# Flashbang Brassiere Holster: Review



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

My wife, Jean, is still looking for "the perfect concealed-carry holster," in which to keep her Kel-Tec P3AT for all-day wear.
We noticed the Flashbang, a Kydex device which attaches to the center connection between the cups of a woman's brassiere.
"Hmmm..." we both thought, "the, um, natural overhang in that area should do a pretty good job of concealing a small pistol, yet leave it easily and quickly accessible. Let's try one, and see how well it works."

According to the videos shown on the Flashbang website, there are two ways of wearing the device: It can hang directly below the bosom of a "well-endowed" woman, using the breasts themselves as stabilizers for the outfit, or it can be placed higher, actually within the cups of one's brassiere. We tried both locations.

Although Jean is a small, slightly-built woman, she wears a C-cup bra. In theory, there should be enough overhang to keep the Flashbang in place, immediately below the center connection of her brassiere. But, we are sorry to note, this was not the case.
Without the stabilization presented by—how shall I write this—drooping or pendulous breasts, the Flashbang would invariably rotate so that the pistol's grip protruded straight outward from Jean's lower chest. Not only did it "print" almost ludicrously, like a centered third appendage, but it was also impossible to quickly expose it and to grasp it effectively for presentation.
So we moved the Flashbang to the suggested upper-level position. Here, it nestled snugly inside Jean's bra cups, adding bewitchingly to her already pleasing cleavage. She liked that effect, and so did I. And we were both quite pleasantly surprised that this mode of concealment was quite comfortable.
The grip area of Jean's pistol hung down below the center connection between her bra cups, and we thought that we had finally come upon the solution to our difficulties. It was the solution, that is, until Jean tried doing a few preliminary presentations. There just wasn't enough of the pistol, hanging down below the bra. Pardon my indelicacy, but Jean's hand had to push her breasts up, out of the way, in order to fully grasp the gun's grip. But while doing that, her fingers kept getting entangled with the strap which secured the Flashbang to her brassiere.
Since we were using the shortest strap on its tightest setting, and since further shortening the strap would make it too tight around the bra's connector, we were stymied. There was just no quick, sure, uncomplicated way of grabbing hold of the little P3AT in a full firing grip, for making a direct and effective presentation.

I have taught Jean that a proper save-your-life presentation of a defensive weapon should be as fumble-free as one can possibly make it. The gun should appear ready to fire, with no need for any shift of grip or rearrangement of any kind. She couldn't do this, with the Flashbang.
We compared the Flashbang to the holster which Jean already likes and always uses: The Smartcarry. Our evaluation is that the Flashbang conceals well, and is easier to access than the Smartcarry, when one is wearing snug-fitting clothes, but that the presentation from the Flashbang is inferior to that from the Smartcarry: For Jean, the Flashbang is less sure, less quick, and less effective.

Since Jean never wears tight-fitting clothes, she has decided to stick with the Smartcarry.


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