By Ashley Young
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Yes, there’s a gun here too.
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I only recently started carrying concealed on-body. I was a dedicated purse carrier for quite a while, and felt very secure in that. Until I didn’t. I realized that I hated to have to carry my purse all the time, and I kept it on my shoulder like it was an extra body part. I also realized that if I were to be separated from my purse at any time, like if someone snatched it, a purse gun would do me no good. I reviewed the options for on-body carry and had a lot of complaints. “Waistband holsters require a belt, and not all women’s clothing allows for a belt.” “I don’t want to have to wear baggy clothes just because I am carrying.” The list went on. Then I discovered the Flashbang.
Setting Up Your Flashbang
There are several ways to wear a bra holster, either inside the wire, under the wire, or at an angle so the barrel is secured between the two cups. I preferred wearing mine under the wire because I felt like it was best concealed that way. The Flashbang came with three different length suede straps to allow the user to customize their carry experience for optimal comfort. After trying each of the lengths, I settled on the mid-sized option to best suit my carry preferences.
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The Flashbang.
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The Flashbang with the GLOCK 42.
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Material
The Flashbang holster is made up of two materials: Kydex and suede. The holster portion is made of a thin Kydex with an open clamshell design. The strap that holds it in place is suede. It is available in either left or right handed draw positions, which was a definite plus for me. I am a hardcore lefty, so sometimes I am limited in which products I am able to use.
Carry Impressions
I mostly wore the Flashbang to work under my business casual attire. I found it to be very comfortable and easily concealed under light cover garments such as a light top or sweater. My go-to carry gun is a Glock 42, so the fact that it is a subcompact, lightweight gun definitely adds to the comfort level. I definitely enjoyed the feeling of security I had from comfortable, on-body carry, and the Flashbang definitely was a good choice for that.
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In a tight t-shirt, there will be some printing.
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But the printing is really minimal.
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Critiques
Some safety and comfort observations: taking the time to adjust the strap to the perfect fit is critical for an optimal and comfortable fit. There are holes on each strap to adjust the length to the perfect fit. The better it fits, the less it prints. Also when holstering and reholstering the Flashbang it is important to take caution.
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Slide in the back, then ease in the front.
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Slide the rear in while the gun’s pointed away from you and others.
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The best way that I found to holster and reholster the Flashbang, is to pull the kydex as far away from the body as possible, taking care not to muzzle the yourself, slide the butt of the gun in first. Then gently guide the slide into the clam-shell using leverage. I can’t stress enough how important it is for a user to practice carrying and using the Flashbang.
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Yank up the shirt to get to your gun. Not so different than most concealed carry.
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You might end up in a defensive gun use with your shirt up, but what the hell.
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Conclusion
I really enjoyed using the Flashbang, and plan to make this one of my go-to methods of carry. I was pleased to discover that Flashbang makes different styles of holsters (including men’s holsters). There are also different styles for women, but the classic Flashbang is the most popular.
Available for purchase here: https://flashbangstore.com/products/the-flashbang
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Keep in mind where the muzzle is pointing. This is a great way to carry, and a terrible place to have an ND.
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Reholstering is the real dilemma. Once the gun is out, you may need to get it back, and that takes practice.
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The holster is designed to be tight, but the gun is easy to pull free.
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Ummmmm……….gun…..what…….there’s a gun?
Sorry, I was distracted
The point is that to protect your self you need to carry. To carry regularly you must be comfortable with where and how you carry. My wife prefers Apendex carry but, it isn’t always practical. If she goes bare midriff and skinny jeans where is she going to conceal? That’s why she also has a Bra holster. It works very well and she’s always armed! And that is the point! Not her feminin assets! But protecting them is!
i would believe if the female got too excited and pulled her Tee shirt up and over her bra it would draw everybodys attention to her. just have to know where to stop pulling. a lot of arm motion might draw attention. what ever works for women is all i could be interested in. save your life and maybe that of a third party.
It’s obviously a great invention and will give many women shooters an additional option to carry.
As for the safety issues, following a well practiced routine for both drawing and re-holstering will certainly keep it as safe a process, if not more so, than guys shoving an auto down their crotch or in the crack of their butt.
I’m amazed at the lack of maturity so many of the respondents are to this piece.
This probably has some realistic applications under very specific conditions such as type of clothes and temperature/humidity. My wife’s first comment on seeing it was that it looked really uncomfortable to wear on a hot day since it would be rubbing your skin all day while you perspired, and it would probably print. Given the way women dress as opposed to men, off body is probably the most common means of CC for women.
Lisa Looper, the inventor, suggests getting plain-old sticky-on-one-side moleskin (like for shoe blisters?) and I think there is even a ‘pattern’ someone posted for how that person cuts the moleskin to stick to the body-side of the Kydex. NOT a big problem, a small one.
Absolutely F’n we todd did. And her ‘safe’ way to reholster had her covering her hand…
My female partner was given one of these to try on account of her being a professional instructor (and top-ranked action pistol competitor).
