AIWB Carry: The Dale Fricke Zacchaeus Holster

. . .and a wee little man was he.

I just got received two Dale Fricke Zacchaeus "Zack" holsters in the mail today; one of them for a Kel-Tec P3AT and one for Glock. I've only worn the one for the Glock, and have been impressed enough that I thought I would do a review of the Zack for your entertainment.





The Zack is as minimalist as a holster can get -- kind of like a speedo for your handgun. I see it as a modernized version of using a looped shoestring to keep your pistol from falling down into your pants. The first thing you notice about the holster is that it significantly cuts down on the bulk of plastic that you will have inside your pants. Comparing it to the modified BladeTech IWB holster in the 2nd picture you will notice the disparity in bulk; there simply is none with the Zack, and you only have to contend with concealing the pistol and not the holster and straps. It's very well made, and is profiled so that it doesn't interfere with the relief under the Glock's trigger guard where the knuckle of your middle finger sits.

I modified that BladeTech holster in the above pictures with a rubber plug that helps torque the grip in towards the body, aiding in concealing the grip:



It does add some chunk inside your waistband, but it does the trick well. The Zack holster does not have any sort of material or device to torque the grip in towards the body, but I don't think that it needs to, and may in fact violate the whole concept of this holster. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here's a downward shot of the Zack with a Glock 17 tucked in my waistband:



And here just for instructional purposes I stuck a Fenix flashlight in between my belt and the Zack to show you how it can turn the grip in towards my guts:



The flashlight/lump of material obviously aids in concealment, but adds a great deal of mass to what is supposed to be a simple minimalist holster. One of the greatest benefits of the Zack is that it makes the firearm all but disappear when you are sitting down, like when you're driving. It feels like the gun is not even there. The main reason for this is the narrow profile of steel and plastic that is down your pants towards your crotch - the BladeTech has all that kydex that surrounds the muzzle, and it pushes up against your body.

With appendix carry (AIWB) the muzzle and holster fall into the crease where your thigh connects to your hip. There's a natural pocket there, and that's what you're looking for. With the BladeTech, I can comfortably AIWB but it took several days of trial and error to find the sweet spot, as I had to do a bit of adjusting to learn where it was just right. The Zack will work its way into that sweet spot in a few minutes walking around the house, and will stay there all day. It is not going to be as firmly fixed and stationary to your belt as a holster with a hard point belt loop, as it has a tendency to move a little here or there while it maintains its place in the sweet spot on your belt, but this aids in comfort. This brings me in to how the Zack attaches to your belt.

The Zack is affixed to the belt by a simple looped string. I didn't take pictures of this, but you push the loop down in between your pants and belt (right around the 1st belt loop) and then run the loop up over the holster. That's it. The Zack snaps onto the trigger guard firmly, and you then tuck the gun down into your waistband and you're done. The Zack holds the gun with enough grip that a full up loaded Glock 17 will dangle there if you let it hang, and I doubt will come off on its own even if you got into a foot chase. Drawing is literally a snap, as when you pull your piece the Zack reaches the end of the string and is pulled off the trigger guard with an audible snap. I found that I could adjust the depth of how the gun sits in the waistband by where I put the knot in the cord on the Zack, so that the gun sits about a half inch from the belt:



The shorter you make the looped cord, the higher the gun sits and the faster the Zack pops off the trigger guard when you draw. The muzzle gets about an inch outside of the waistband when the holster lets go, which is perfect. It's very fast to put on, and only takes a moment. Just loop the Zack onto your belt, click it onto your trigger guard and tuck the whole thing into your belt line. You can do this while seated in your car at a stop light. The Zack completely encapsulates the trigger, so nothing can make its way down into it and touch the trigger.

As far as concealment goes, I was surprised at how the Zack can make a full sized handgun disappear. Though it doesn't tuck the grip in like my modified BladeTech, there's not as much stuff jammed between your belt and your guts like rubber or plastic loops and such, so it's easy to conceal, and you can also tuck your shirt in over the gun. The looped cord is not noticeable at all, and would be hard to spot against a black belt, and even harder to spot when the tail of a 5.11 rigger's belt is velcro'd over it:




I didn't try to fluff that button down shirt out to help with concealment; I actually tucked it in pretty tight. You will notice also that my cargo pants are pulled up a little high there above the fly in that last picture; I was trying to hurry as it was late, and I quickly tucked in the shirt and took the picture.

