If you’re looking for a Glock 42 Holster, you likely know that you have a fantastic niche firearm. The Glock 42 is very good at working in roles that many other guns cannot, yet still being shootable. Being larger than an LCP-style firearm, it’s much easier to shoot.
It’s just a tad smaller than the Glock 43 and Sig P365. This puts it in the category of being the biggest niche gun.
Glock 42 Concealed Carry Holster
Weighing in under 16 ounces, your Glock 42 concealed carry holster may not look like a holster for your Glock 19.
Weighing less than 16 ounces loaded, the Glock 42 can be carried many different ways.
For niche carry positions, weight is often a big detriment. Positions like ankle carry can cause long-term stress on your joints.
Carrying a firearm that weighs over one pound really isn’t an option if you care about your long-term health. The Glock 42 will work for ankle carry because it’s much lighter. This means you might need a variety of Glock 42 concealed carry holsters for the gun.
Glock 42 IWB Kydex Holster
When you’re carrying a gun IWB, it’s likely going to be done one of two main positions. Either strong side carry or appendix carry. There are also people that will argue for small of the back.
I would avoid that position at all costs due to the potential negative effects on your back. Carrying a Glock 42 IWB Kydex holster at the small of the back will place the gun in holster very close to your spine.
Over a long period of time, it will slowly cause issues for your back. If you were to slip and fall on your back and the holster jams into your spine it can cause devastating back problems. This is why I would avoid that carrier position at all costs.
The two positions I would suggest would be appendix carry or strong side carry. Appendix carry means forward of the hips, while strong carry generally refers to at or behind the hips. Each of these positions is going to require different features to have a good holster setup.
We’ll cover each of these setups in detail.
That way you’ll know what to look for in a Glock 42 IWB Kydex holster.
Carrying Without a Belt
You want a clip on your G42 holster that’ll work without a belt.
We suggest using discrete carry concept clips. In most scenarios they are more secure than any other option on the market.
They are the only clips I trust to hold my holster without a belt.
Another popular option you’ll see is the Ulticlip. We’ve have found those to fail more than often with one exception, which we will cover later.
The discreet carry concept clips are much better if you plan to carry the gun without a belt. Discrete carry concepts clips are much lower profile than other options like the Ulticlips.
The major advantage of discreet carry concepts clips is their thin profile for being spring steel. Often with plastic clips, the clips are more likely to print than the gun or holster itself. By having the spring steel clips, everything remains low profile and won’t print.
The weight of the Glock 42, it makes it an optimal gun for carrying without a belt.
The Glock 42 is the gun that you can bring to the gym or even on a run. Assuming you have a holster with a secure clip.
If you were doing cardio with the Glock 42, I would suggest carrying it at three o’clock. The reason for this is the tension on your waistband will be the tightest at 3. This will hold the gun the most securely.
Strongside Carry
Strong side carry for the Glock 42 is similar to other guns that are much larger.
You can get away with a lot more becuase the gun is so thin. The Glock 42 is a very small and thin firearm.
You’re still going to want to make sure that the holster edges are very well-rounded. This is very important for comfort.
When you’re carrying at the strong side, the gun has a fairly short muzzle and it can stick into your rear end if you have a more shapely rear. If your rear is completely flat, this isn’t an issue.
If it isn’t, you’re going to want to make sure you have a well-rounded muzzle. This muzzle is going to feel more like a softball placed against your skin instead of a rough cut two by four.
When you’re carrying a gun 10 or 14 hours a day, this makes a big difference. Another feature that’s important for the Glock 42 is adjustable cant. The Glock 42, despite being a small firearm, could still print and if you’re carrying a Glock 42, you’re likely very conscious of this. For a gun the size of the Glock 42, you’re going to want adjustable cant between zero and 15 degrees. This will allow you to place the grip of the gun close to your kidney, keeping it tucked as tightly into the body as possible. The last thing you want to do when you’re carrying a Glock 42 is to have it print.
Glock 42 Appendix Holster
Just like with strong side carrying, you’re going to want to make sure you have well-rounding on the holster. Only instead of having that well-rounded area being underneath the muzzle, you also want it underneath the trigger guard. It’s best to have it well-rounded in both areas. The Glock 42 is a shorter gun, so you want the rounding to be as extreme as possible everywhere. If your Glock 42 appendix holster is well-rounded, it will sit nice and comfortably in the natural pocket between your inner thigh and your groin. At the end of the day, if your Glock 42 appendix holster isn’t comfortable, then you won’t carry it. So you want to make sure you have a very comfortable Glock 42 holster.
