Fanny Pack for Gun Carry: I think I found the right one!

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vito

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I've seen many threads addressing the pros and cons of using a fanny pack for concealed carry, but my real concern has been that most fanny packs are either inadequate for safe carry, or are sturdy, black and OBVIOUSLY made for a gun. Some readers like myself probably reside in or pass through a state where concealed carry is frowned on, like Illinois or Wisconsin, and certainly do not want to have LEO's or anyone else look at the fanny pack and think there is a gun there. You might want to check out the Cordura Fanny Pack on gungear.com. It looks like a regular tourist-type summer fanny pack, comes in other than solid black color, but is made to handle a concealed firearm. Its not cheap, mine cost $54 with shipping, but I think I made the right choice. I also own a Coronado Leather cross carry bag, but it is large, black leather and looks more like a man-bag than anything else, so I wanted a lighter less obvious choice. I don't think this Cordura Fanny Pack will arouse any suspicion in anyone when I wear it. I'll look just like another mid-60's, slightly overweight senior citizen on vacation in shorts and a t-shirt and yet will know that I am not defenseless should the need arise. Now I just have to decide weather to carry my Ruger P97 or my S&W 640.
 
I was trying to avoid advocating illegal carry, but sometimes one must choose whether safety and peace of mind are most important, or complying with the law.
 
yeah

Those packs are excellent, the best I have had which numbers quite a few.

I wear one daily without a pistol in it just for carrying stuff. i would put a pistol in it, but in Texas wearing a pack of any kind is like wearing a "Gun In Here" sign on your waist. That's just my preference, to wear one sans gun, but just trying it out when i first got it; it worked well; the zippers are quiet and fast (snag free) and it will hold at the absolute-threatening-to-burst-the seams-maximum a full size Sig 220 with light attached inside a pocket holster (i.e. sig in pocket holster velcroed to the inside of the pack so it stays put).

About the only modification i would make is that a heavy pistol tends to pull open the zippers and risk exposure or possibly losing the contents! So i would take a piece of strong stick-on velcro and put it on the pack strap then the 'other side' of the velcro to loop through one of the zipper eyes and help hold the zipper closed.

Happy 4th!
C-
 
If you scan The 642 Club, you'll find one made by CamelBak that looks like just the ticket. Even has the water bladder abd the company name on it...This looks very inconspicuous to me....
 
OMG PLEASE DONT CARRY THAT DAMN THING....... A nice Dooney and Bourke Purse would do well for carrying a large frame pistol too either ... and probably look just as good ... haha :D

There are just so many other options out there you can utilize than an 80s gender mistaken fanny pack.

Get a Don Hume holster, pager pal, Desantis, anything but a fanny pack :(
 
I still like the Galco waistpacks
policestuff_1954_62268674
 
I guess it looks OK until you zip it up. Thats a good marketing technique by that company.....though SERIOUSLY I would NOT even consider it. :(
 
I'd credit the following if I knew where I got but it's been a long time...

Sorry about the size.
 

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IMO, the fanny packs used by hippies and earth nuggets generally aren't ovalled off on the edges. They are generally square and are rarely black. I don't like the steamlined looking packs that look "just big enough to carry a gun." My preference is this http://www.tommysgunpack.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1 in a color other than blakc, of course. One of the things I like about the pack is it is has enough room to carry my wallet, cell phone, and other essentials. I think it looks odd to have your pockets full of wallets and such, and still need a fanny pack to carry.... something.

If you do carry a pack, the rest of your clothes are pretty important. If you wear a 5.11 pants and a H&K shirt, those "in the know" are going to know what's in your fanny pack no matter what pack you have. I always wear sandles and occasionally drive an old VW. Hippyflauge is useful sometimes. Dorkyflauge also works. Wear socks with your sandals and your pants very, very high etc, very odd shirts etc.
 
Please be specific: what is the problem you see when it is zipped up?
Click to expand...

HAHA ROFL

In the words of my wife (who is better at describing things than I), there is everything wrong with a man wearing a fanny pack. And I am going to have to agree with her. It just didnt look so bad with a nice black pistol blocking 80% of the thing but thats probably not how your going to carry it all open and such.

I just cannot bring myself to NOT flame these things. They are sooo ugly and just a big flag that either your **** or your carrying a piece thats too big to stick in your pants. Please do yourself a favor and not wrap one around your belly.