I wouldn't hesitate to wear the Zack with a full sized gun with a button down shirt and tie. Even twisting and turning doesn't reveal much, if anything. I do still recommend a tucked in undershirt for all things AIWB though; it keeps the grip of your firearm from grabbing at your skin when you sit and stand. For a couple of days now I've worn the Zack with the Glock 17 in public after work, concealed with a T-Shirt, and it's good to go. Nobody can spot it, and I'm confident that it will stay in place and I can make a quick draw if I ever need to. If you're looking for a svelt, comfortable holster at a minimal price, this might be for you.

Gun and knife things

I was having a hard time keeping the new Benchmade 3550 sharp (my expectations of sharp are high), so I switched back to the ol' standby, the Cold Steel Recon 1.




The AUS8 steel in this knife may not qualify as a super steel, but it's just stupid how sharp it gets. When I say I can get it shaving sharp, I mean that I could lather my face up and get a clean shave with it. I just can't do that with a Microtech.

A couple of years ago my brother-in-law was on the hunt for the perfect beater knife. His requirements were for high quality, decent price, and for a knife that could take not only a savage beating, but years of harsh neglect. I steered him towards the Recon 1 at a local gunshow, and the knife exceeded his expectations and mine, to the point (feel my pun!) where I bought one myself.

It has been, by far, the best EDC pocket knife I've ever owned.

As an aspiring knife collector, I have all kinds of knives that I can carry for EDC, and the quality of this knife is very high for what you pay. My Benchmade Rukus has a better fit and finish, and has a heavier super steel blade, but the Recon 1 is 85% of that knife for almost a fifth of the price. I am more likely to use the $75 Recon 1 in a manner that it was not intended than a $250 Benchmade, regardless if it can stand up or not.

To give you an example, the blade of the Recon 1 came with some sort of black coating, but one day at work the foreign made can opener in the break room shit the bed, and I didn't hesitate for a minute to use my knife to open that can of Ravioli. The can scratched off some of the coating on the blade, so I just removed the rest of it so that it didn't look so trashy. I don't use it as a pry bar, but I'll put it to harsh use when I need to.

Would you pull out your $300 Tactical Tommy Night Ninja auto, complete with glass breaker and tourniquet hidden in the skateboard taped handle, and jam it matte side down into a can of pork n' beans? What, don't want to risk tearing up the finish? Yeah, me neither. It's just not a problem though with the Recon 1.

As for the baby Glock, I highly recommend the Infidel holster from Comp-Tac. I simply must have one for every gun that I own, as it's very convenient to be able to don or doff my blaster with the least amount of effort. It stays put and doesn't come off with a draw, and at like $70 it's affordable. You should get one.

I've been sticking with the convenient carry arrangement for the last couple of these posts, as the small-and-light gun/knife combo really works. For my next post, I'm gonna have to change gears.

Knife p0rn!

Check out a review of the HTM-DDR Gun Hammer by Darrel Ralph at Sharptactics!

A good knife is a welcome investment.

This is my pillcase; there are many like it but this one is mine

So there's a new gal in my life. Her name is Ana. . . . Anaphylaxis. She randomly visits me every month or so while I'm hammering down a chicken salad sandwich like it's the last one on the planet, and I've been getting concerned at her aggressiveness.

To counter the aggression, I have some sort of magic pill to take that's supposed to make the bad thing stop, and just in case that doesn't work, I have also been given epinephrine injectors to carry around for the rest of my life. Lovin it.

Since I'm having issues remembering to carry all this cool medical goodness, I have been looking at ways of convenient EDC transport; and because I can't seem to buy something unless it will help me in the wake of a post zombie-penguin apocalypse, I usually go for the multi-purpose equipment. I'm also a sucker if the word "tactical" comes up anywhere in the description of the item, because we all know tactical stuff cuts through the BS and gets the mission accomplished.

Enter the ESEE Fire Kit, cos' you never know when you will have to set a zombie-penguin horde ablaze in Vietnamish typhoon after waking up from anaphylactic shock! Also, it has enough ass to hold the humongous pill capsules that I have to carry around to keep Ana at bay, and also a compass so that I can find my way back to the Mi-171 with the rest of the operators:


I had to cut those suckers down just to get them to fit; and seriously, this was the only thing I found large enough to take them, so it was the only option that I'm aware of. Adding a Nite Eyes carabiner to it lets me put it on my keychain with the rest of the stuff that I'll never need. While I was ordering the ESEE Fire Kit, I also picked up one of the highly regarded ESEE Izula knives because. . . .well, who doesn't need another neck knife, right? Every self respecting corporate yahoo like me needs at least two of them, so there it is. BLAM!

