Last week, I caved and ordered an Enigma light bearing model in my never-ending search to find my optimal holster setup. It arrived this past Monday, and, well, I may have found what I've been looking for.
Background
I have known about the Enigma since it came out. I watched the initial reviews and thought it looked like an interesting concept, but at the time they didn't make a model for weapon lights. That was a dealbreaker for me, so I moved on. I did take note, however, of how impressed all the reviewers seemed to be with them, and since upon information and belief Phlster doesn't have the same marketing resources as others cough SIG cough and probably didn't spend tens of thousands of dollars shipping freebies out to influencers, I figured there might actually be something to the claims after all.
A few months ago it came to my attention that there was now a light bearing model of the Enigma, and my interest was renewed. However, when I looked at the holsters offered on Phlster's site, I found out that they don't make one for the TLR 7a, which is my preferred carry light. Oh well, guess I got excited for no reason. Then, a couple weeks back, the Enigma wound up on my mind again, and I started looking at their "compatible holsters" list. Wouldn't you know, my favorite holster company, LAS Concealment, was on the list. I thought about it for a couple days, and decided to give it a try.
Disclaimer: I have no relationship with Phlster other than that of a happy customer. I purchased this system with my own money, and I did not tell Phlster I would be doing this "review."
My Use Case
I work in a profession that requires me to wear a suit in the office. I don't wear a belt, because I hate belts, especially with a suit. All my slacks have side adjusters and/or suspender buttons. Even if I wore a belt, I don't like holster clips to be noticeable. My body type (a bit pudgier than "in shape") does not work with anything other than appendix carry. Considering these factors, I tried two means of carry: 1. off-body carry in a holster velcroed to an acrylic sheet in my briefcase; and 2. appendix without an attached mag carrier using Discreet Carry Concepts small clips. Neither one was really perfect. I'm not comfortable with off-body carry as a concept, and while the DCC clips are really nice and good at what they're advertised to do, you'd still see about a half-inch square of dark grey steel on my beltline.
The Enigma
The Enigma is not a holster; Phlster is very clear on that. Rather, they call it a holster "chassis." Think of it as a specialty belt. It is a belt whose sole purpose is to hold up a gun. Phlster makes a number of different models, which cater to everything from subcompacts to revolvers to full size handguns. Caveat emptor: Some of their models come with a holster shell; some do not. Check to see what you are buying before you have your expectations dashed. As previously mentioned, Phlster makes a decent range of holsters, but in my humble opinion are lacking some popular options. They list on their website a series of other holster makers/models that will work with the Enigma, and also some general principles that you may assess your own holster collection with to see if you have something that will work.
My Enigma
My EDC is a Staccato C with a Holosun 407k (Holosun, please get production up on the EPS series!!!!!) and Streamlight TLR 7a. The holster I am using is a LAS Saya 2.0 with a Modwing and one of LAS's flat teardrop wedges. As previously mentioned, I bought the light bearing Enigma, which was an easy setup with the LAS holster. As of yet, my Enigma is set up as the manufacturer intended (more on that later), with the standard waist belt and leg leash.
My Experience
I have worn this holster setup all day, every day, since I got it on Monday. During that time, I've worn it with a full suit, casual clothes, and gym clothes. Regardless of choice of outfit, the Enigma conceals fantastically. I'm fortunate enough to have found a gun, holster, and carry position combo that barely prints at all to begin with; if I look at myself, I can pick out the edge of my optic, or maybe the bottom of the grip, but the average person would never notice. With the Enigma, though, I can almost never spot a portion of the gun no matter how hard I stare at my waistline in the mirror. If I can't find it when I know it's there and I'm deliberately looking, I highly doubt anyone will ever spot it on me as a third party. It works amazingly with a suit or other tucked in shirt, where the primary advantage is you no longer have to fight with shoving a shirt in between the holster and the "tuckable" clip. Getting dressed is now a breeze, and it's also made clearing the cover shirt even easier. In even slim casual clothes, once again the holster just disappears. And I did an hour on the treadmill with this thing on -- got some sweat on the butt of the gun that had to be wiped off at the end, but the holster did not make working out any worse than working out is to begin with.
Also --and I'm sorry, but it has to be said-- the restroom experience is loads (no pun intended) better. First, I can now use urinals again. Since the Enigma isn't attached to your pants, you can wear it as high as you want. That means when you unzip your fly, you don't have to be greeted by a sheet of plastic. You don't have to try to do some sort of snaky BS to get your business done. And you don't pinch anything, making you think you're done peeing, only to then realize once you've put yourself away that you weren't quite done yet (please don't ask me how I know this). When it comes to the good ol' number 2, you don't even have to remove the holster. This is actually quite a big deal for me, as I never felt comfortable placing my gun on a TP holder or trying to hang it off the coat hook. You might want to remove the leg leash so it's free and clear of the backblast area, but other than that, it's nonobstructive. I will not lie and tell you it's the most comfortable you'll ever be on the porcelain throne, but it's a lot better than stressing about where to put your gun, in my humble experience.