Good Luck!
 
KGPCR: The gungear.com site is where I found the cordura fanny pack. I agree, it seems to work fine. Some of the packs recommended are clearly for a gun: black, sturdy and with a very heavy belt. The whole point of this was to find a way to carry, maybe in places that one should not be doing so, that was not obvious and yet feasible in shorts and a t-shirt. That is why I stopped using the Coronado Leather cross carry bag (in addition to it looking too much like a ladies handbag). The typical fanny pack user is not wearing an all black, heavy leather model. But the typical non-gun fanny pack is too light and flimsy for safe concealed carry without the pack sagging so much it clearly contains something too heavy for a regular fanny pack. Plus, its nice to have a place to keep my digital camera, sunglasses, cell phone, wallet, etc. other than to have bulging pockets which make it very uncomfortable to drive or even sit down.
 
Vito - look into the Camelbak - it has a brand name and a water tube - no one will be the wiser. BTW, I carry my 642 in a Mika pocket holster with shorts and a T-shirt and you'd be hard pressed to notice it. I only have one pair of Northface cargo shorts which I find it impossible to front pocket carry...When I do carry in a bag, it's usually in a quick access pocket in my messenger bag/daypack.
 
Agreed with other posters about the importance of color when choosing a fanny pack. I try to avoid "tactical" black. I use a fanny pack on the hiking trail and chose a Bianchi Top Secret in an earth-friendly green color that looks like it belongs in those surroundings and, to me, does not suggest a gun inside. The Top Secret is a good pack, by the way, if a bit slow. Unfortunately, Bianchi offers only black in the current production Top Secret II.
 
Ya know, I carry a black large "obviously made for a gun" bag all the time. I work at the local phone company, I'm sixty plus years old, average height and in good physical shape. The bag holds my checkbook, credit cards, cellphone and my PT145 with an extra mag. Some folks know right off I'm packin' and others don't. Frankly, I don't give a damn.
 
Fanny packs have their place and time. I live in a college town, and I see LOTS of fanny packs. When its summertime, and lots of people are in shorts, a fanny pack does NOT stand out. While its not my preferred method to carry, its great for quick trips to the store and its 95 or more outside.
 
Just thought I would add, on the Cordura Fanny Pack from gungear.com, I bought the medium size pack, intending it for either my S&W 640 or my Ruger P97DC. Both fit, although I think it is a better choice for the snubbie. If I were planning on carrying the Ruger more often I would probably opt for the large. That noted, there are several compartments for items other than a gun, but at least in the medium sized pack, it is not overly generous in the room outside of the gun compartment. But I can fit my sunglasses in a case, my wallet, cell phone and my keys, andd possibly include my compact digital camera.
 
I regularly use a Safepacker from Thewilderness.com, and it is quite very black, but I carry it into some of the tree-huggingest places in a major city, including places posted for no handguns, right past security personnel, and nobody seems to notice. (My badge lets me carry where a CHL/CCW permit does not.) One important factor, I believe, is that I wear in on its shoulder strap, or carried in the hand. Yeah, a bunch of y'all are thinking "guy with a purse" about now, but I think, well, so what? With the proliferation of mini-planners and electronic gadgets, plus the "European" look, which includes men carrying man bags, man purses, whatever, this type of thing draws less attention, IMHO, than the "fanny" pack. Sometimes I do use my smaller Safepacker on the belt, but usually I use my larger one to carry a 4" .357. In the interest of having options if a criminal targets the off-body weapon, I do diligently carry a smaller weapon concealed on my person. I have used an Eagle Creek waist pack made for a point-and-shoot carry, to carry up to a snubby revolver, and its green color does make it look quite innocent. My old, original Desantis Gunny Sack gave me backaches; I mostly used it as a glorified pistol rug, as I recall. FWIW, my area is coastal Texas, where it's summer about ten months of the year.
 
I have a couple of Eagle fanny packs, and I agree... not very... well.. manly. However, they are extremely convenient. My truck gun is in a pack with ammo, cuffs, light, etc.
They would blend in well where I live, if it wasn't so obvious that I was the gun carrying type.
My wife has choice comments to make on the rare occassion I actually wear one.
 
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