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I've been working on getting ready for when my CHL plastic comes in. I purchased the ctac iwb holster with the thought that it would allow me to tuck my shirt while working and not run the risk of printing. I put it on last night around the house and found it to be a bit on the uncomfortable side so I put moleskin over the hardware that holds everything all together. I also used some 2000 grit sandpaper to smooth all the edges. I wore the holster to work today (without my XD) just as a way of trying it out for comfort. It wasn't anywhere close to comfortable. I felt it digging into my side (love handles) and into my upper thigh. I would welcome any suggestions as to what I can do to modify or cushion things to find some comfort.

I am in the pest control business so along with being out and walking around I spend a fair amount of time behind the wheel of my truck every day.

Thanks

Mine feels best when I wear it just behind the largest swell of the love handle, about 4 o clock.
It definitely doesn't feel great without an undershirt.

I wear mine at about 3:30 and the belt clip ends up about 5:00. I found that this was the sweetspot for me. Maybe it is your belt that is the issue, it could be not supportive enough and making you pull it too tight causing discomfort. I can forget that I am wearing it sometimes but that goes away quickly once I get up and movng.

make sure that you're using a good gun belt and your pants are about 2 sizes larger than what you usually wear. Those are important factors.

Mostly I just live with the discomfort. Kydex is great except that it isn't very comfortable.

That's the problem with holsters...especially holsters designed for concealment like IWB and shoulder rigs: Everybody is built a little different. So, unfortunately, the holster search ends up trial and error.

I know there are Websites that have applications that allow women to enter their measurements and preferences, then presents the "perfect" jeans style and size. Dunno how effective it is, but wouldn't it be great if someone were to do that for concealed carry?

My C-TAC is for a compact 1911. The first time I put it on, it was comfortable enough. I did a little bit of Dremel work to smooth the edges, and it's good to go for a 12-hour day with no real discomfort. I carry it almost exactly three o'clock with the maximum FBI cant the stock holster allows (which is a tiny bit less than I'd like).

As a rule, for IWB holsters, Kydex is fast, stable, needs its own retention characteristic, is relatively inexpensive, and is relatively uncomfortable. Leather is slower, flexible, gains retention from belt tension, is relatively expensive (for the good stuff), and is the most comfortable.

Excellent Summary.

mrbug wrote:I've been working on getting ready for when my CHL plastic comes in. I purchased the ctac iwb holster <SNIP>. I would welcome any suggestions as to what I can do to modify or cushion things to find some comfort.

I also was a bit disappointed in my CTTAC when I first started wearing it, so I modified it as shown HERE . The new larger tabs let me adjust the cant and height to suit my body better. A little trial and error on clip attachment location on the tabs got a good comfortable fit.

The photos show it with my full sized M&P 9 but I later bought a 9 compact and cut about 1 1/2" off the bottom of the holster -- left just enough to cover the shorter slide/barrel on the 9c. I wear it at about 4:00 and it sits there very well and doesn't poke me at all, standing, walking, sitting or driving.

However, my pants have always seemed to want to slide down, which got worse, obviously, with another couple of pounds of gun hanging on my belt.

I then added a pair of 2" wide suspenders, in addition to my belt, and they really made a difference. I snug up the "braces" just enough to put a slight tension on the straps, so they don't dig into my shoulders, just keep the pants from sliding down.

I generally wear a t-shirt, then the suspenders and then an over shirt to hide everything.

That was the solution for me. Now I can wear it all day and, as others have stated, nearly forget I have it on.

You mentioned that you're in the pest control business. I'm guessing you go to the properties and actually do the spraying/fogging/whatever pest controllers do. This means that you do a lot of moving around.

You didn't mention how you prefer to dress or if you have a uniform or dress code that must be followed.

Longtooth has an excellent set-up that my dad has recently adopted. They wear high-ride OWB holsters with an untucked shirt or vest.
There's a link on one of these threads that LT has a few pictures.

