HK VP9SK Holster

Choosing the right HK VP9SK holster is all about choosing the position, how you plan to carry the firearm. There are specific features to look for in an HK VP9SK holster, depending on where and how you plan to carry that firearm. We’re going to cover all those options below.

HK VP9SK IWB Holster

When you’re carrying HK VP9SK IWB, you’re likely going to be carrying either strongside, meaning at the hip or behind it, or at the appendix position, which is forward of the hips. Each of these positions has a different requirement and what you should look for, for a holster. There may also be a consideration for small of the back carry. I would not suggest this as there are potential long-term health concerns. Small of the back carry put the gun right up near your spine and if you were to slip and fall on your back, it would jam the gun into the spot, potentially causing devastating back problems.

Just using the holster throughout the day, sitting down with it and such can also cause problems over time. You’re carrying a gun to protect your life and take the lives of others, protecting your long-term health is part of that, so I would suggest avoiding small of the back carry. Now let’s cover what to look for if you’re carrying either the appendix carry position or strong side.

Appendix Carry

The HK VP9SK is a fairly short firearm. Due to this, you may want to consider carrying it in a longer HK VP9 holster. For many, this may seem counter-intuitive and on the surface, I see why. Many people are afraid of a holster being uncomfortable when they sit down to drive or sit down on a office chair, just sitting down throughout the day, they think carrying appendix the gun is going to poke and prod them.

When you actually take a look back and look at the human form, you’ll notice you have a crease between your groin and inner thigh. That is called your inguinal crease. Your appendix here, HK VP9 holster will likely sit next to the inguinal crease. And if you notice the inguinal crease is actually canted around 15 degrees and goes straight down the leg.

So in reality, when you sit down, that HK VP9SK Holster is not going to poke into your leg, but sit right beside it. So a longer holster is not a concern for most people, even people down to around five foot tall can usually handle a longer holster. Because of how an appendix holster will sit in that natural pocket, you want to make sure that pocket is completely filled. If that pocket is not filled, you will have comfort issues. These issues are created by voids between the holster and the body.

Voids

These voids place undue pressure in areas where the holster is touching the body. We want to avoid these at all costs. When you’re carrying a gun like the HK VP9SK or any other firearm at appendix, most of the gun’s weight sits above the belt line. Having the weight above the belt line means that gravity wants to tip the gun out and away from the body. Usually your gut or stomach is pushing the gun out as well.

This is causing the muzzle of the gun to want to tip into the groin. When you have a shorter holster, this place has a lot of pressure just forward of the muzzle, creating a hotspot. If you have a longer holster, it will spread that pressure out and make it more tolerable. There are also other ways to alleviate this, which we’ll cover later. That brings us to one of the most important features of the appendix carry holster, which is ride height adjustment.

Ride Height

Ride height adjustment is important for three reasons, comfort, concealment, and speed of draw. Generally the lower the grip sits towards the belt line, the more concealable a gun will be, and the higher the grip sits, the quicker it will be to draw the gun. While these two have an inverse effect, comfort will depend completely on your body type. We all have different body types and depending on how our hips are shaped and what type of clothing we’re wearing and how our belt rides, will dictate the perfect placement of the holster.

We want the holster to sit naturally in that pocket and for each of us, that’s going to be different. Having an HK VP9SK IWB holster with adjustable ride height allows you to determine what that optimal position is for you. You may decide that you’re willing to sacrifice comfort and concealment for a fast draw or concealment might be the most important issue, or maybe it’s comfort. Maybe all three actually happened to align at a nice compromise in the middle.

Having adjustable ride height allows you to determine what setup works best for you. This is definitely something I would suggest getting in an appendix carry holster. Appendix carry holster should also have accessories known as either a claw or a wing and a wedge. These accessories are specific to appendix carry. It can really help both concealment and comfort. We’re going to cover those below.

Claw/Wing

A claw or a wing is a device that sits beside the holster and uses torque from the belt to rotate the grip of the gun into the body. This makes the gun a lot more concealable, which is necessary on HK VP9SK holster, considering how fat the HK VP9 SK is.

Despite the short grip on the HK VP9SK, the gun is fairly thick. So you’ll want to make sure that the grip is not pruning and a wing will go a long way in helping this. Another advantage of the wing is while it rotates the grip closer to your body, it also changes the angle of the grip. So your hand more naturally meets it when acquiring your firing grip. This will speed up your draw just a tad.

Wedge

One of the most underrated accessories is a wedge. A wedge is a device that sits between your HK VP9 holster and your body. A wedge helps kick the muzzle of the gun out away from the body, pushing the top portion of the firearm into the stomach. Not only does this make the firearm more concealable and also helps fill those voids we were talking about earlier, making the setup more comfortable. If you are carrying HK VP9 SK specific holster, than a wedge is definitely going to be a must, but it’ll also help for a full-size HK VP9 holster.

Behind the Hip HK VP9SK Holster

Carry an HK VP9SK IWB holster behind the hip is all about making sure the gun conceals well. To do that, the most important feature is going to be adjustable cant. Adjustable cant is a very important feature because it allows you to change the angle of the grip so it matches your kidney. And keeps the firearm as close to the body as possible. Considering the thickness of the HK VP9 SK, you need as much of an advantage as possible when carrying in this position. I suggest somewhere between zero and 30 degrees of cant. I know that sounds like a large range, but it really is necessary as it will help you determine what works best for your body type.

Draw Stroke

Another advantage of adjustable cant is it allows you to optimize your draw stroke. Finding the right angle for a smooth draw stroke is important, but you may have to compromise to find one that works better for concealment. Again, having the ability to adjust the cant allows you to decide what is the best HK VP9SK IWB Holster cant for your particular needs and situation. Another feature I neglected to mention earlier is a well-rounded muzzle. When you’re carrying at that position, if you have a very flat rear end, this isn’t an issue.

But if you do, I would definitely suggest having a HK VP9SK Holster where the muzzle is very well rounded. Having a well-rounded muzzle, it means the holster is going to feel more like a softball or a tennis ball versus the rough cut end of a two-by-four. The holster is going to touch your body no matter what, and you want it to be nice and comfortable with good, smooth edges. If it doesn’t have that, the holster is going to be uncomfortable when wearing it all day long.

OWB Carry HK VP9SK Holster

When you’re carrying the HK VP9 SK and an OWB holster, you’re likely going to want an OWB Holster that conceals well. For this, you’re going to want a pancake style holster that sits close to the body. Pancake holsters often don’t have adjustable cant, but that is another feature you’re going to want to look for here again. For the same reasons as behind the hip IWB carry, you want adjustable cant, as it allows you to match the angle of the grip to your kidney, and also allows you to optimize your draw stroke to your preference. Due to the thickness of the HK VP9 SK, it isn’t the best gun for OWB carry for most of us, but with the right holster, you can probably pull it off.