Best Fanny Pack Holster?

[jdsumner]

My concern with fanny packs is the ease with which they can be boosted. In Florida, a lot of tourists (if they call it 'tourist season', how come we cant shoot'em?) wear them. Tourists tended to keep money and credit cards in said fanny bag. And that tends to draw goblins. A new trend arose amongst those who would gain from you being seperated from your bag. Running up from behind you, a lad of great footspeed and excellent hand/eye coordination could pop the buckle and be to the corner of U.S. 301 and Rhodine Rd before you can say 'darn, and my wallet was in there'. So, some manufacturers put the buckle more towards the front. Now, our fleet footed little goblins simply cut the belt as they went by. Same results for you though...'darn, and my wallet was in there'.
Amongst the weekend gunny types I have the pleasure watching at some of our local fine dining establishments (Sonny's, McYuks, Toco Hell), I have witnessed on more than one occassion someone going to the potty and leaving their bag draped over the back of their chair. One, I want my pistol when I go potty, just in case. Two, thats a good way to have someone walk out with your bag ...'darn, and my wallet was in there'.

There is probably a place and time for the fanny pack. I just personally dont see a lot of times when a fanny pack would beat a good holster. Whether its iwb, or owb, proper selection of wardrobe goes a LONG way to carrying the pistol comfortably and discreetly. And thats the name of the game.

Now, that being said, I just this morning picked up a little item that I plan on using for a while and then posting the results for me. It is the Maxpedition M-5 waistpack. It has a tunnel that you thread your belt through. 'Bout the size of a large camera tote. More pockets than a pool table. Very secure. Very quiet zippers. Holds my new Kahr Arms E9 like a champ. So far, seems a very reasonable way to carry a small/medium handgun when a cover garment may draw more attention than the waistpack. Is it THE most ideal way to carry? No. Do I feel it has a place? Yeah. Am I still gonna order a Max Con V from Brommeland? Yeah.

So, on your journey for the best fanny pack, take a quick look at Maxpedition' s M-5 waistpack and a Wilderness Tactical belt.
Hope this assists you.

Dan

ps..just read CE's post above (kayaking). That is the place/time for a fanny pack.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Monty]

I'll throw my hat in with those who think you can get away packing in a fanny pack; you just have to be smart about it. It has to not look out of place. Ties and fanny packs don't go together, Glock Tees and fanny packs scream gun. I've got a little Northwest Security Products (think that is the name, appears to be out of business) pack. It isn't very big, fit a j-frame or small pistol nicely. I've wore it lots of time and don't believe I have ever been made. When I wear it is when it would look normal to wear a fanny pack anyway. Shorts, tee shirt and fanny pack....no problem. Now more often than not I'll be packing IWB or front pocket but for those times when I want to use the fanny pack and it matches what I am wearing and where I am at, I'll use it and not worry for a second about being made.

Wonder how many of those who worry about getting made with a fanny pack have a big ol tactical folder clipped to their front pocket or Glock or S&W stickers on their truck

Monty

[CombatEffective]

The version that I bought has a belt loop in it as well. Even if the buckle on the fanny pack were popped it would still be on my belt.

Of course if wearing a belt why use a fanny pack when you could use a holster? Like I said in my first response in this thread my fanny pack would only be used for special applications. I usually wear jean shorts, which most of the time would allow me to carry with a holster, but I do have some lightweight casual shorts that a heavy duty belt don't work with well.

[Euclidean]

I've also thought about my comment about the little gadgets and I had a realization that if a man my age were walking around with a Sony PSP pouch on his belt, no one would think anything of it. Of course I am drawing a blank as to what one could store in there as it measures roughly 7 by 3 by 1.

I bet there's something. A little semiautomatic mousegun probably...