It's something you might want to think about, but you would need to make sure your shirt stays down.

If you need to wear your shirt tucked and definitely IWB, there's Tucker's The Answer. http://rlcompanyusa.stores.yahoo.net/answer.html
I have not personally tried it, but several posters swear by it. I don't think I've read a post that didn't like it.

I have an Answer and a C-Tac that I interchange . I love the answer it is very comfortable but I am not sure that it would work for you depending
on your job. The Answer lack the retention properties of the C-Tac
because of the leather body shield. My C-Tac is great too, just not as
comfortable for all day wear.
I would try adjusting your C-Tac it for a higher ride if you can get away
with. It will make driving alot more comfortable. I wear mine with the
front clip butting against the first belt loop and that has the back clip
butting against the second loop.

I am self employed so I have a lot of latitude about my dress but for a more professional appearance I would prefer to tuck a polo shirt. I have had a lot of good advice so far that ranges from upping my pant size, dropping 20 pounds, adding an undershirt, and such. The pictures I just saw of the last holster got me to thinking about the possibility of adding a leather layer to the back of the ctac. I'm thinking that with a few pop rivets, washers, good leather and some ingenuity I might be able to add a leather back to the holster. That and the aforementioned suggestions should help a bunch. I knew that if I put the question out there I would get a lot of great help. No need to reinvent the wheel when you have a bunch of experienced wheel wrights running around. Thanks for all the help so far and more to come.

There is a company - Crossbreed - that makes a combination kydex & leather holster. See their website here. Adding a piece of leather to your CTAC should be an easy job, and you could always remove it if you don't like it.

mrbug,

My CTAC is by far the most used holster that I have. It isn't the most comfortable, but isn't bad either. The reason you experienced such discomfort is, as you said, because you didn't have your gun in it. You would think it would not make that much difference, but IT DOES!

There is a piece of Kydex, between your skin and the gun, that extends up to provide a barrier between the two. You shouldn't hold it against the CTAC because you won't be wearing the holster without the gun typically.

I always wear a "wife beater", (forgive the term, but that's what my son calls them and I don't have a more descriptive term of my own). This provides a considerable amount of comfort. Next comes the holster and then a dark shirt one size larger than I normally wear. A shirt like this covers a mulitude of sins should you bend over or do something to cause your gun to print.

I used to wear it just behind the hip, but now I wear it in either Appendix or left-side cross-draw positions. With a short barrel gun it's not too uncomfortable if you keep you pants pulled up when you sit down. This makes the gun much more accessable when you're in the car. Try drawing from behind the hip while sitting in a chair or car. Also, this is good for retention as well. Now, if you have a rather large belly or long barrel gun, this might not work well for you. For me it works perfect and forces me to keep that stomach flat too.

-ss

I did the leather addition today. I will try to post some pictures when I can. I went to Hobby Lobby and got a nice large piece of tooling leather. It's pretty close to 8x10. I did a rough trace of the outline of the holster with the express purpose of leaving a 1/4" edge sticking out all around. I then soaked the leather in hot water for about 5 minutes and then used some spring clamps to form it to the back of the holster. A slow bake in the over at 150 degrees for about an hour dried it and set it to form. I then drilled 4 1/8" holes, just above where the trigger guard goes in, near the end of the tab at the very top of the holster, in between the rubber grommets near the bottom, and between the bolts on the other side of the bottom. I used aluminum 1/8" pop rivets for joining 1/4" material together. I put the rivets in from the leather side I was joining to the kydex to keep smooth next to my skin and secured all 4 of the rivets. The top two rivets stuck out a bit far for my tastes so I filed a little off of them and then took a drift and hammer to flatten them. They actually ended up counter sinking just a bit. I only need to put some mole skin on the back of the hardware holding the front clip in place. Doing this along with some of the other suggestions here should make some difference.

Sounds like a nice addition. I'm anxious to see your photos.

Sounds great bug...can't wait to see the finished project.