Another important features for a Glock 42 appendix holster are a wing and a wedge.
Claw/Wing
A claw or a wing is a device that sits on or next to the trigger guard of your Glock 42 appendix holster.
It catches tension from your belt to press the grip of the Glock 42 in closer to your body.
This is a feature that can be added to a holster, or you can have it built into the holster itself. With a gun as small as the Glock 42, generally, it’s better to build it into the holster itself, to keep everything as small as possible. You don’t need much of one to press the grip effectively into your hips.
Wedge
A wedge is a device that sits between the muzzle of your Glock 42 holster and your body. It helps kick the muzzle out away from the body, pressing the top of the gun in closer to your body. This will help fill that natural pocket we were talking about earlier, distributing pressure and making the holster more comfortable. It will also help concealment. When you carry appendix, normally the majority of the weight of the gun sits above the waistline.
This means that gravity is going to want to pull the gun out and away from the body, pressing the muzzle into that pocket we were talking about earlier. By filling that pocket with something like a wedge, you help prevent discomfort as well as increasing your concealment of the firearm. for the Glock 42, you’re likely not going to want a large wedge, but instead something fairly small, proportional to the size of the Glock 42 holster.
Glock 42 Pocket Holster
Choosing a Glock 42 pocket holster is going to depend a lot on your build and clothing style. If you’re wearing something like sweat pants, you can get away with a lot more than somebody who is wearing more fitted jeans. Many would say the Glock 42 is a little bit big for pocket carry and I tend to agree for most body types. There are always exceptions to any rule. When you’re choosing a Glock 42 pocket holster, almost more important than the pocket holster itself is the pants you plan to wear. You want to make sure the pockets have a generous enough cut to hold the gun, and also just enough cut to allow you to access the gun when you need it most.
Strategies
There are a couple of different strategies you can use when choosing a Glock 42 pocket holster. One is a very minimalist low-profile holster that will keep the bottom of the gun from printing. This is fine if you have a long shirt tail to cover up the grip portion of the gun. But if not, you’re going to want to go with a larger Glock 42 style holster that will make the Glock 42 look like a square in your pocket so people are likely to think the printing in your pocket for a cell phone or similar device. We all carry a lot of stuff in our pockets and if you just look down, you’ll likely see your wallet or ear pods printing. Thankfully, a lot of the phones these days are very large and similar in profile to the Glock 42.
So disguising the gun as a cell phone with a proper holster is a very valid carry method. You can check out products like our IWB slash pocket holster that will work for either IWB carry or pocket holster just by changing around some of the accessories. This holster is a good option if you’re not sure the Glock 42 is small enough for you to pocket carry, or if it’s better for an IWB option.
Boot Carry With A Glock 42
This style of carry isn’t for everyone. If you wear a lot of boots, mainly Western style boots, this is a good option. This is the one area where a Ulti clip will work better than a discreet carry concepts clip. We’ve tested and for some reason, the Ulti clip holds a lot better to leather than discreet carry concepts clip. When you’re carrying an Ulti clip on textiles and clothing, it generally tends to slip off when you pull it hard enough. Whereas discreet carry concepts does not due to the cloth grabber. With leather, the clamping force of the Ulticlip seems to work better than the cloth grabber on a discreet carry concepts clip.
I have been known to carry a Glock 42 in my boot from time to time. It’s more manageable than you think. I carry the inside of my boot at a cross draw. The good thing about the Glock 42, is it is light enough to use in this sort of application.
It’s Just Cool
If you’re a fan of wearing boots like I am, and you like to have an extra backup gun on you, then this is a good option. It may not be the easiest gun to access, but there’s something cool about knowing you have a gun in your boot and it will also conceal during situations when a lot of other guns will not. I jokingly used to refer to it as my active shooter gun. The reason I called it an active shooter gun was the only time I could access it quick enough was if there was an active shooter in the building and I could barricade myself in an office. So is it the quickest? No, but hey, there’s just something cool about carrying a gun in your boot.