[Kentucky]

I sometimes carry a Keltec .32 and found a perfect 'fanny pack ' for it for when I wear a tucked in shirt rather than a loose out of waist shirt. I bought a Quantaray camera fanny pack from Ritz Camera. It has a zippered bag area in rear and a smaller pouch in the front to carry some extra mags. The case is about 5x7 inches, black and the front pouch is dark green. I had an old baseball cap with an inch long Nike embroidered 'swoosh' on it which I cut out and glued on the front of the fanny pack. The whole rig now looks as if it was made for sporting/jogger/whatever use and doesn't holler CCW so very much.

[ExSoldier]

Good news / Bad news.

First the good news - I received my FL CCW permit in the mail today (Yaah!).

Bad news - the CTAC I ordered won't work with the lightweight shorts and shirts I wear most of the time (not to mention I still need to lose a few pounds for IWB to be comfortable).

So I decided to go with a fanny pack holster. Who makes the best ones? I'd prefer it to be fabric, and not black, if possible.

Thanks in advance!

I wore my Glock M27 in my belly bag (as opposed to a true fanny pack like we had in the army) all day today. I love it because mine has not only the pull cord gun compartment but also three substantial zippered compartments as well for SureFire light, ear plugs (in case I have the time), Spyderco knife, cell phone or keys. It's GREAT! I got mine at a local gun show from a guy called the Bag Man but Galco makes a very good pack too! Just make very sure you do NOT get BLACK which just screams CCW. To look discrete get bright RED or Blue or a muted Forest Green.

[LenS]

OK, if the fanny packs scream "gun", riddle this for me?

A week ago I went to a free outdoor concert in Boston (~5-10K attendees), wearing a P99 in a fanny pack. There were 3 or 4 MA State Troopers there including one that was looking in barrels and under them, etc. I went over and was talking with him and he told me that "we were under Code Orange Alert", thus the MA State Trooper patrolling the river in and the heavy presence of police (usually there are none).

So if I was screaming "gun" and they were under a terrorism alert, don't you think he might have been curious at what I was carrying?

Sorry, I don't buy it!

[ExSoldier]

OK, if the fanny packs scream "gun", riddle this for me?

A week ago I went to a free outdoor concert in Boston (~5-10K attendees), wearing a P99 in a fanny pack. There were 3 or 4 MA State Troopers there including one that was looking in barrels and under them, etc. I went over and was talking with him and he told me that "we were under Code Orange Alert", thus the MA State Trooper patrolling the river in and the heavy presence of police (usually there are none).

So if I was screaming "gun" and they were under a terrorism alert, don't you think he might have been curious at what I was carrying?

Sorry, I don't buy it!

I said a BLACK fanny pack. Like what the cops started out with. That's who was using them first you know. But I'll bet the cop was doing the correct thing. I'll bet he was profiling. Unless you're a middle eastern male between the ages of 19 and 39, you probably aren't under much scrutiny, yet. Wait until the Aryan Nations pull off a new 911 style attack in cahoots with their new buddies in AQ. Then we're all in deep poo poo. Then again, not all cops are that observant.

I have stood next to the son of a sitting President in a room full of US Secret Service and none of them knew I was wearing a lawfully concealed firearm. That was Jeb Bush before he was Governor and during his daddy's term. I wasn't the only "civilian" in the room that was armed, either. The other was a female friend of mine who works for a congress-critter. She at the time was the President of our shooting club and a graduate of Gun-Site. We had a good chuckle over that little goof later.

[AutoFan]

Wow, this thread came back from the dead...Ok, to update everyone; I have a perfectly good IWB holster from Com-Tac. I wear it rarely because if I have on pants with belt loops they are either khakis, which I only wear out to dinner, etc., at night due to the heat, or cargo shorts, which I can put my Kahr in a cargo pocket. I am currently borrowing one of my wife's fanny packs with a Disney character on the front. [She doesn't even shoot guns and has three fanny packs, FYI to those who say a fanny pack screams gun. But I digress.] The fanny pack works for me because I wear very light clothes, I go running with my dog, I go places you really can't carry a conventional holster, like the health club, on a daily basis. I go places you can't legally carry and need to divest and re-acquire my weapon quickly. Since I moved here and started carrying, the easiest people for me to know are carrying are those using a conventional holster. I find myself spotting the lumps, wear patterns on clothes and cover garments with ease (except for the guy who carries using a sholder rig - he had to tell me he was carrying, and how).