Improvements
As the great Hannah Montana once said, nobody's perfect. The Enigma is not an exception to that rule. There are a couple things that I'm not a huge fan of. Fortunately, the community surrounding the Enigma seems intent on solving every conceivable problem, so there are already solutions out there.
1. The waist belt feels like a slightly softer seatbelt. That is to say, it's not the most uncomfortable, but it can begin to chafe if it is in contact with your skin all day. This can be easily remedied by wearing an undershirt. If you, like me, prefer not to sweat great ugly circles around your armpits in public, that isn't always an option. What is an option though is either the sport belt offered by Phlster or a number of aftermarket covers made to lessen the chafe factor. I presently have a Levo Designs Papoose on order, which apart from being a fun word to say, is a sleeve that goes over the belt. I will update this review after a week with the Papoose, but I have high hopes.
2. The leg leash is a little flimsy. While the leash material itself I have no problem with, the buckle used to secure it is not the strongest. It's a thin piece of plastic, which makes sense since you don't want an awkward bulge in your upper thigh, but in my opinion it's a little too thin, and does not engage well. On a number of occasions I've felt like it came disconnected. It never actually was, or at least was not fully disconnected, but it was certainly not confidence-inspiring. Fortunately, because of the location, you can put your hand in your pocket and check to make sure the buckle is still secure, but if it were to come undone, I doubt you could reattach it with one hand without pulling your pants down. I am aware that there are upgrades that can be had for the leg leash, though I have not yet looked into them. Perhaps there is something to be said for the fact that I didn't immediately run out to replace this part.
3. From the factory there is no included designated way to carry a spare mag. Plenty of people have just attached third party mag carriers along the belt, and I'm sure that works fine. This is less of a gripe and more of just something I want to do myself in the future.
Conclusions
The Enigma is certainly living up to its hype. I was genuinely concerned that I would be throwing money away trying to chase a trend, but the Enigma is popular for very good reason. No holster will ever be as comfortable as just not carrying, but the Enigma is the closest I've seen so far. This will be my new carry setup for the foreseeable future; I will probably update this "review" from time to time with my thoughts and experiences.
Go buy one; it's worth it.
Background
I have known about the Enigma since it came out. I watched the initial reviews and thought it looked like an interesting concept, but at the time they didn't make a model for weapon lights. That was a dealbreaker for me, so I moved on. I did take note, however, of how impressed all the reviewers seemed to be with them, and since upon information and belief Phlster doesn't have the same marketing resources as others cough SIG cough and probably didn't spend tens of thousands of dollars shipping freebies out to influencers, I figured there might actually be something to the claims after all.
A few months ago it came to my attention that there was now a light bearing model of the Enigma, and my interest was renewed. However, when I looked at the holsters offered on Phlster's site, I found out that they don't make one for the TLR 7a, which is my preferred carry light. Oh well, guess I got excited for no reason. Then, a couple weeks back, the Enigma wound up on my mind again, and I started looking at their "compatible holsters" list. Wouldn't you know, my favorite holster company, LAS Concealment, was on the list. I thought about it for a couple days, and decided to give it a try.
Disclaimer: I have no relationship with Phlster other than that of a happy customer. I purchased this system with my own money, and I did not tell Phlster I would be doing this "review."
My Use Case
I work in a profession that requires me to wear a suit in the office. I don't wear a belt, because I hate belts, especially with a suit. All my slacks have side adjusters and/or suspender buttons. Even if I wore a belt, I don't like holster clips to be noticeable. My body type (a bit pudgier than "in shape") does not work with anything other than appendix carry. Considering these factors, I tried two means of carry: 1. off-body carry in a holster velcroed to an acrylic sheet in my briefcase; and 2. appendix without an attached mag carrier using Discreet Carry Concepts small clips. Neither one was really perfect. I'm not comfortable with off-body carry as a concept, and while the DCC clips are really nice and good at what they're advertised to do, you'd still see about a half-inch square of dark grey steel on my beltline.
The Enigma
The Enigma is not a holster; Phlster is very clear on that. Rather, they call it a holster "chassis." Think of it as a specialty belt. It is a belt whose sole purpose is to hold up a gun. Phlster makes a number of different models, which cater to everything from subcompacts to revolvers to full size handguns. Caveat emptor: Some of their models come with a holster shell; some do not. Check to see what you are buying before you have your expectations dashed. As previously mentioned, Phlster makes a decent range of holsters, but in my humble opinion are lacking some popular options. They list on their website a series of other holster makers/models that will work with the Enigma, and also some general principles that you may assess your own holster collection with to see if you have something that will work.
