Brief Raven Concealment Systems Phantom Review - 1911

So I've been carrying my 1911 in my new RCS Phantom these last couple weeks and figured I'd post some pics of it. I am thoroughly pleased with it. This is my second Phantom. The first was for my G19.

The holster is nice and thin, lightweight, and yet very solid feeling. I went with the belt hooks again on this one. I am unable to carry at work, so the holster comes on and off several times throughout the day. I still don't have my beltman belt - hopefully that will arrive within the next couple of weeks. I a sure that the additional support from a good sturdy belt will make this holster even more comfortable than it already is. As always, I openly start any review with the acknowledgement of bias based on personal experience. I am not affiliated with them in any way, but I have indeed sipped the RCS koolaid and found it very good. I used a MTAC with my G19 for a year or more before getting my first Phantom. I've been carrying my G19 in it since last August. There have been numerous occasions where I completely forgot I even had my gun on me - the holster is that comfortable for me.

The 1911 is obviously a bit heavier than the G19. You don't forget you are carrying it. I kind of like that though.

So without any further adieu, here's some pictures.

Front:


Back:


From the top - this should give a good indication of how thin it is - which makes a big difference in how well it hugs the body and conceals the gun:


The following are some pictures showing the difference in shirt colors and the effect that has. Obviously a Glock 19 is going to be more concealable than a fullsize 1911, but with the right belt/holster/attire combination, a 1911 can be very CCW worthy even in these early summer months.

Here you can see how it rests at the belt line:


Black is my favorite color of shirt for when I am carrying. In fact, I probably wear some form of black polo 75% of the week. You could almost conceal a tank underneath a black shirt:


The lighter in color you go, the harder it is to conceal. If someone was looking for a grip profile, you just might see it with this green polo. Of course, I would guess that generally the only people that would notice that are other people who are carrying - still, there's a reason I wear black so often:


Here's a picture to give an idea of the position of the grip in relation to how I might draw. The Phantom keeps it nice and close to the body, but there is still ample space to get a firm hold:


This blue shirt is probably one of the hardest to conceal carry shirts I own except for a wool t-shirt I accidentally threw in the dryer. Here is a side profile - the view from the front. As you can see, barely visible, but if you were looking for it, in the midst of action you just might be able to make out that something is there. Cell phone, colostomy bag, handgun? who knows:


Just standing, you can kind of make out the imprint of the rear of the grip. This is with a bumper pad on a 8rd mag. A flush 7rnd mag would of course make this a slight bit better. My finger is pointing at the butt of the grip:


Here is a picture of what you might see with this holster after I have just touched my toes - you'll notice how this slightly small, light colored polo bunches a bit and shows the rear belt hook. Overall not that bad, but still, there are good reasons to wear slightly looser fitting clothing when carrying a 1911:


This picture is to show two things. The first is to notice how well the holster hugs the gun up to the body. The second is to point out the one thing that may bug someone who is not used to wearing a kydex holster directly on skin. Unlike the Glock, the 1911 of course has a left side thumb safety. This requires the holster to have a bit of space for it. The first day or two it took a bit to adjust to the edge of the holster on my side. I found it slightly annoying at first. People who need moleskin on their sides would probably be driven insane. I don't have really sensitive skin, so I acclimated rather quickly. Due to this notch that I am pointing at in the picture, the holster is not quite as comfortable as the Glock Phantom against bare skin. If you wear an undershirt, you won't be able to tell the difference. I've been carrying without an undershirt all spring and summer now, so I don't even think about the kydex on skin anymore:


