Concealed Carry Jeans Reviews
Here is what its like to Pocket Carry with CCW Breakaways Jeans
Concealed carry is a popular way to carry and many are using a variety of holster on the waistband for IWB and OWB. There is a small group within the CCW crowd that pocket carry. Obviously, these are smaller handguns than the medium to full size. According to Crime Prevention Research, there are 17 million CCW official permits but in reality only 2.4% that actually carry.
Pocket carry is another small percentage from this 2.4 percent that conceal carry. Irregardless, pocket carry has become an alternative carry method, a back-up to your primary sidearm. In this segment we will only address the micro 9mm pistol, which is the most popular carry among the CCW crowd.
Advantages
There are many advantages and disadvantages when choosing to pocket carry. The advantage is that it is a convenient way of concealing the pistol. Depending on the size of your pocket, the pistol can be stored in the pocket with ease, unless you’re wearing the tight slim fitting jeans. Concealment is easier when compared to using an OWB or even IWB holster. Another feature is the comfort level of wear, which is very comfortable.
Con
On the flip side, there is a limit to the size of the pistol which can be carried in the pocket. The pistol is liable to be flipped around which can be a safety issue when you pull the pistol out and accidentally put your finger in the trigger.
The time to draw the pistol for personal defense can be troublesome if you’re not familiar with your pants pocket. Is the pocket top open or from the side? These things can affect your response time to draw a pistol.
So whats the answer to the negative of pocket carry?
Simple answer is to get a reliable IWB or OWB holster from Alien Gear. But what about for those that do pocket carry?
Solutions to overcome the Negatives
Prevent Accidental Discharge – First to look at is the actual pocket holster that prevents accidental discharge. You need to have an inside-pocket holster design for this. There are many holsters out on the market but a very good one to consider is one called the SkinTight inside-the-pocket holster from CCW Breakaways.
This holster uses a hard inner core of thermo formed Kydex with a soft, tacky outer skin. The inner core covers the trigger guard entirely and holds its shape, allowing you to smoothly draw the gun while keeping the trigger finger out of the trigger area during the draw. CCW Breakaways website has a current list of compatible guns.
Single Stack’s Tested:
You can get it here
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Pocket Sizes
We mentioned earlier that pocket sizes can hinder the size of the pistol that you carry. Yes, you can overcome this by wearing bigger pants with big pockets, but thats not a realistic choice for most of us. Unless, you’re the legendary Chicago lawman Frank Pape who had custom tailored extra pockets in his clothing wear. He’s been known to carry 4 pistols on himself.
Enter CCW Breakaways – CCW Breakaways design their concealed carry pants for pocket carry. Their pockets were design to be a holster. The pockets sizes can be altered to fit some of the medium size pistols. Some have claim to fit a full size 1911 pistol.
The pockets are deep with snaps hidden underneath the belt-line flap, that can be popped open to make more space while pulling the pistol out.
Whats unique about this pocket holster is that the interior pouch design to position the pistol on top of the thigh (inner). This placement keeps it from giving that “tell-tale” sign that you’re packing heat.
This specially design pocket orient the pistol pointed down and stays in the same position while you move about. Which allows the user to reach in and grab the pistol by the grip not by the barrel.
CCW Breakaways offers a variety of selections of pants to choose from. Now be warned, these line of pants are not to replicate the popular 5.11 or other tactical wannabe wardrobe.
These pants were meant to blend in with what you wear for work or play. Blending in while discreetly packing an equalizer. The selections of pants are “Docker” style khakis, jeans, shorts and even cargo pants.
My Experience with CCW Breakaways Jeans & Cargo Pants
I was fortunate to try out their jeans and black cargo pants with several different pocket 9mm pistols. (Hellcat, Sig P365 and Glock26) My test was not about to see how fast I can draw my pistol out to engage targets. But more so for the reality of pocket carrying at work or out at the mall. This was all about how comfortable it was to actually pocket carry vs wearing a IWB (inside-the-waistband) holster.
Having worn IWB holster for many years, I can recollect, I had to get used to it. Which meant the feel of the hard object at my lower back or appendix position. So while wearing these high-speed concealed carry jeans, it was truly a different feeling.
There was no pinch or any discomfort at my mid torso. CCW Breakaways special pocket (holster) does a great job of securing the position of the pistol at the front of my thigh. You do feel the weight of the pistol but nothing discomforting.
Throughout my 12 hours per day of wear consisted of sitting while working on the computer (approx 8 hours), walking, squatting and even getting underneath my car to loosen my oil lug nut for draining.
There was no breaking in the pants besides from adjusting the pocket to accommodate the size of the pistol. The comfort experience is a five star along with the practical wear of the pants!
