Best IWB Holsters for Glock 19

With a growing interest in personal defense more people are asking about IWB (inside the waistband) holsters. What exactly is an IWB holster? How to sift through the mass of brands, materials and special features?

First things first, it’s a special holster that goes inside your waistband by using a variety of different hooks. They’re ideal for personal defense because of their compact size which makes them completely concealable and comfortable.

How to go about choosing the perfect IWB holster for your needs without blowing your budget on expensive, time consuming experimentation? That’s what I’m going to help you with. I’ve reviewed three of the best IWB holsters by brand, material, and even a couple by special feature (I saved the best for last). So, let’s get down to business and talk about holsters.

Top 3 Glock 19 holsters by brand

I’ve picked out three of my favorite holsters by brand: Crossbreed, Remora and Blackhawk.

Crossbreed: RH SuperTuck

What I like about this holster, how comfortable it is to wear it. It has a cowhide leather backing, so no hard plastic digging into you, and the more wear it gets, the more comfortable it becomes to wear it. So, the more I wear this holster, the more I want to wear it. Win, win if you ask me. It also comes with a rugged care-free, worry-free Kydex holster. The clips are care-free worry-free too, being made from spring steel with a corrosion proof, chip proof coating. And they look bad ass.

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Remora: MINI Carbon Carry

What sets the Remora apart for me is the non-stick backing. It just adds another level of comfort when it gets up to 90 degrees with 90% humidity outside. The hardware on this holster is also adjustable, letting you adjust it to your own body. No worries about buying a holster meant for someone half or double your size. This is a one size fits all. What I also like about this is that it was hand-molded to the Glock 19. All their holsters are hand molded to a specific model, no knocking, no wiggling, just a good tight fit. That’s quality.

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Black Hawk: Serpa CQC Carbon Fiber Appliqué Finish

This holster comes with belt loop and paddle option for wearing it. That makes it easy to take on and off, nothing to get confused just slip it on and go. Another feature that sets it apart from the rest is it’s cut. The BLACKHAWK! team gave this one a speed-cut design that allows for a quick draw, target acquisition and re-holster. The ease of drawing and wearing make this a great option for those in the military and law enforcement, but what about the rest of us? It’s compatible with a SERPA Quick Disconnect System Kit that secures your pistol and makes sure that the only way it’s coming out, is when you need it.

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Best 3 Glock 19 holsters by material

Ok, so those are my top three brands. But what about the materials, the cowhide and kydex? After all, a holster is only as good as the material it’s made of.

Kydex: Galco Triton holster

This product is made from solid Kydex so it doesn’t offer the adjustable setting of other holsters, but it is totally worry-free, care-free. The durable nature of Kydex means no worries about breaking, moisture and an easy clean. This holster also comes with a sweat guard, keeping your sweat from corroding the pistol and the cold pistol off your skin. It is very compact and concealable and it’s design allows for easy taking on and off and one handed re-holstering.

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Leather: Glock 19 Hd BLK Rh holster

The classic leather holster, the one the cowboys wore. Thankfully it’s been passed down since then and is with us to this day. This holster has high quality construction. That’s what high quality material and being made in America get you. It’s usually a tight fit at first, follow the instructions and wrap your gun in wax paper and leave it in the holster for a day or two. After that it fits as if it was hand-tailored to your pistol. This is very comfortable, being of soft leather, and stays in place well. The one drawback of this is the learning curve for re-holstering, but hey, that just means more range time!

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Hybrid: Homestead IWB holster for Glock 19

So, what would a holster the combines Kydex and leather be like? Pretty damn good, if you couldn’t guess. The leather only becomes better with time, and the Kydex allows for a quick and easy draw and re-holster. What really sets this holster apart is the adjustable nature. Everything can be set for your needs and comforts. The gun retention, ride, height, and cant are adjustable. You can get this thing so comfortable that you’re likely to forget you’re wearing it, but that’s really advised against.

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Best rated holsters by special feature

So, we’ve covered the basics of brands and materials, now the goodies, the special features.

Appendix Holster (AIWB): 5.11 Tactical

Probably the most concealable holster out there, the appendix holster. This holster is smaller and lets you carry it by your appendix (or kidney).

What you’re trading is some comfort for a more concealable carry. I’ve even heard of people wearing this holster with shorts and a t-shirt, that’s how compact it is.

It also allows for a quick draw and re-holster and stays in place very well.

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IWB Holster for Glock with Light: Fobus Tactical GLT19

This holster is similar to many of the holsters out there, but with one major difference. All other holsters are made for stock pistols, if your gun doesn’t fit you’re SOL.

This holster allows for pistols with rail or trigger guard mounted accessories. So, if you like having a flashlight or laser sight on your pistol, this holster is perfect for you.

The design doesn’t sacrifice draw speed for this accommodation either, the withdrawal slot still allows for a quick draw.

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What to look for while buying an IWB hoster for Glock 19?

These are some of my favorites, but everyone is different and has their own needs and circumstances. A competition shooter, law enforcement officer, military service member and weekend warrior all have very different needs, and need very different holsters. So what should you consider?

The brand, specifically a reputation for high quality and good customer service. A holster might make you look like a total bad ass, but if it breaks it’s no good, and if the company won’t help you get a replacement it’s no good and wasted money. The material, Kydex or leather or both. This really comes down to personal preference. There are great holsters made from both, it just comes down to your needs and wants. Accessories, do you need it to be more concealable, need a flashlight, want a laser sight. Think about the future modifications you’re going to do, if your current holster doesn’t fit your future pistol, that’s more money spent.

It’s time to buy!

So, now that we’ve touched on some of my favorite brands, materials and accessories on a holster and what to consider in buying your own, it’s time to take the plunge. You can read all the reviews and debates about what the best holster is, but until you have your own and start making your own opinions it’s all just words. And you don’t need to search for a gun store and take time out of your day to go get one, many manufacturers have their products on Amazon, meaning less time driving to the store and more time on the range!