Alrighty, that's all the pictures I have right now. Overall, I absolutely love this holster. It is a great company. Their website is http://themalabarfront.com/ . They have great customer service. I had a belt hook break on my earlier Phantom (the new hooks are much much better than their original hooks) and they sent out two new hooks no questions asked - recieved the hooks 2 days after the one broke.
Last spring I stopped carrying my G19 in my MTAC because I just wasn't comfortable with carrying it - I felt like it was not concealed enough. I carried a Glock 26 last summer, but I wanted to carry the 19. More rounds, full grip etc. So I bought the RCS Phantom to see if all the ravings about it on 10-8forums were true. They were. RCS had a long enough waiting line for a kydex holster that I figured they had to have something right. They did. I was able to carry my G19 without any hesitation from August until now. Several months ago, I found myself again wanting something bigger, either a 5" 1911 or a Glock 17. I knew I could conceal a G19 with a Phantom, so I figured I'd see if I could comfortably conceal a 1911 in summer attire. With this holster, I can. I couldn't be more pleased with it. RCS has yet another fully satisfied repeat customer.
If you are interested in taking a first hand look at these holsters, give my a buzz, and we can meet up some weekend. Thanks for reading.

Very nice.....

I'm impressed. It's super thin.

Very nice review, thanks for posting!
It looks like you've covered just about everything that anyone would want to know about.


Previously I looked into one of their appendix carry setups but I decided against it,mainly for comfort reasons.
I haven't actually tried one on, but I do have experience with at least a half-a-dozen Kydex brands and for me they just don't work out too well for appendix carry with the size guns I use. Although the Raven is super thin, the reality is that you still have a hard piece of plastic pushing into your leg when sitting....depending on gun size and how you position it of course.
Leather has proven to be much more forgiving in that regard.
I'm know there are others who can make the Kydex pieces work in that position tho'.

Anyway, these look like another great alternative especially for 3:00 or later carry, and thanks again for the very informative review.

EDIT:
I wanted to also mention something else about concealment/detection which I feel is important......
In your pics you've shown what the gun looks like under less than ideal concealment garments and even what to expect after bending at the waist, etc.
However, one thing we should also keep in mind is that still pics can be very misleading in regards to what will/won't conceal well. Aside from extremes suxh as: bending, reaching, stretching, etc., your regular nomal movement is also responsible for how well your gun conceals. What I mean is that watching someone walk or just carry through with regular movements will tell a different story than still pics will depending on how your clothing reacts to the gun/holster.
Some outfits will easily slide off of the grip appearing natural while others can hang up at times and give you away.
I've found that rubber grips,particularly the softer ones, are the worst offenders for snagging your shirt and causing the gun's butt to print.
Obviously length, girth, and shape of the grip can influence this as well, so you just have to do a bit of experimenting.

One thing that I'm glad you noten in the review was that the holster allowed ample room to obtain a full grip on the gun.
It seems that often people look to holsters which bury the gun deep in the waistband in an effort to gain maximum concealment...which is fine in certain circumstances like extreme deep cover or maybe lower risk situations.
However, if your everyday carry holster doesn't afford you access to a full fighting grip on your gun, it is putting you and a marked disadvantage and that is something that you should be aware of.

nice review.... but choice of 1911 for CCW is beyond me.

good review. had not heard of this company before and will give it a gander.

_CY_ said:

nice review.... but choice of 1911 for CCW is beyond me.

Click to expand...

If you can't make it work, you should try a Commander length....that's the only size I can carry comfortably in the position I use.

Nice review!

I like the looks of the holster, I just can't stand kydex clips. I'd like to see a kydex holster with leather snap loops.

Raven has a variety of attachment methods. I have one for my G19 and use snap loops but they are a rubber material.

I really like the holster but they need to include longer screws for the loops. I've stripped two screws that were too short to screw into the backing deep enough.

Great looking holster. I would almost be afraid to carry a Wilson every day for fear of somehow losing it, such as If your vehicle was broken into at work. I may be a .45 snob or a 1911 snob but I just can't bring myself to carry a weapon of smaller caliber. I even have reservations about a 1911 with a 4 inch barrel being a true 1911. 9 mms or whatever built on a 1911 frame are NOT 1911s in my book.

I thought this post was a joke at first about how to pack the infamous Raven Arms .25. I was going to suggest the nearest dumpster.

you carried a glock 19 with no problems?