My original question stands as to what is the best fanny pack style holster, understanding its limitations? If criminals are trying to cut them off of people, which ones are made of materials that resist cutting (i.e. heavy duty nylon)? If the quick release fasteners are a problem, who has the best solution to that? Who has the best internal holster?

I guess my problem is I know exactly what I want, not who does or will make it for me.

My thanks still goes out to those who actually answered my questions without telling me I needed to change all my clothes, habits and carry a leather holster on my waist.

[Bumper]

There are several fanny packs that have a velcro strap that goes around your belt that would secure it in case the strap was cut. I forget who makes mine, but it might help to do what I did. Just try a bunch of different ones in every gun show/shop you go to. Mine was just under $30 and for the record, although I don't wear mine a whole lot, I bever bought into the idea that scream gun. I have seen many people wearing them that I don't believe was armed. And if it does scream gun, it's also screaming "don't mess with me"....

[MechE]

To pull off the fanny pack thing you have to look believable. If you are wearing jeans and a jacket then the fanny pack will look redundant because you have plenty of other pockets to put your wallet, car keys, etc... in. If you are wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt then you can pull it off.

Another thing you can try is the yuppy dork tourist thing and wear sandals with white socks, those pants with the zip off legs that turn into shorts and a tie dyed shirt.

[RSSZ]

Gentlemen----- With due respect to my fellow CCWer's. Is/are there no other ways to carry/have on your person a conceled weapon of any size other than a fanny pack ?? Personally, I'd downsize my weapon and just stick it in my pocket,before i wore a fanny pack.----------

[ExSoldier]

To pull off the fanny pack thing you have to look believable. If you are wearing jeans and a jacket then the fanny pack will look redundant because you have plenty of other pockets to put your wallet, car keys, etc... in. If you are wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt then you can pull it off.

In a place like Miami, Florida (my home) folks don't give my medium sized blue fanny pack a second look, not even the cops. Folks aren't that observant here. Also absent some sort of perception of an imminent threat, I think most folks would consider this type of unwanted attention to be well....rude and an invasion of privacy. I think that fanny pack carry in warm areas especially in the deep south and Texas in the concentrated heat of the summer months makes total sense. I'll take a stable, secure and reliable draw over a pocket draw everytime.

[LenS]

I said a BLACK fanny pack. Like what the cops started out with. That's who was using them first you know. But I'll bet the cop was doing the correct thing. I'll bet he was profiling. Unless you're a middle eastern male between the ages of 19 and 39, you probably aren't under much scrutiny, yet. Wait until the Aryan Nations pull off a new 911 style attack in cahoots with their new buddies in AQ. Then we're all in deep poo poo. Then again, not all cops are that observant.

I was wearing a Stealth Pac by Coronado Leather. It is black leather and rather boxy looking. It isn't cheap and anyone knowledgeable should be able to "make" it.

Chuckle, I don't fit any of your profiling categories (or those of other posters):
- I am 58, Jewish (the ultimate enemy of both the Middle Eastern males you refer to as well as the Aryan Nations).
- I was wearing jeans with lots of pockets (that were full of the "normal stuff"). I wore the fanny pack because it was hot and humid, threat of rain (it poured) and I just didn't feel like wearing an IWB that evening.

[SOLOLUCKY]

what i find most humorous about this thread is the use of the million mom bag for holduing a gun! if those moms woulda ever thought there "cute lil fanny pack" would be used to hold a gun they would soil there polyester stretch pants.

my 2 c. worth is they scream geek more than gun.
with the exception of the Glock t-shirt wearer, then it was his/her own fault for planting the gun seed in an observers mind.