Anybody tried the Garrett Industries Silent Thunder Slim AIWB? (PICTURES ADDED)

Got mine on Tuesday. Been carrying with it daily since then. Here are a couple observations and misconceptions I have had so far.

The holster is NOT bulky. I heard about these over a year ago. I always assumed that with both leather and kydex combined, these would be thicker than a leather or kydex holster. That's not the case. The leather inside is no thicker than construction paper. And the overall thickness seems no thicker than my Ravens. I think a gun with sharp edges would eat the leather up. But I have drawn my P2000 probably a hundred times so far, and the leather shows no signs of ever having been drawn. I guess this would also depend on how tight your retention is set. But I don't like to have to yank on a gun to draw. As long as it can't fall out, it's tight enough.

What I found is that I like my appendix holsters to ride lower than what the Slim is capable of in shipped form. After a couple days of carrying I emailed Sheryl and asked if a longer clip could be made. In the time it took me to walk to the kitchen and back, she had replied with an "of course". She asked me if I wanted to order another or just swap out. I went ahead and ordered another and got the shipping notice the following day. Should be here Monday.

When I get it squared away I will do a review and take some pictures. I have grown to love appendix carry. Another reason to stay with HK. It's nice to be able to put my thumb over the hammer while holstering.

I am thinking that in a few minutes I am going to heat my current clip and bend in slightly the "support wing" on the clip that that goes under the belt. I have had it slip off my belt a couple times and allow the holster to rotate slightly. You can tell when it starts digging into your thigh.

TooSixy: Good to know it fits all those. I am negotiating on a P30 with someone now.

noseoil said:

Still want to see those pictures! Can you do one with the weapon holstered and another with the holster in the waistband position? Sounds like a very nice way to carry & I'm interested in seeing how it looks and functions. The longer clip sounds like a good idea, but how much more drop did it allow from the standard?

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Sorry. Had not been in the holster section in a few days. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow. Don't have time now before I go to work.

Onto your questions. The longest clip I was sent which was exactly the length I asked for, will allow the backstrap of the gun to ride about the beltline. It's pretty comfortable if worn at the 12:00 position and if it riding really low does not bother you. It rides about the same place that I position with my Smartcarry at. Only problem is where it's hanging on a stiff gunbelt, it makes it kind of hard to get to. Where as with the Smartcarry it supports itself and I really only use it with gym shorts or sweats.

What I have actually decided on (for now), is to use the medium length clip they sent me. I am carrying it at about the 1:00 position. I have spend several hours using all three clips at different angles and positions. I am still not 100% sure this is how I will leave it. If I had a slightly shorter slide/barrel such as the P2000SK (which I am working on getting now), I think the original clip in the 2:00 position would be ideal.

noseoil said:

Just got my used P2000sk (finally, timeline left something to be desired, thanks USPS) and have ordered the holster as it comes with the standard clip (black liner & black exterior in my case). It sounds like your comment on the sk will be a decent choice for AIWB, so I'm hoping it works out well enough and is comfortable. Also have a pancake coming from Cotton in Texas soon, so I'm hoping for the best of both worlds on IWB & OWB. I know, sometimes Christmas means an ugly tie, but hey, hope still springs eternal. Thanks & still looking forward to the pictures. Best, etc.

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I read about your USPS predicament in another thread. I have sent and recieved several guns through USPS and always went smoothly. I have never had one in transit more than a couple days. I was amazed one time by them when I recieved a Sig 228R from someone in Hawaii in one day. Hawaii to Tennessee is a looooong way. Anyway, I am glad it finally showed. As to the SK, I think that you will find it carry bliss. In every other position I have ever carried in, the grip is usually what made the difference. I can carry a 5" 1911 at the 3:00 position and conceal it as well as a Glock 26 as far as the slide/barrel length go. After carrying the P2000 in that position I thought I had found the perfect carry gun. Even beating out my Gen 4 G19 for EDC. But for appendix it seems to me it's opposite. The grip tucks into me well, it's the slide that will dig into you if you try to move it to far toward your hip.

Depending on position, I can still carry a 5" 1911 appendix but of course it has to be in the 12-12:30 position or it will dig into your leg. With the Silent Thunder Slim there is a tab that sticks out that the belt clip attaches to in the lower right corner if your looking down at your holster. Which makes it that much worse for digging into your pelvic area. In that area just a little bit of material makes all the difference in the world. The only thing that sucks is that even though I can probably use my P2000 holster for the P2000SK, I would not be any better off unless I order another holster. I can carry my P2000 pretty comfortably at about the 1:00 position, but but no farther due to it digging into my crotch. I would think the SK with the same holster I could carry anywhere between 12:00 and 3:00 comfortably. I did carry using the Slim at the 3:00 position for a few hours one night and it did very well. So if you were limited on holsters it can pull double duty.

I have a few OWB holsters. But to be honest I hate them all. I have tried a dozen over the last few years and after getting used to IWB, I just can't stand to carry OWB. The best, closest carrying OWB I have is probably a Raven Concealment, but I rarely use it.

Going to try to find my wifes Rebel now and take a few pictures. Hopefully I will not have to post cell phone pictures.

Holster:

Holster with gun:

Holster with extra clips. The one that is on it is the middle length one. The shortest is the standard length:

Jeans. What I usually wear when not working which is seldom. Normally I would have slightly larger cover shirt. That is the tightest fitting t-shirt I own. Figured you would rather see that than my belly.

Twisted holding camera getting side view. There really is zero printing. Even when I pull my cover shirt tight.

With pants I would normally wear to work:

Twisted for side view:

How I would normally carry at work with shirt tucked in:

And again twisted for side view:

Thanks for posting these & it looks like you have a decent system which is working well. I'll post to a new thread with the sk & the slim when it arrives. Since I have a smaller frame (5'7" & 160#) the sk should be about right for my needs. I'm wondering about the x-grip & longer magazine with this carry system, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see how things work out. Planning on a trip to the range tomorrow with the sk, so I'll just have to see how the standard grip, flat magazine base & x-grip feel for shooting. I'm pretty spoiled by the P30 now, so it should be interesting to see how the smaller dimensions of the sk do with perceived recoil, grip & accuracy.

As far as OWB carry, the pancake I got from cotton really is a comfortable way to go with the P30. It sits pretty flat, considering I'm not that tall or big and conceals very well with a baggy shirt or light jacket at 4:00. The only real drawback is the "snoot" showing at times, when I have a shorter shirt on in public. I don't like to advertise, so I need to be careful about my choice of laundry on any given day. Cotton's new pancake for the sk is on the way now, so hopefully I should be able to have something coming along in the next week or two with some pictures to flesh things out. Again, thanks for the pics.