A skinny guy review of the Galco CCP Concealed Carry Paddle Holster

**Delerius** · November 6th, 2010, 01:05 PM

Mods... If this is in the wrong forum section please move...

We all come in different body shapes and I have come to find out that there is no one holster that fits all. Since I have a couple holsters I hope my reviews will save someone a little money.
I'm 5' 10", 150lbs and wear a 30x32 size in Levi's. Being the skinny guy that I am, it is not easy to find a holster that has fitted all my needs and yet be comfortable. My first holster that I have purchased for my Glock 19 is a Galco CCP Concealed Carry Paddle Holster, average retail around $95+. The reason I picked this model was because of the ability to adjust the cant to your complete liking and also be able to adjust the belt lock on the paddle to two different sizes as seen in the photo below. The top screw adjusts the cant and the bottom screw can be moved up to the next hole if you wear a smaller belt.

With most of Galco line of products, Their workmanship and beauty of leather used is top notch. The dollar amount that their products sell for reflect there quality and in my opinion are worth the extra money if they are comfortable and provide the level of protection you want for your firearm. With the Galco CCP, the leather use and the retention qualities are excellent. When I first received the Galco, I had to "work" the leather some to get the Glock completely in. As for retention, it took a quite a few holstering and unholstering to get the leather broken in. Once broken in, I did not have to force the pistol in or have massive strength to pull in back out.

For the paddle part of the holster I'm a little disappointed. Not that there really is anything wrong with it but for me, it just didn't contour my body well. 99% of the time I wear jeans and I like to wear a holster around the 3 / 4 o'clock range. With having the holster at the 3 o'clock area on the belt, the paddle just didn't have enough curve in to contour my side. In the photo below you can see the curvature and thickness of the paddle. With this paddle there is also no flex in the plastic.

For someone that has a little more stocky build, the paddle would probably work fine for them. Also with having the paddle at 3 o'clock, you don't have easy access to your right front pocket. With Levi's having a belt loop at the 4 o'clock range, you can only slide the paddle back so far on the belt. To relieve some of the discomfort I connected the paddle over the pants and belt at the 4 o'clock range. This made living with the paddle bearable but even after any major length of time you still feel discomfort because of the rigid plastic. Below are some photos showing how it wore at the 3-3:30 o'clock range. The first photo shows how the paddle doesn't have enough curve to follow the body line.

The one nice thing about the paddle is that you don't have to worry about it falling off or having it pulled off. As you see in the photo below, the belt lock is quite hefty and thick. Even when placing the paddle over the jeans and belt, you do have to get your fingers in between the paddle and the holster to release it and removal does take some work. Ideally the paddle is made for belt applications to make it quick to remove which it was.

Overall the Galco CCP is worth the money if you can find a way to make it comfortable for you. The adjustable cant is wonderful and overall construction is solidly made. The holster does ride close to the body, but not as close as some other holsters.

**rwb1500** · November 6th, 2010, 05:47 PM

Good review, nice pics.

**brownman** · November 7th, 2010, 01:10 PM

Good review there. One question, is the paddle meant to be worn between the pants and the belt? Not the paddle actually inside the pants as in your pics. I dont know/have no expeirience with this type of holster, just wondering. Maybe that would solve some of the discomfort issue for you as far as the paddle not really conforming to your body shape. The jeans might act as a cushion, maybe better than being right up against your body.

**Brudog** · November 8th, 2010, 02:34 AM

Originally Posted by brownman

Good review there. One question, is the paddle meant to be worn between the pants and the belt? Not the paddle actually inside the pants as in your pics. I dont know/have no expeirience with this type of holster, just wondering. Maybe that would solve some of the discomfort issue for you as far as the paddle not really conforming to your body shape. The jeans might act as a cushion, maybe better than being right up against your body.

He is wearing it correctly. A paddle holster is designed to be worn with the paddle in your pants and the clip catches the bottom edge of your belt through the pants.

I am glad someone reviewed this holster. I wish more of us would do these types of reviews. I am considering this holster for my SP-101 and had read that it did not hug the body well. I may reconsider now after reading this.

The OP is just too skinny. Your hip has such a sharp curve that paddle holsters may not work for you.

**rwb1500** · November 8th, 2010, 02:39 AM

Originally Posted by Brudog

I wish more of us would do these types of reviews. I am considering this holster for my SP-101 and had read that it did not hug the body well. I may reconsider now after reading this.

.

I'm working on one right now. I agree, there's a wealth of knowledge right here. We all just need to take some pics and write down what we think.

**Rodolfo Fierro** · November 8th, 2010, 03:58 AM

I met a guy at the range that made his own holsters. His looked pretty good, so I was listening to him talk about how he made it. He gets KYDEX and trims it to the shape he wants. Then he bakes it in the oven enough to make the KYDEX pliable. Once it is warm you can bend or mould the KYDEX to fit the gun. After he has the shape he adds the belt clip. He did tell me the tempature to set the oven, but I forgot. It was not very hot.
From his description you should be able to bend the paddle to fit your body perfectly. Maybee a hair dryer would let you warm it slowly and keep from getting the paddle too hot. You may want to check with Galco to see how hard it is to get another paddle in case things go wrong.

**Delerius** · November 8th, 2010, 09:28 PM

Originally Posted by Rodolfo Fierro

I met a guy at the range that made his own holsters. His looked pretty good, so I was listening to him talk about how he made it. He gets KYDEX and trims it to the shape he wants. Then he bakes it in the oven enough to make the KYDEX pliable. Once it is warm you can bend or mould the KYDEX to fit the gun. After he has the shape he adds the belt clip. He did tell me the tempature to set the oven, but I forgot. It was not very hot.
From his description you should be able to bend the paddle to fit your body perfectly. Maybee a hair dryer would let you warm it slowly and keep from getting the paddle too hot. You may want to check with Galco to see how hard it is to get another paddle in case things go wrong.

Thanks for the idea but this Galco holster was sent back to Amazon today. I really did want to like it but I mostly use a Galco Concealable which I love (Going to do a review of it tomorrow) and a Blackhawk CQC for the Glock. I'm not sure but I don't think the Galco paddle was Kydex. If it was, dunking it in hot water might have soften it up enough to reshape it. Again, I probably would have taken a chance to make it work better but if it came out worse, I would have been out a quite a bit of money.

Here are two more photos of the paddle comparing it to the paddle that you get when you purchase a BlackHawk CQC. In the first photo, The BlackHawk paddle is above and behind the Galco paddle. As you can tell, they have the same curvature.

In the photo below, size comparison. BlackHawk on the left, Galco on the right.