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Holster Wing: Why You Need One and How to Adjust It

Holster Wing: Why You Need One and How to Adjust It

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... your concealed carry holster. While your EDC holster hasn't flown through the air (at least, we hope not) it probably has a feature referred to as a concealment wing, sometimes called a claw. This device serves an important purpose for concealment, but it's also often misunderstood. In this article, we'll walk you through what a wing is, different types of wings, and how to install and adjust the wing on your holster.

What is a Concealment Wing?

The wing or claw is a device that operates on a simple principle: leverage. It consists of an extended arm (often diagonal or L-shaped) and a riser that presses against the inside of your waistband. Depending on the length of the arm and/or thickness of the riser, it can be used to apply a small or large amount of leverage against the belt. This is used to fine-tune the angle of the holster relative to the body.

Why Does Your Holster Need a Wing?

Printing — which is what happens when part of your pistol's silhouette is visible through your cover garment — is a topic that's frequently discussed in the concealed carry community. More often than not, printing is the result of the outermost corner or edge of the pistol grip creating a visible "hotspot" under the fabric of your shirt. Full-size pistols with longer grips, extended magazines, or flared magwells are especially prone to this type of printing.

Put simply, the further your pistol's grip protrudes from your body, the more visible it'll be. Some of this is a byproduct of your gun  — for example, a Glock 17 with a +5 magazine extension will print far more than a Glock 19 with factory magazine, and a Glock 19 will tend to print more than a slim Glock 48. But the angle of your holster against your body also plays a critical role.

The concealment wing uses leverage to angle your holster inward, causing the grip to protrude less and reducing the risk of printing. Of course, this is a balance. Too much wing leverage will conceal the gun nicely but feel uncomfortable for the wearer; too little leverage will fail to significantly improve concealment.

Holster Wing Types

There's a wide variety of holster wing and claw designs on the market, but they typically fall into two categories: non-adjustable and adjustable.

Non-adjustable wings are simply a fixed lever that attaches to the holster near the trigger guard area. They may be made of stamped metal or molded polymer, or they may even be integrated into the holster itself, as seen on our non-light-bearing Ronin 3.0 holster (pictured above). Regardless, there's no fine-tuning with these designs — they adhere to a "one size fits most" philosophy.

Adjustable wings, like the Mod Wing pictured on our light-bearing Ronin-L 3.0 holster above, offer some considerable advantages. Since everyone's body shape, gun setup, and clothing preferences are different, adjustable wing designs can be tuned to apply more or less leverage. This allows each user to achieve their ideal balance between concealment and comfort.

LAS Concealment currently offers two types of adjustable wings:

  • The classic Mod Wing (pictured above) is included with our Rampart, Shogun, Saya, and Ronin-L holsters. It can also be purchased separately on our web store. The Mod Wing includes a wing arm, short and tall risers, and hardware for attachment to your holster.

  • Our new LAS Stack-It Wing comes standard with all Kaizen and Kaizen-L holsters. It includes an arm, two spacers, and three different ramps (wedge-shaped risers cut at 7, 11, and 15 degree angles). This produces a dozen different combinations ranging from a bare wing (maximum comfort) to a wing with two spacers and a 15-degree ramp (maximum concealment).

Both the new LAS Stack-It Wing and the Mod Wing are reversible for left-handed or right-handed holsters.

Wing Installation & Setup

The wing should be attached to the holster near the trigger guard area using appropriate screws, posts, and/or washers. In some cases, the attachment point is next to the holster clip/overhook, while in others it's directly underneath the clip. Consult your holster manufacturer for guidance if your holster didn't originally come with a wing and you're looking to install one.

How to Fine-Tune Your Adjustable Wing

For adjustable wings like the LAS Stack-It Wing, the process for finding the right combination of risers and/or wedges is simple:

    1. Install the wing without any additional risers or wedges, then try on the holster with your typical carry pistol, belt, and clothing (a T-shirt will show best results).
    2. Walk around, sit down, and bend over to gauge comfort.
    3. Look in a mirror to check for printing, both facing the mirror and turned sideways. Pay special attention to any hotspot created by the end of the pistol grip.
    4. Remove the holster and install a small riser and/or ramp onto the end of the wing.
    5. Repeat steps 2 and 3, noting any decrease in comfort or increase in concealment.

      • If the pistol still prints noticeably, try installing thicker risers/ramps.
      • If the pistol is pressing against your body to an uncomfortable degree, try installing thinner risers/ramps.

Once you're happy with the placement of your holster wing, it is strongly recommended to apply some Loctite or similar thread locking compound to each screw to prevent them from backing out over time. The same advice applies to the belt clips and retention adjustment hardware.

Before & After Photos

A picture is worth a thousand words, so we took some photos to demonstrate the effects of our modular Stack-It Wing system. These images show a Glock 19 with factory 15-round magazine and Streamlight TLR-7 light in an LAS Concealment Kaizen-L holster. The person in these photos is also wearing an Ensō magazine carrier and Nexbelt ratcheting gun belt.

LAS Concealment Holsters with Wings

We've spent the last 10 years studying concealment and relentlessly searching for ways to improve our IWB holsters for appendix carry. This process included a transition from using commercially-available wings like the classic Mod Wing to the production of our own proprietary Stack-It Wing. We believe the completely modular Stack-It system is the best concealment wing on the market, but don't take our word for it — try it for yourself.

The Stack-It Wing comes standard on our LAS Concealment Kaizen holster series. Check it out and experience a new level of concealment and comfort.

Patrick McCarthy