Best Shoulder Holsters: Comfortable, Concealable, and Ready for Carry

In the world of concealed carry, we always talk about the fastest and newest methods of carrying a concealed handgun. For some, it's an appendix carry style up front, while others prefer the latest and greatest Inside The Waistband Kydex holsters. For some, shoulder holsters are a great option for a number of reasons.

Shoulder holsters are fantastic options for those who drive for long periods of time. Anyone who sits in an office, drives every day or just hates waist weight, a shoulder holster, whether horizontal or vertical, can be a fantastic option to carry comfortably for a long period of time. Let's take a closer look at the best shoulder holsters for modern carry with the Falco Holsters Shoulder Holsters.

What Is a Shoulder Holster?

Before we dive into the specifics of these shoulder holsters, we have to first take a look at what defines a shoulder holster. A shoulder holster is a holster system that sets the weight onto your shoulders and torso evenly, instead of having a handgun on your belt or waistline. This stops all the issues with belt line carrying, like hot spotting or chafing fatigue. If you're the type who works in an office setting, having a shoulder holster can give you better access to your firearm when sitting for long periods of time.

Types of Shoulder Holsters

When it comes to shoulder holsters, there are a number of different variations, just like there are a number of different styles for belt carry. Falco Holster makes different shoulder holster styles and although they are all considered shoulder holsters, they are drastically different. Some differ by the position of the holster: horizontal, vertical, or rotating. Some are made out of different materials, such as high-quality leather or durable Kydex holsters for that tactical look. Here's a brief rundown of each style.

Horizontal Shoulder Holsters

In the 1980s and 1990s, both in concealed carry and pop culture, the most popular shoulder holster type was the horizontal shoulder holster. Horizontal shoulder holsters are by far the fastest option to draw from compared to a vertical shoulder holster that has the barrel down. Horizontal shoulder holsters offer one of the fastest ways to draw a handgun from concealment, sitting down and allow huskier built carriers to carry comfortably without hot spotting or being uncomfortable with a handgun digging into them. For skinny-framed carriers, the only limitation to take into consideration is carrying something within the size of your side profile to avoid any printing. For most carriers with a bigger body type, it's an easy way to carry larger firearms without struggling to conceal the handgun.

Lately, I have been carrying the Model D906 Kydex Holster from Falco Holsters. This holster is simplistic with a thin pancake design as well as a strap to lock onto your belt on the other side, allowing for a lightweight, minimalist carry setup. This model doesn't have a magazine carrier on the other side, but this makes carrying a bit less bulky and easier if you want to carry a gun without the extra weight. Having a simplistic shoulder holster option allows you to carry a larger handgun without feeling uncomfortable with the weight on your belt line.

Vertical Shoulder Holsters

The horizontal holster setup is what became popular in movies and is the benchmark for culture when it comes to shoulder holsters. The older style vertical shoulder holsters are a fantastic way to carry a full-size or larger framed handgun, too, with the gun hanging vertically towards the waist instead of hanging horizontally. These styles of holsters were some of the first shoulder holsters with the ability to easily conceal larger revolvers as well as 1911-style pistols. The great part of having a vertical shoulder holster system, it's super useful to use a set of tie-down leather straps that connect to your belt in order to keep the guns from moving around or moving in a certain way.

Some worry about bending down since a gun in a vertical shoulder holster can shift, making part of the gun visible. With tie-down straps, though, it keeps the gun exactly in place no matter what. These shoulder holsters became popular with men wearing suits on both sides of the law and are a fantastic way to comfortably carry a full-size firearm while in a suit to take weight off your waistline. Taking the weight off your waistline allows your suit to look more natural and allows you to carry a larger handgun completely unnoticed.

Roto Shoulder Holsters

So If we go in order, the first popular shoulder holsters were the vertical shoulder holsters, with the horizontal holsters becoming more popular in the 1970s or 1980s. The modern concealed carrier often has some sort of red dot or even a weapon light on their defensive handgun. The new Roto Shoulder Holsters allow carriers to have attachments with a leather holster, which is incredibly rare on its own, but also allows you to adjust the angle for easier draw, like the horizontal holster, or to conceal like the vertical holster. It offers the best of both worlds and is the newest modern version of a shoulder holster with the ability to tailor the shoulder rig exactly to what you want.

