Product review - Ka-bar fanny pack

[chasfm11]

I realize that there isn't generally a favorable opinion of fanny packs on this forum. When I originally ordered this:
http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-TDI-Enforc ... B001H53QB2
I had just read about hangdog's experience and wanted something that keep me from repeating it. I later got a Comp-Tac Minotaur and use that most of the time. I've discovered, however, that there is a time for a fanny pack and thought I'd relate my experience.

We just completed a 3,200 mile, 17 day RV trip. Before we left, I tried sitting in the RV driver's seat with the Minotaur and realized that it wasn't going to work. The lumbar support on the seat hit right where I wear the holster (about 4:30) and that was it was going to be mighty uncomfortable on some of our 300-400 mile driving days. I set up the Ka-bar. Here are my results:

Advantages:
1. My Sig P250 fits nicely in the space provided. A larger gun may not
2. I can get my spare mag, my cell phone, my ID cards, a credit card and a little cash without bulging the fanny pack. This made it a self-contained setup for much of the time.
3. It was easy to use. When I stepped down out of the driver's door, I just grabbed the fanny pack clipped it on. By placing it just above my belt line and shifting the gun position to 2oclock, everything worked fine. I have always worn my shirts out anyway and with the longer shirts that I've gotten for concealment, the fanny pack was almost completely covered. Since we were obviously tourists anyway, a tourist with a fanny pack is not out of character. This allowed me to get out at rest stops and stretch my legs with no fuss. For those who don't travel much in other States, rest stops are not the safest places (some now have 24hour armed security but they cannot be everywhere on the property). Rest stops and truck stops are about the only places we can use while traveling because of our size and length.
4. It was fairly easy to draw. I timed myself with the Minotaur versus the fannypack and found that the Ka-bar was only slightly slower. I discovered that positioning the zippers correctly was the key to that. I practiced both one and two handed draws. I tried opening the zipper (as I eventunally did in a situation where I had went to condition orange at a truck stop) and moving around and had no problem with the gun staying in place. Having the zipper open makes my draw actually faster than with the Minoataur.

Disadvantages:
1. Access to the Ka-bar while actually driving is not good. Obviously, I'm not concerned about highway situations but in towns and while stopped at traffic signals, it would take many seconds to reach the weapon verus an IWB. Of all the places that I worried about, this was the least among them but I did want to mention it.
2. Space in the Ka-bar is limited. This didn't bother me either since if I were carrying IWB, the stuff would all be in my pockets anyway.
3. Someone who was really paying attention could recognize that there was a lot more weight to the Ka-bar than a normal fanny pack if they watched me putting it on. Since 99.9% of the public is oblivious to such things, this didn't concern me.

From a security and safety perspective, our whole trip was an non-event. We had a great time, enjoyed ourselves and had no problems. I might post the one minor incident at a truck stop separately, just because it had some unusual circumstances that might be worthy of discussioin.

Chas

[USA1]

I bought and still have that very same pack. I only used once because I found it to be somewhat obtrusive while sitting.
However, it is very well made and is very low profile and it fits discreetly under an untucked shirt. I'll probably hang on to it for the rare occasion that I might go hiking or something like that. I can see it being especially useful for walking around at the beach wearing a swimsuit or at the pool ect, but for all intents and purposes, I still prefer to carry in a holster.

[chasfm11]

You are absolutely right about it not being at all comfortable when sitting. I should have included that in my disadvantages list but that isn't something that I tried with it except initially. Strapping it on then then going to a sit down lunch somewhere would be a mistake. It would definitely have to come off and that would present another group of problems.

Chas.

[jamisjockey]

I bought a similar holster (made by 5.11, I think) for my Kel-Tec. I am a cyclist, and carrying on the bike is a primary reason I purchased the Kel-Tec.
The elastic band doesn't hold for squat under any kind of activity. Got home from a twenty mile ride and went to transfer the pistol back to the safe, and it actually fell out of the fanny pack when I opened it
YMMV.

[THE ENGINEER]

The biggest issue I see with carrying in items like fanny packs, purses, backpacks, etc is that you are carrying your weapon in an item that a robber will likely request as he has his weapon pointed at you, or in the event a struggle ensues, this item can be detached from you. I want my weapon to stay with me in the event I am robbed or involved in an altercation.

[chasfm11]

The biggest issue I see with carrying in items like fanny packs, purses, backpacks, etc is that you are carrying your weapon in an item that a robber will likely request as he has his weapon pointed at you, or in the event a struggle ensues, this item can be detached from you. I want my weapon to stay with me in the event I am robbed or involved in an altercation.

There are pluses and minuses with many things like fanny packs. I know that I could not have driven the way that we did on this trip with an IWB in its normal position the way that I normally wear it. Unless I'm going some place where I will be standing up nearly all of the time, I won't use the Ka-bar again soon either. I just thought that I'd share my experience. I do like have the option for the right circumstances.

[jamisjockey]

There are times when IWB strong side carry just ain't happening. Like, oh, when I wear spandex!

[randomoutburst]

For a smaller framed woman, this fanny pack is not comfortable. Sitting with it on doesn't work, and I'm so tiny that the smallest length on the strap barely makes it tight enough to wear. Hubby has the opposite problem - the longest length is too small for him! Still, if I'm wearing something that makes carrying with a holster impossible, the fanny pack does its job. Plus I can put my phone and other "pocket items" in the pack to make it look more like a pack and less like a holster.

[chasfm11]

For a smaller framed woman, this fanny pack is not comfortable. Sitting with it on doesn't work, and I'm so tiny that the smallest length on the strap barely makes it tight enough to wear. Hubby has the opposite problem - the longest length is too small for him! Still, if I'm wearing something that makes carrying with a holster impossible, the fanny pack does its job. Plus I can put my phone and other "pocket items" in the pack to make it look more like a pack and less like a holster.

Sitting with the referenced fanny pack isn't comfortable for me either. As I pointed out, it is a backup method for me but it did give me easy accessing to carrying when my regular IWB would have been much more of a problem.

I don't know how many others might have thought that mine was a gun holster but I did see, on many different tourists where we were visiting, fanny packs of all shapes and sizes. I certainly wasn't out of place with mine and because of my shirt tail being out, it was mostly covered anyway. In other times and places, I might have been much more conspicuous. We camp a lot and I think the fanny pack would work well in almost all the circumstances there except sitting around the campfire. Campgrounds are another location where the fanny pack is not going to look out of place.

[Abraham]

I've come full circle.

I started out with a fanny pack (well, technically it's a fanny pack, though it could pass for a binocular or medical device holder) and then progressed through a variety of holsters wearing the cover garment set-up.

However, as time passed, I just couldn't stand wearing two outer garments in the heat of the summer.

So, now I use the fanny pack in the hot months and get to wear a single light-weight shirt of my choosing. Given the "other than gun holder design appearance" of my fanny pack, I've never noticed anyone staring at it... I'm sure some must wonder, but again, I've not seen any evidence of it.

When cooler weather comes our way, I'll go back to the cover garment, OWB holster rig.