All outside the waistband Kydex holsters are pretty much the same, right? Some thermoplastic, a little judiciously applied heat, a few rivets, and voila! You’ve got yerself a carry rig. Only there’s a little more that goes into putting one together than that. Factors like ride height, cant, shaping and finishing are the details where the devil lives. Get ’em wrong and you end up with an uncomfortable thing hanging from your hip that advertises you’re carrying and inhibits a clean draw. Get ’em right and you’ve got a piece of gear that lets you effortlessly keep your gun at your side morning, noon and night. The people at GunfightersINC seem to be well aware of all that . . .
My review sample was made for the new FNS-9 Compact. The Ronin is nicely molded, hugging the pistol firmly and securely. You can hold the your rig upside down without any worry of gravity overcoming your gat.
The design is about as slim as an OWB Kydex rig can be, with an adequate sweat shield to protect the gun and prevent chafing should you like to carry in the summer against bare skin.
The Ronin is nicely contoured to hug your hip just so, keeping things snugly against your body. That, along with a forward cant of (about) ten degrees makes for minimal printing potential.
The overall fit and finish are excellent. All edges are nicely rounded to prevent marring of your gun or your belt.
A nice little extra that I particularly appreciate are the strips of friction tape – probably skateboard tape – that are added to the inside of the belt loops. This keeps the Ronin from migrating on its own around your hip as you move about your day. But if you decide to reposition it, it just takes a determined push or pull to move if from, say 3:00 to the 5:00 position.
Probably the best aspect of the Ronin, though, is how snugly it conforms to your form. Even a double stack pistol like the FNS-9 Compact is barely noticeable under a cover garment or untucked shirt. Yet the pistol is positioned so that you can still get a good initial grip on the draw.
Where the Ronin really shines is in the comfort department. Okay, most OWB holsters are, by their nature, easy to carry. My experience, though, is that the Ronin was surprisingly easy on hip, even compared to other OWB options out there.
When combined with a proper gun belt, I found it most comfortable when worn with a pair of “tactical” cargo pants (I tried it with BLACKHAWK! and 5.11 pants) with a a slightly higher waist. All-day wear couldn’t have been easier, even with my pear-shaped form. With a lower-waisted pair of jeans it was slightly more noticeable, but still extremely easy to manage and conceal from dawn to dusk.
GunfightersINC offers the Ronin in a variety of stylish color and pattern options. Being a traditionalist, I tend to stick with basic black as it goes with most of my purses and shoes. But if you fancy one of their more exotic offerings, just email them.
In short, it’s hard to imagine an OWB Kydex rig performing better than the Ronin has for me with the FNS-9C. I also gave it a go with the gun’s extended 16-round mag to simulate a full-size pistol and was just as happy (though concealment’s a little more of a challenge). The Ronin compares very favorably in both comfort and concealability to those from the best competitors in the market. You won’t be disappointed.
Specifications:
Height: 6.625″
Width: 5.5″
Depth: 1.375″
Weight: 3.7 oz.
Price: $80 ($85 in carbon fiber finish) at amazon.com
Ratings (out of five stars):
Comfort: * * * * *
Absolutely one of the most comfortable holsters I’ve ever owned. Makes toting a double stack nine all day as easy as Monica Lewinsky in the Oval Office.
Concealment: * * * * *
The Ronin keeps the FNS nice and snug against my bod making for optimal concealment. With an untucked shirt or light jacket for cover, no one will ever know you’re packing 12+1.
Value: * * * *
Not cheap. Then again good gear never is. But the Ronin’s price is right there with other top notch rigs (Comp-Tac, Raven Concealment, etc.) of the same type and quality.
Overall: * * * * *
No OWB holster conceals as well as in IWB rig. But you know that. Still, some people (*cough* RF *cough*) are naturally IWB averse. They just can’t abide operating on a daily basis with something between their Calvin Kleins and their jeans. If you’re one of those and you’re willing to sacrifice some stealth for supreme comfort, the Ronin is as good as an OWB rig gets.
