In today's addition of terrible gun stuff designed and marketed for women I present the Flashbang Bra Holster Review. Gentlemen - if you came here thinking you might get to see some boobies, keep scrolling, they're down further. Ladies – I'm going to give you a frank, and sometimes uncomfortable (literally), account of my experience with this holster.
Construction of the Flashbang Bra Holster
The Flashbang bra holster is a made of kydex and each one is custom made for your gun model. This means that it takes a few weeks to get it after ordering. Unfortunately, when I received my first holster it was for the wrong model of gun. I contacted customer service and got a quick reply. They apologized profusely for the error and put a rush on reshipping the correct model. I got the replacement about a week later. They did not request the wrong holster be returned, but I have no idea what gun it might fit.
The kydex completely encases your firearm except for the grip. It attaches to the bra with a length of leather with a snap on it. The leather strap comes in three lengths. You use the length associated with the position you chose to carry in. More on position options later. The leather is not super stiff or thick. This is nice for delicate cleavage skin, but a little concerning for long term dependability.
Testing Parameters
I tested the Flashbang bra holster using my unloaded Glock 48. The G48 is a popular gun for women to carry and splits the difference between very small and full-size guns. I wear a Victoria's Secret Body by Victoria underwire bra in size 38C. In the name of due diligence, I also purchased a bra with elastic instead of an underwire to give the holster a fair shake.
I wore the Flashbang on more than a dozen different occasions while doing a range of activities. The activities included mowing the lawn, washing dishes, grocery shopping, at work, watching tv at home, and other everyday normal activities. The longest stint I was able to wear it was 6 hours.
Wearing the Flashbang Bra Holster
There are three options for holster position. *See pic below. When I got my holster and looked at the card I was a little confused. Even after trying them, I don't see how positions one and two are supposed to work. For the entire testing process I wore the holster in position three. The leather strap wraps around the center front of your bra and snaps to itself.
Initially, wearing the Flashband bra holster was really comfortable. It fit nice and snug up under my breasts, even offering a little extra lift. I mean who doesn't want a little extra lift right! However, the comfort did not last. Within the 1st hour the holster started slipping out from under my bra. I had to discretely push it back in position multiple time.
As the holster continued to slip out of place, my boobs also started to slip out of place. While the media makes underboob pics look super sexy, any woman knows it is not at all. It is uncomfortable and in some cases downright painful. The flesh of my breasts got pinched by the underwire, pinched by the holster, and pinched between the two. I thought the problem would improve with the underwire free bra but there were just new problems. The elastic wasn't strong enough to press the holster into my chest so my firearm was very visible under my t-shirt. The less sturdy bra material also rode up and did not stay in place.
Doing activities
Wearing the Flashbang bra holster was made worse by doing anything physical. It was in the mid-90s when I mowed wearing it. Needless to say, things got a little sweaty. When I wore it washing dishes I kept banging the grip on the counter. I even pinched my arm between the grip and the counter while putting away clean dishes once. Any sort of bending or stretching exacerbated the slippage problems.
Drawing and Reholstering
This is one of the two major areas that this holster fails in my opinion. And no, comfort isn't the other. More on that later. No matter how hard I tried, I was not able to reliably unholster my gun. The instructions say to raise your shirt (the flash part) and pull down on your grip to release your gun and shoot the bad guy (the bang part). Every single time I tried this the snap popped open before my gun came out of the holster. This left me holding my still encased firearm with no way to fire it. I never even tried to reholster my gun because the holster came off every single time.
Concealment and Retention
Concealment of the firearm was actually great, until things started to slip out of place. When the holster is tucked up in place you cannot see it at all, even through tighter clothing. However, as soon as it starts slipping the grip starts to poke out becoming highly visible.
As mentioned above, the retention on this holster is amazing. So amazing that it renders the holster functionally worthless. On the flip side, any less retention would likely cause a drop hazard. Darn that gravity doing its gravity thing. The retention on my Glock 48 was so tight in fact that I had to forcibly pry my firearm out of the holster at the end of each test period. There is no way in hell that it would come out in a crisis situation. It might make a decent club, but I'd rather not get that close to an assailant.
Special Situation Use
I recently took several classes with Chuck Haggard of Agile Training and Consulting. Chuck is a former law enforcement officer and great trainer. During the lunch break we were talking about some upcoming articles and I mentioned this one. He told us about a female undercover officer he knows who uses a bra holster. He did not know the specific brand. She carries a Ruger LCP which is substantially smaller than my Glock 48.
This smaller pistol would likely remedy some of the concealment issues, along with the frame bumping into things at the cost of shootability. - Editor's Note
He told us how she had to train for hours and hours to be able to use the holster in a safe and efficient manner. Very few average shooters are willing to put in the time and effort needed to obtain the level of proficiency needed to safely use this type of holster.
Conclusion on the Flashbang Bra Holster
The issues with the Flashbang bra holster are many. Besides those mentioned above, is the fact that it completely ignores firearm safety rule number two. Never point your muzzle at anything you don't intend to destroy. The way the holster is worn has your muzzle pointing at anything to your left (or right depending on handedness). So if you are carrying your toddler or walking next to your mom, you are muzzling them with a loaded firearm.
Even discounting the dangers to others, the Flashbang bra holster is a danger to the wearer. When the firearm is properly seated and concealed, the muzzle is pointing directly at your left breast (if right handed). A slight shift and a negligent discharge can be deadly. At best you have a hole in your boob, but at worst you take a bullet to the chest. There was even a situation in 2015 where a woman shot herself in the head while adjusting her .22 revolver in her bra holster.
I completely understand women's desire to find carry methods beyond the waistband. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend something with so much potential for tragedy. When you are unable to quickly and effectively deploy your firearm in an emergency it can become a weapon used against you. When you walk around all day pointing your muzzle at unsuspecting individuals you become a danger to society. It is also concerning that the muzzle is positioned so that, if the gun were fired, it could shoot the wearer in the chest. Excessive administrative handling of your firearm is a major contributing factor in negligent discharges. With the holster sliding out of position so easily, I handled my firearm dozens of times in just a few hours.
I encourage women to consider other options for their carry needs. Safety should always take precedence over comfort and convenience. Watch for future articles reviewing other female-centric gear and accessories. If you have something you would like to see reviewed add it to the comments and I'll add it to the list!
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