWB designs offer more surface area to help keep your gun secure.

Huh?

One thing that jumped out as particularly strange, and obviously encouraged by the lawyers , is the following statement right in the middle of the usage instructions:

“Never carry any semi-auto firearm in a cocked and locked condition or with a live round chambered.”

Huh? If the folks at VersaCarry don’t have enough confidence in their holster to safely carry a gun in its proper and normal ready condition, then we can’t muster up much confidence in it either.

Choose your side regarding the VersaCarry gun holster, but as much as we like innovation, this one’s not for us. There are way too many drawbacks that negate any potential benefit.

Our Rating

One Nun. While some people love it, we just can’t recommend this gun holster. We’d rather sacrifice some extra size, width, and weight for a holster that will securely and safely carry a gun in its ready condition.