Looking for OWB Holster Options for Light-Mounted Pistols?

Options, we all love them. Unfortunately, on the subject of holsters, gun modifications and changing carry preferences can lead to an expensive bin of discards. As firearms evolve, so do tactics and accessories. Today, carrying a pistol equipped with a light, red-­dot sight and spare mags is in vogue. A pistol light reduces muzzle rise and means that the pistol can be effective anywhere, anytime. A red-­dot sight offers the user more precise and faster shots when learned. The problem holster companies face is accommodating the plethora of makes and models of lights, guns and optics. One-­size-­fits-­all holsters are either too bulky for everyday carry, or too flimsy for secure retention. Research what’s available and you’ll see that it’s hard to find a company that offers a practical holster that allows you to carry your preferred light and reflex sight. Most holster brands’ catalog for light-­mounted guns only lists one or two options for the most popular duty rigs (such as the Glock 17/22 wearing a Streamlight TLR-­1), and little else.

Guns & Ammo reviewed BlackPoint Tactical’s Leather Wing (“Carry Rig,” Sept. 2015) and highlighted their backstory, so we won’t revisit that history here. Instead, let’s get to reviewing the Standard OWB Light Mounted holster.

The BlackPoint Tactical Standard OWB Light-Mounted Holster is similar to many rigid Kydex holsters on the market, however, most companies mold the holster flat and bend the edges. Because our waist curvatures are unique, this approach can create hot spots and become uncomfortable. Blackpoint’s Standard models feature a curve throughout the entire sheet of Kydex.

Unique to BlackPoint’s Standard OWB holsters are the belt loops and metal hardware. This is the toughest belt-­loop design I’ve encountered while testing holsters. Despite that most OWB light-­mounted holsters are not ideal for concealment, the Standard OWB Light Mounted holster works great by hugging the curvature of the body tightly. This requires a minimum, loose-­fit overgarment to conceal the holster, although you have to consider the length of the grip and consider clothing, perhaps with patterns, to help reduce the risk of printing. During this evaluation, I found that an untucked, button-down shirt with a plaid pattern was all that was needed to carry a Walther Q5 Match fed by a standard-­capacity magazine. I equipped the pistol with a SureFire X300U-­B and Trijicon RMR sight.

Holster retention is different than the Standard OWB model because it doesn’t feature a retention-­adjustment screw and rubber bushing. Rather, security is achieved by careful engineering around the pistol’s and light’s indentations. The pistol doesn’t click in the same way as the Standard holster because the holster isn’t snapping and hooking around the front of the triggerguard. Instead, this light-­mounted rig relies on the tight compounding tolerances around the pistol and light to properly secure it. There is no tension adjustment.

Options are plentiful. Mix-­and-­match from a palette of colors for the outer and inner shells. BlackPoint also has a holster for almost every brand of light-­and-­gun combination. Drop-­down menus at blackpointtactical.com offer additional configurations for hand, cant and belt loops, as well. Red-­dot-­sight cuts, tall sight channels and threaded barrels are also listed options. My favorite Easter egg is that these OWB holsters can be converted to IWB by simply flipping the loops.