My Enigma
My EDC is a Staccato C with a Holosun 407k (Holosun, please get production up on the EPS series!!!!!) and Streamlight TLR 7a. The holster I am using is a LAS Saya 2.0 with a Modwing and one of LAS's flat teardrop wedges. As previously mentioned, I bought the light bearing Enigma, which was an easy setup with the LAS holster. As of yet, my Enigma is set up as the manufacturer intended (more on that later), with the standard waist belt and leg leash.
My Experience
I have worn this holster setup all day, every day, since I got it on Monday. During that time, I've worn it with a full suit, casual clothes, and gym clothes. Regardless of choice of outfit, the Enigma conceals fantastically. I'm fortunate enough to have found a gun, holster, and carry position combo that barely prints at all to begin with; if I look at myself, I can pick out the edge of my optic, or maybe the bottom of the grip, but the average person would never notice. With the Enigma, though, I can almost never spot a portion of the gun no matter how hard I stare at my waistline in the mirror. If I can't find it when I know it's there and I'm deliberately looking, I highly doubt anyone will ever spot it on me as a third party. It works amazingly with a suit or other tucked in shirt, where the primary advantage is you no longer have to fight with shoving a shirt in between the holster and the "tuckable" clip. Getting dressed is now a breeze, and it's also made clearing the cover shirt even easier. In even slim casual clothes, once again the holster just disappears. And I did an hour on the treadmill with this thing on -- got some sweat on the butt of the gun that had to be wiped off at the end, but the holster did not make working out any worse than working out is to begin with.
Also --and I'm sorry, but it has to be said-- the restroom experience is loads (no pun intended) better. First, I can now use urinals again. Since the Enigma isn't attached to your pants, you can wear it as high as you want. That means when you unzip your fly, you don't have to be greeted by a sheet of plastic. You don't have to try to do some sort of snaky BS to get your business done. And you don't pinch anything, making you think you're done peeing, only to then realize once you've put yourself away that you weren't quite done yet (please don't ask me how I know this). When it comes to the good ol' number 2, you don't even have to remove the holster. This is actually quite a big deal for me, as I never felt comfortable placing my gun on a TP holder or trying to hang it off the coat hook. You might want to remove the leg leash so it's free and clear of the backblast area, but other than that, it's nonobstructive. I will not lie and tell you it's the most comfortable you'll ever be on the porcelain throne, but it's a lot better than stressing about where to put your gun, in my humble experience.
Improvements
As the great Hannah Montana once said, nobody's perfect. The Enigma is not an exception to that rule. There are a couple things that I'm not a huge fan of. Fortunately, the community surrounding the Enigma seems intent on solving every conceivable problem, so there are already solutions out there.
1. The waist belt feels like a slightly softer seatbelt. That is to say, it's not the most uncomfortable, but it can begin to chafe if it is in contact with your skin all day. This can be easily remedied by wearing an undershirt. If you, like me, prefer not to sweat great ugly circles around your armpits in public, that isn't always an option. What is an option though is either the sport belt offered by Phlster or a number of aftermarket covers made to lessen the chafe factor. I presently have a Levo Designs Papoose on order, which apart from being a fun word to say, is a sleeve that goes over the belt. I will update this review after a week with the Papoose, but I have high hopes.
2. The leg leash is a little flimsy. While the leash material itself I have no problem with, the buckle used to secure it is not the strongest. It's a thin piece of plastic, which makes sense since you don't want an awkward bulge in your upper thigh, but in my opinion it's a little too thin, and does not engage well. On a number of occasions I've felt like it came disconnected. It never actually was, or at least was not fully disconnected, but it was certainly not confidence-inspiring. Fortunately, because of the location, you can put your hand in your pocket and check to make sure the buckle is still secure, but if it were to come undone, I doubt you could reattach it with one hand without pulling your pants down. I am aware that there are upgrades that can be had for the leg leash, though I have not yet looked into them. Perhaps there is something to be said for the fact that I didn't immediately run out to replace this part.
3. From the factory there is no included designated way to carry a spare mag. Plenty of people have just attached third party mag carriers along the belt, and I'm sure that works fine. This is less of a gripe and more of just something I want to do myself in the future.
Conclusions
The Enigma is certainly living up to its hype. I was genuinely concerned that I would be throwing money away trying to chase a trend, but the Enigma is popular for very good reason. No holster will ever be as comfortable as just not carrying, but the Enigma is the closest I've seen so far. This will be my new carry setup for the foreseeable future; I will probably update this "review" from time to time with my thoughts and experiences.
Go buy one; it's worth it.