She’s on the narrow side, let’s say. The gun used for the trial was a J-frame, Smith 642. Not many rounds, but good power while it lasts with Buffalo Bores, much more than any .380. She does not care at all for revolvers, but it was the gun available, and given her high level of skill, she still is able to shoot it quite well.
Concealment was not good with anything on the tight-fitting end of the spectrum. Even a light sweater was marginal.
This would undoubtedly be less of an issue with a more full-figured woman.
Comfort was not satisfactory, she reported. Having a chunk of plastic against the skin and breastbone was not working for her.
I will, however, dispute the slowness of draw. True, this is an A-class shooter, but with an untucked top garment, we timed her draw to a hit at 5 yards (with a revolver she dislikes quite a bit) in the two-seconds-flat range. A couple even went to 1.90.
This time is about all anyone short of Bob Vogel can achieve from actual concealment, so this aspect was satisfactory.
The final result was the discomfort issue along with insufficient concealment with the type of clothing she wears combined to cause her to put the Flashbang aside. Also, she does not recommend it in her women’s classes.
An average attacker can cover 5 yards in well under 2 seconds… At 5 yards you better be good with your hands.
5 Yards in 2 seconds? Is that with the baggy below the ass pants ass or without?
That’s what she said .
ba dum tiss
People with carry permits should know safety. They should not holster with their finger on the trigger. Ignore some of these dumb ass comments. Looks like a good holster to me. I would suggest a small flap of cloth to hang behind the holster to keep body oil or moisture off the weapon.
That’s a good suggestion. In very hot and humid regions, perspiration and oils could quickly cause rust or corrosion.
A .357 Ruger LCR is a lightweight, small, powerful alternative, with a comfy, curved grip.
You’d be dead, before you lifted up your shirt and pulled your pistol out of the holster to deploy it. When confronted, it might puzzle your assailant that you are trying to get undressed.
Looks like it, probably, wouldn’t work for women with breasts smaller than D or DD.
Check the vids and pix around the web. LOTS of women (including me!) like this holster! (And lots of small-breasted women like it too!) And anyone carrying should ALSO have studied ‘violence precursors’ — and not wait till the bad guy is a couple feet away. Awareness is safety! (How about before slamming it, y’all take a look around and see what women actually USING the thing think about it, eh?)
Can’t wait for her review of the new G-String Back Holster !!
Yep, found it. Shot herself in the eye while reholstering a .22 in a bra holster. Happened in Michigan in February of this year. I don’t know if links are allowed, but it’s easy enough to Google.
That was my first thought too, when I saw this. If I recall the incident correctly, she was trying to adjust the holster with the gun ion it. As with all carry options, this has its pros and cons. I think it might work well with a small DA only like the Ruger or the PF9. I am always conscious of where my muzzle is pointing, and won’t carry my IWB in the appendix position because an ND could hit the femoral artery . . . something else that happened in the news not too long ago.
As I understand it — it was NOT a Flashbang, but a knock-off version. And I played around a lot with my Flashbang before using it out in public, (unloaded gun, of course!) — and OMG — I can’t figure out what contortions that poor woman was engaging in to get the muzzle pointed at her face! ANYone who is not careful of their muzzle direction is an accident looking to happen! ANYone who reholsters a loaded firearm without a) lots of PRACTICE with an unloaded gun and b) pays very careful attention when doing so is an accident looking to happen!
Someone died not long ago from an accidental discharge reholstering with one or another of these bra holsters (I don’t recall if the news story reported the brand). I just don’t think they’re ready for general use.
I think the secret to preventing “re-holster” accidents is DON’T.
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Attach the holster with the gun in it.
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If you have to pull it, what’s the point of re-holstering it anyway?
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This is a good bit of humor, right?
Not bad…
It may work for the author, but she (or the person writing the photo captions) points out the gun aims at your body when holstered. It probably won’t go off when re-holstering, but…
Also, it does print with a non-loose shirt, which may defeat the idea of a “concealed” gun, in the same way wearing very tight clothing over an IWB holster and gun might.
As Ms. Young says, not so different from other concealed carry presentation, except for the distraction factor 🙂
Even with your endowment: CC and tight Tee shirts never work well unless you are packing something much smaller then the G42, maybe a Sterling 25 APC, NAA 22 or other vest pocket size gun. They have a power shortfall though. Boot carry or a pocket gun with an appropriate shield to cover corners/outline.
Pack your primary in a gun purse AND a BUG elsewhere on your body for encounters of the worst kind.
I think trying to conceal a gun in an area that gets direct attention (human nature) is not the brightest idea. Only layering tops will negate this issue.
I call it a titty blaster (gives new meaning to “rack” and slide). 😀
Well. I just have to say it. If I was a robber. And you went to pull your gun. I would probably lose thought, trip, break a leg. Then thank you for the show. And beg and plead that you didn’t shoot me.