I carry my Sig 229 DAK in a Comp-Tac CTAC IWB holster which I absolutely love and it's great for pretty much every purpose or situation - except riding in cars. I wear my CTAC at the 4:00 position which conceals the gun perfectly and is very comfortable, but I own a Subaru Impreza WRX STI and when i'm sitting down it is impossible to draw my weapon, especially with my seat belt on.
For a few weeks i've been trying to find a solution for riding in the car and have looked at every car holster setup imaginable, I ultimately decided on the DeSantis Kingston Car Holster (http://www.desantisholster.com/n92.html).
The DeSantis Kingston Car Holster does not come with a thumb break, and I believe that a thumb break is absolutely essential because if god forbid I were ever involved in a car accident the last thing I want is a gun with a round in the chamber flying about the cabin of the car and have the trigger snag on something. Therefore, I ordered the optional thumb break for the Kingston Car Holster here: http://www.desantisholster.com/n99.html
I placed my order and received it within 3 days and immediately put it in my car. Installation was very easy, the holster will work in pretty much any car that has a seat which has a seperate bottom cushion and seatback, allowing you to wrap the strap around the entire bottom seat cushion. I found that unless you cranked the strap down HARD, the holster would slide and you could not draw or holster your weapon without the holster moving or sliding, so you have to crank it down hard. When I cranked it down hard, the little strap would keep loosening up on it's own which was annoying, so I took some hockey tape (you can use any type of tape, doesn't really matter) and just wrapped it around the strap so it wouldn't come loose, and it held really well.
Once you install the tape so the strap is held down hard, the entire holster system is rock solid and you can draw and reholster without anything moving or slipping.
When I first installed it, I thought the steering wheel would be in the way when drawing, but it wasn't. You'll see what I mean in the pictures below. The Kingston Car Holster also has a magazine pounch on the front of it for a spare magazine, so you can have a lot of firepower strapped to your drivers seat. The holster can also be removed from the main strap and used as a regular IWB holster, however the process of removing the holster and putting it back on the strap is a little bit time consuming, it's not like you can just quickly snap it on and off when you want, it takes a few minutes.
I keep my Sig 229 in the Kingston Car Seat holster and then before getting out of the car I simply lean forward and put my 229 into my Comp-Tac CTAC before exiting the vehicle, it works really well. If I have to go somewhere like my recruiters officer or somewhere else where firearms are prohibited, I just take the gun from the Kingston Car Holster and lock it in my glovebox.
From the pictures, you'll see the buckle is exposed right on top of the seat where you sit and you think it may look uncomfortable, but when you sit down you don't even notice that it's there. My car is manual transmission so I am constantly operating the clutch pedal and my feet are always in constant motion, and I find that the holster and gun doesn't get in the way of my legs at all, and if it's not an issue in a sports car like the STI where you're low down and legs hug the seat, then it should work perfectly in all vehicles.
In conclusion, I believe the Kingston Car Holster is the best system for carrying a firearm in a car, overall I give it a 8.5 out of 10. The only thing I would like to see improved is the strap having velcro to "lock it" down in place so it doesn't come loose, but this is easily fixed with some good quality tape, so it's not a big issue.
Feel free to comment!
Here are the pictures of it installed in my car:
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my review of the DeSantis Kingston Car Holster.
For a few weeks i've been trying to find a solution for riding in the car and have looked at every car holster setup imaginable, I ultimately decided on the DeSantis Kingston Car Holster (http://www.desantisholster.com/n92.html).
The DeSantis Kingston Car Holster does not come with a thumb break, and I believe that a thumb break is absolutely essential because if god forbid I were ever involved in a car accident the last thing I want is a gun with a round in the chamber flying about the cabin of the car and have the trigger snag on something. Therefore, I ordered the optional thumb break for the Kingston Car Holster here: http://www.desantisholster.com/n99.html
I placed my order and received it within 3 days and immediately put it in my car. Installation was very easy, the holster will work in pretty much any car that has a seat which has a seperate bottom cushion and seatback, allowing you to wrap the strap around the entire bottom seat cushion. I found that unless you cranked the strap down HARD, the holster would slide and you could not draw or holster your weapon without the holster moving or sliding, so you have to crank it down hard. When I cranked it down hard, the little strap would keep loosening up on it's own which was annoying, so I took some hockey tape (you can use any type of tape, doesn't really matter) and just wrapped it around the strap so it wouldn't come loose, and it held really well.
Once you install the tape so the strap is held down hard, the entire holster system is rock solid and you can draw and reholster without anything moving or slipping.
When I first installed it, I thought the steering wheel would be in the way when drawing, but it wasn't. You'll see what I mean in the pictures below. The Kingston Car Holster also has a magazine pounch on the front of it for a spare magazine, so you can have a lot of firepower strapped to your drivers seat. The holster can also be removed from the main strap and used as a regular IWB holster, however the process of removing the holster and putting it back on the strap is a little bit time consuming, it's not like you can just quickly snap it on and off when you want, it takes a few minutes.
I keep my Sig 229 in the Kingston Car Seat holster and then before getting out of the car I simply lean forward and put my 229 into my Comp-Tac CTAC before exiting the vehicle, it works really well. If I have to go somewhere like my recruiters officer or somewhere else where firearms are prohibited, I just take the gun from the Kingston Car Holster and lock it in my glovebox.
From the pictures, you'll see the buckle is exposed right on top of the seat where you sit and you think it may look uncomfortable, but when you sit down you don't even notice that it's there. My car is manual transmission so I am constantly operating the clutch pedal and my feet are always in constant motion, and I find that the holster and gun doesn't get in the way of my legs at all, and if it's not an issue in a sports car like the STI where you're low down and legs hug the seat, then it should work perfectly in all vehicles.
In conclusion, I believe the Kingston Car Holster is the best system for carrying a firearm in a car, overall I give it a 8.5 out of 10. The only thing I would like to see improved is the strap having velcro to "lock it" down in place so it doesn't come loose, but this is easily fixed with some good quality tape, so it's not a big issue.
Feel free to comment!
Here are the pictures of it installed in my car:
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my review of the DeSantis Kingston Car Holster.