Kydex attachment points – massive fail.
So what’s the deal with this being an issue? I use Raven for all my holster stuff, but they seem to use some sort of thermo plastic, not kydex to make their loops. Is that for a good reason? Educate me!
We’ve sold thousands of Ronin holsters and only have had 3 holsters returned for broken loops. And if it does break for whatever reason we offer an unconditional repair or replace warranty. We find that the Kydex loops make for a much more comfortable and concealable attachment system.
Understood, but I’ve seen enough kydex attachment points fail in pistol classes that I’d never consider them for serious use.
I am and always have been a leather holster guy, but that Ronin rig does look nicely form-fitting and thin.
Leather’s got merits but premium Kydex is awesome and fast. I use both, and I may get one of these as well.
80 bucks?
whew..
I know right? I use a 10 dollar universal iwb/owb pancake holster that conceals great (when I want) and even takes my laser. I am sure this holster is better than mine but I bet dollars to doughnuts it isn’t 8 times better.
Apparently no left handed models. Guess who doesn’t get my business?
Vhyrus – we do make all our holsters for left handed shooters. Just shoot me an email via the contact form on our website and we can get you fixed up. We just don’t have them on Amazon yet.
Well that’s good news. I was just about to post on the same “no lefty love” observation.
Now, how about making one for the HK P2000sk?
We love HK. No problem. Shoot me an email.
Too bad HK hates you! 🙂
Nice, clean design. Next time I’m in the market for an OWB holster for a pistol, I’ll give ’em a look!
Gunfighters INC are top notch. Custom work they have done for me include: Ronin VP-9 w/x300u light attachment, M&P 9mm full size w/ threaded barrel & crimson trace light attachment. Comfort & retention can’t be beat.
I have holsters from Raven Concealment, Bravo Concealment, G-Code, and Gunfighters Inc. I have a couple of Ronins I use on a daily basis with full size pistols. The review is accurate in my opinion. What makes my experience with Gunfighters Inc stand out is that you can get a “top brand” quality holster in a fraction of the time it takes to get any of the others I’ve mentioned…Some lead times are up around 8 weeks…
I’m watching all OWB holster reviews and ads very closely, now that we’re on the brink of getting OC here in Texas. Never in my life and years of concealed carrying ever used anything but leather IWB holsters. IWB/OWB, leather/Kydex, the various retention options. It’s all completely new to me, so much so that I’m reminded of and gain a renewed appreciation for firearms newbies trying to get up to speed on firearms in general.
What do you carry IWB? I carry a shield 9mm. I started with a galco leather IWB then moved to GUNFIGHTERS INC. kydex IWB. Don’t even notice it most of the time. Plus as I stated before the retention is unbeatable. Great product.
My EDC IWB is a G26, but for OC I was contemplating going full size. Possibly G17 or 19, but maybe even Beretta 92?
There are some M1 rifle clones out there chambered in 9mm, which use those same Beretta 92 mags. So I was thinking of going full size for OC with something I could get more magazine mileage out of.
Can I get one for a Sig P320? G34? Seems only a few models on Amazon.
How do these hoslters work with 5″ guns? They look optomized for 4″ guns. Do you have a higher ride option for 5″?
How does one go about submitting a Kydex holster for review?
Looking for max concealment in an OWB holster. How would you rate this holster as compared to the K Rounds OWB you reviewed? I carry a Sig P 320sc in 9mm.
Thank You
Tactical measure and krounds are both good holsters like the closed belt loops better on the tactical measure a little more than the krounds both keep gun tight to body for concealing tactical measure for sar b6p compact krounds for Walther p99c for 50 bucks they are both hard to beat also have a alien gear for Ruger sr9c but living in Florida with hot weather only use in winter when cooler out because it has no sweat guard and needs a tee shirt to keep gun from rubbing skin for 30 buck it’s ok wish it had a sweat guard for tee shirt conceal in summer heat
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