Lately, I have been carrying the D633 L Sherman Leather roto shoulder holster from Falco Holsters. When I use the roto shoulder holster, I carry my SIG Sauer P226 Elite with a SureFire X300. Having a leather shoulder rig with a weapon light is a huge upgrade that other manufacturers just don't do. Having the ability to carry your carry gun with accessories on it while keeping a shoulder holster is a huge plus that brings leather into the modern age. Out of all the shoulder holsters I have, I think this is one of the more interesting models because it allows you to carry like modern holsters, but still has the comfort and benefits of leather that is a bit easier to comfortably carry all day.

Revolver Holsters

When it comes to a subcategory of revolver shoulder holsters, they are a whole other rabbit hole to jump down. For every style of shoulder holster, there is an equal number of model variants for revolvers. Revolver holsters do need different sights and retention compared to semi-auto variants. Lately, I have been carrying my Smith & Wesson 629-9 Mountain Gun and the holster I’ve been using is the Horizontal Revolver Shoulder Holster D129 from Falco Holsters and this is certainly built with more support for the sights and overall design of accommodating a thicker firearm type.

The key to these holsters is having speed loaders with ammo in each of the pouches to have a counterbalance in order for the guns to be balanced out on your shoulders. Once you have a counterbalance, it's much easier to comfortably carry all day long without one side weighing you down. If there's anything that's a trade-off for these types of shoulder holsters, it's really more to do with the handgun type rather than anything to do with the holster. The speed loaders, as well as the overall width of the cylinder does make carrying a revolver in a shoulder holster a bit bulkier than a semi-auto option would be. It's still an extremely comfortable way to carry and if you’re a revolver lover like I am, this is a great option to comfortably carry some of those bigger bore revolvers with speed loaders in the shell holder.

Choosing the Right Material

When it comes to carrying in a shoulder rig, having a leather shoulder holster is the best option in terms of overall comfort and support. I get a ton of questions about whether they should go with cloth shoulder holsters, cloth and Kydex or straight leather shoulder holsters. Out of everything, by far the most popular option is a sturdy leather shoulder holster. These are the premium options with the classic aesthetic, and they are typically some of the most naturally fitting shoulder holsters because they mold to the body in time. If you're going for the lightest shoulder holster possible, having a Kydex set up allows for faster draw with no thumb strap, rigid design as well as being more water resistant compared to something like leather.

Kydex shoulder holsters are more for the minimalist, and leather is better for comfort. If you're on a budget, you can always go with Nylon or simpler leather shoulder holsters, but they won't be as well-made. Nylon doesn't often form to the body like leather holsters. No matter what you decide to choose, there are now modern variants of shoulder holsters that accept red dots as well as weapon-mounted lights. The options today when choosing a shoulder holster are way more than before and as a result, there is certainly a shoulder holster for everyone, depending on their material and configuration preferences.

Concealment and Comfort Tips 

There are certainly some tips to help you out when it comes to fitment and printing of shoulder holsters. The biggest thing is that shoulder holsters do take some time to get used to compared to belt-mounted holsters. You can't really grab them out of the package and go on with your day; there are a number of fit adjustments that need to happen. Having your tie-down straps mounted onto your belt makes for a much easier adjustment period, where you only have to do it once most times in order to see where the adjustment straps need to be secured.

When it comes to fitting your holster, you also have to take factors like your torso size, what kind of cover garment and what firearm you'll be carrying, since all those things will affect where you need to position your gun. Adjusting will be a massive help for you to succeed in the long run with overall comfort and concealment.

The last big consideration you need to make is the balance trade-off when it comes to extra ammo or speed loaders. It's certainly good to have extra weight on your off side to balance things off, but those extra items will add bulk to your carry method, which makes it harder to conceal at the end of the day, so it's important to think about what's important to you before proceeding. 

Final Thoughts

When it comes to carrying comfortably for hours, it's really hard to beat a well-set-up shoulder rig, especially if you have to be sitting for a long period of time. While I can't tell you to buy a particular type of shoulder holster, it's important to look at the firearm size, your body type and what environment you'll be carrying in. All these factors play a fairly large role in determining what holster is best for you. Let me know what your favorite holster types are down in the comments below. If you have questions about shoulder holsters or guns in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you in the next one.