I have a Cold Steel Spike necker already, and it's a really affordable knife that is probably impossible to destroy:



It's a bit longer than the Izula, and the blade is super thick, but it isn't as wide. The Izula is built to last lifetimes, and is an ideal blade to use to create your own civilization after the zombies destroy the one we currently have. I envision the Spike as a good blade to silently get in between the vertebrae of the zombie sentry barring access to Piggly Wiggly, but not so much for building the island hamlet of your dreams.

As for the two massive auto injectors that I'm supposed to have close at hand whenever I eat, which is pretty much at all times, I have no idea how to practically EDC it. I'm betting that they would carry smartly in a AR15 magazine pouch, which pretty much every American wears on their belt in public to keep their carbine topped off. So I probably wouldn't stand out, right? Who would notice?

And before you say it, I already have one of Maxpeditions man-purses, and it's good to go. My wife loathes the thing, so it's a no go for public carry. Truthfully, I'd rather keep them in the truck, but the heat will destroy them, and if they froze, well, than I'd just get a nasty needle stick without the good stuff. No joy. I'll figure something out though, and until then, I have magic pills in my fire starter pill case! Yay!

Hey buddy, gotta light?

This post is a comparison of flashlights, and a quasi review of my shiny new Fenix PD20 that was waiting for me on my counter yesterday after work.

This flashlight comes with a pocket clip, a nifty little nylon case, a spare rubber tailcap in case your one year old gnaws through the first one while in line at Target, and a short lanyard. It did not come with a CR123 3volt battery. I won't use the lanyard, but the case is designed very smart: the closure is simple velcro, and it has a plastic loop sewn on the top for attachment to stuff with a carabiner; it will also slide onto a 1 1/2" belt (and perhaps a 1 3/4" belt I think), and it has a flap on the back with velcro to attach it to a tactical vest with MOLLE. All of this in a minimalist package:




The light itself is not much larger than a car key and fob, as you can see here:



The PD20 gives out a maximum of 190 lumens, which beats out pretty much two of any of the other flashlights that I have combined, and this is in a chapstick sized light that costs about $60 with shipping. It has a waterproof aircraft-grade aluminum body with six modes that are very easy to operate: click on the button on the back and you are in "Turbo Mode" with 190 lumens. Tap the button and it pulses with a 190 lumen seizure causing strobe that will strain your eyes in about a second and a half - I would know because I set it to strobe, placed it head height in a blacked out room in my basement and proceeded to try to look at it at a distance of six feet. I won't ever try that again.

To use the other four modes, just twist the bezel an eighth of a turn and click the light on for a 9 lumen beam. Tap the tailcap to increase the beam from 9 lumens to 48 lumens, again to 96 lumens, and lastly an SOS strobe. Tap again to go back to 9 lumens. The whole concept of how it operates took me all of sixty seconds to master, to the point where I can snatch it out of my pocket and have it on in any mode in probably two seconds.

Holy smokes, was that a flying squirrel or a bat?!?! Click the tailcap once to light up the world and find out. Oh snap, it's a gangbanger, a serial killer, or a lawyer?!?! Then tap the tailcap for strobe and he will lose interest in you and whip out his twirling chem lights and start dancing. Lost your nitroglycerin pill under your desk? Twist the bezel an eighth of a turn and clicky the tailcap. Trying to signal the Pavehawk to land and pick up you and your airsoft buddies? Tap three more times on the tailcap and you come home a hero. Easy enough?

Now, how does it stack up to the competition? I have yet to do a full run against my line up of many Surefires, several Streamlights, and one GLOCK light, but I do have a comparison against a Surefire 6P LED, and my trusty Surefire E1e.




I only had time for a quick test, as the sun had already come up and it wasn't pitch black like I would have wanted. First up is the E1e that has been in my pocket every day for four years. I bought this one in a PX in beautiful Iraq, and it has served me well. 15 lumens of light with a click on tailcap that will last for an hour and a half with a fresh battery. I've replaced the bulb in it once, and that is the only maintanance I've had to do:



I love that the clip on the light is positioned so that you can clip it onto the brim of your cover (hat, to the non-military) and have basically a headlight. I have used it like that to find helmets, dropped ammunition, and the like in some of the worst environments imaginable. It's a great idea. The only problem I have with this light is that since it does not have enough ass to blind a formation of hostels long enough to reduce them with my carbine, I have to carry a bigger light on my belt for that purpose. This one is only for finding car keys at night and such. That means two lights instead of one, as well as a holster for it somewhere on my belt, so I have less room to carry a grappling hook or thermal imaging device. But I normally carry a bigger light when I go out for the evening with the family, and for that I carry the Surefire 6P LED:



This one replaced my ancient 6P, and it has I think 90 lumens with a twist on tailcap. It's a good light, and is practically bomb proof, but I'm starting to see that maybe Surefire's Research and Design team has been slacking as of late, because my little Fenix light handily kicks its ass, and with half as many batteries:



The Fenix also has features that $250 Blackhawk lights have, like the strobe, as well as some other useful features like the small wings that not only protect the tailcap, but allow the light to stand on its end on a table; you have to see how useful that can be. I am now going to update my entire fleet of lights with Fenix lights, and it will cost about as much as one high tech Surefire. The fact that I now have one small light that not only fits in my pocket, but will serve in many different roles goes a long way to reducing my day to day loadout, and is nice to have while I am in corporate America where fist sized lights don't mesh so well with slacks. Of note is that the PD20 has a pocket clip like the E1e, but it is facing the wrong way to be clipped onto the brim of a cover (hat). It is designed to clip the light to your pocket face down to protect the lens, but I am happy to report that you can pop the clip off and turn it around when needed, so it has the headlight capability too.

All in all, I am very much impressed by this light. At $60, I'm going to get another one for the hell of it, and I'm looking hard at ordering some of their larger lights as well in the near future. If you are not into the CR123 batteries, they have many lights that are just as bad-ass, but use AA or AAA batteries instead. It really is amazing at how far this technology has come in such a short period of time.

The bare essentials

How about some Friday evening EDC gun and knife pr0n! I've been meaning to get this one out for a couple of days, but technical difficulties abound.

What is EDC? Extra Delicious Cutlery? Evil Devil's Chili? Nope, EDC is Every Day Carry.

Knives and guns go together like peanut butter and jelly; coffee and cigarettes; brandy and cigars. I thought I would show off my new cutlery next to some bear essential protection gear, and perhaps make a habit of it with some similar posts every now and then. Perusing threads like this one at AR15.com and this one at Bladeforums gives many new ideas that may make your life easier.

My day to day carry gear depends on the situation; if I'm going out for the day with my family I'm gonna be armed to the teeth - I double up on everything. Sometimes though, you aren't going to gear up with your 6" 1911 in 10mm and Springer EMP in an ankle holster just to go out to gas up the car. I know, I know, that's precisely when the tangos will spring on you; I'm here to tell you though that there will be times when grabbing something small will be the way to go. When you have to run out to Food Lion for baby formula at 0300, small things work.


Click to make bigger and more beautiful.

Just the bare essentials. I can drop that stuff in the pockets of my jammies in about two seconds and be on my way. I will not, however, be getting into a running gunfight with suicide vested terrorists to save the day; this set up is anti mugger/banger gear only.

The Benchmade 3550 represents a watershed moment for me - normally I carry at least a 4" knife. Like most people, I consider a knife a useful tool first, and a last ditch weapon second. I've read about incidents where a knife was successfully used to stop an attacker, but I'm rarely without a firearm, so I think of the knife as more utilitarian. Smaller blades are great for opening boxes and such, but a larger blade offers more edge for useful things like cutting up vegetables for my lunch.

Nowadays there is all this super steel out there that is great for everything but sharpening. Since I use a knife every day, I can't afford to be sending the thing back to the manufacturer once a week for a touch up; I use bench stones for that. My Cold Steel Recon 1 has been my EDC knife for over a year now, and the AUS-8 steel is good working steel. It may not hold an edge quite as long as S30V, but it takes only a minute or so to bring the edge back with the help of a translucent Arkansas stone. This new Benchmade has 154CM, which in my experience is also good working steel that takes a fine edge. It cuts carrots well, too!


Click to make bigger and more beautiful.

You will not find me clothed without a knife. There are very few circumstances in life where I am without this simplest of tools; it is something that separates me from the animals. With a good knife in my pocket, I can survive anywhere under basically any circumstances, with much confidence. I could start my very own civilization sans people with one well made knife, if I had the time. Let's hope that doesn't happen!

If you get a chance, dig through some of those threads linked above; you would be amazed at how smart some of this gear has become. I was browsing yesterday and found out that the 15 lumen Surefire E1e that I bought four years ago is ancient technology, and that there are many palm sized lights out there that could kick its ass. One will be in the mail shortly.

So, what's your EDC blade/heater combo? Is your knife for cleaning your nails and skinning bucks, or do you envision it more for reaching the frontal lobe of a determined zombie after you've ran your carbine and sidearm out of rounds? My plan is to put together some sexy glamor shots of old knife and blaster teams that I used to carry in my day for your entertainment and commentary. Stay tuned!