Accessing the Pistol
Earlier I had mentioned I wasn’t going to test to see how fast I can draw the pistol out to engage targets. Which is true, but, I did test the accessibility. All that means is was it really easy to get to the pistol to draw? This was not a timed event with a timer like you see in 3 gun competition.
I just reached into the pocket to get the pistol out. Here are some of the things that I encountered:
- Standing Position
Accessing and drawing the pistol out was a breeze while under no stress. The position is similar to the appendix carry but much easier access without removing outer garment. The jeans pocket opening (from the top) provided an easier access than the cargo pant pocket. Cargo pants pocket opening were from the side. Does it really matter? Who knows, just my input for economy of motion while reaching in without thinking and looking at the pocket as you reach and draw.
This position is also the best to defend during a weapons retention encounter. With this deep concealment the bad guy won’t expect that you have an equalizer.
CCW Breakaways pocket can be enlarge by breaking open the tabs at the top to facilitate the size of the pistol during the draw. Personally for me, I did not need to pop open the pocket during the draw for both of these pants. - Seated Position
Drawing from a seated position is still easy, but is it still accesible from a vehicle? A small and large vehicle. At first thought of drawing from a vehicle may seem to be a breeze, but when I did this from my small Toyota Corolla. It wasn’t a big challenge but for someone of bigger stature, your results might be different in terms of the time you actually get the pistol out while in the vehicle.
I did not have problem getting the pistol out, but I did feel it was slower than from the standing position. Did I need to pop open the pocket more to get the pistol out, this was on varying occasion while doing it. One thing that I did noticed was that from this squatted seated position in a small vehicle, your pant belt obscured the opening. Without the belt it was much easier to pop open the tabs.
A note on Seated Position Access
Seated position of your hips and thighs on a regular chair is about 90 degrees. Where in a smaller vehicle the seating position is near 70 degrees. While seated the side pocket opening from the docker pants was much easier to access than the front opening from the jeans.
This also applies to vehicles as well. However, in a truck or mid size SUV there are more leg and arm space to work with than a smaller vehicle.
- What type of jeans are best for concealed carry?
Straight-leg jeans don’t taper in the leg – it’s a straight shot from the top of the thigh to the ankle. If you buy the right size, this style or boot-cut jeans might be your best bet for carrying concealed because they aren’t so snug that they mold to every detail. - Do you size up in pants for concealed carry?
Tucking a concealed carry pistol inside your pants will make the waistband, or belt, a bit tighter. In some cases your pants will need to be an entire size larger. You may need to go from a 36-inch waist to a 38 while carrying with an IWB holster, try it out and see what works for you. - What should I wear to concealed carry?
Wear a polo or a button-up shirt reduces any printing. Relax fitting jeans/pants stay away from skinny jeans legging design. - Can you conceal carry with tight pants?
The quick answer is yes, but NOT RECOMMENDED. Defeats the purpose of concealed carry. - What is the most popular concealed carry position?
According to the norm amongst the concealed carrier, the most popular concealed carry positions are on the waistband, because waistband carrying tends to work better than carrying positions like pocket, ankle or shoulder carrying. With that said you still need to experiment what works for you and your life style. - Should you keep one in the chamber when concealed carrying?
Your concealed everyday carry gun should be ready for use. The firearm needs to be ready to be used against an attacker. If you have trained, it is appropriate (if you desire) to carry with a round in the chamber. - What position should skinny person concealed carry?
Appendix carry may be the easiest and most comfortable for a skinny person. In theory you can carry in whatever position is most comfortable for you. There isn’t one position that is better than others for average built person. - Can you conceal a full size?
Appendix holsters make it easy to conceal a full-sized pistol. They position the gun in front of you and hold it against the widest part of your body. With CCW Break pants its specialized pocket holster design you can carry the common full size 1911 pistol with a shield to hide the printing of the pistol. But, not advisable for the average concealed carrier. Carry a micro size pistol is best.
If you want to truly feel the comfort and enjoy the high level of concealment for pocket carry. Many of CCW Breakaways customers initially were skeptical about the pants, but after trying them out they walked away with positive outlook of the pants.
The discreetness is another under look feature that is highly valuable to blending in with other clothing for work or play. Get a pair of CCW Breakaways pants to find out. There is more to it than to read about the comfort, you need to actually wear one to fully understand what we’re talking about.
Get these Pants Here
CCW Breakaways New Year Special is 11 percent discounted for a pair of pants.
$75.00
If you’re still on the fence getting a pair of CCW Break pants. Why not get their SkinTight holster, only cost $25.00 New Year Special, you can use this in any pants that have enough space for your pistol.
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