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I can't think of good alternatives for carry besides belt. Advice welcome.

The two options I can think of are the belly band and shoulder holsters. The belly band is an elastic band that might cause the same problems or might ride higher than a belt and work for you. Obviously a shoulder rig would not put pressure on your lower back the same way.

I don't recommend ankle holsters except for last resort guns, but I admit that this is my personal prejudice against them.

A third option I thought of as I typed this might also work. It depend on your clothing options. There are concealed carry t-shirts that have holsters built into the shirt. One example is show at http://magills.com/pgroup_descrip/40_Co ... lothing%2F" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but there may be others available. 5.11 makes sport shirts and jackets that have holsters built in also.

Maybe take a look at a Kangaroo Carry?

another option could be the Kangaroo Holster
http://www.kangaroocarry.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I do like the idea of a shoulder holster, if it can be made to conceal easily, but I have another possible suggestion. I carry quite a bit of stuff on my belt and in my pockets when working in "the field", and needed better support for the load. I bought some industrial grade suspenders (Perry's brand) that use j-hooks to connect to the belt, and my carry load is supported by my shoulders much like a shoulder holster. I also deal with lower back problems, as well as a couple of fused vertabrae between my shoulder blades, but nothing as severe as a herniated disc. But, I found after the first day of using the three point suspenders that my day was much more comfortable.

just a thought.

surv

I think thunderwear and smart carry would put strain on your lower back....

a belly band could be moved around so that you could find the right place for it, I've heard of people wearing it high even.

really I'm thinking your best choice would be a shoulder rig. one of the t-shirt styles, while very clever and curious, look very hot to me except, well, yesterday maybe

It is not optimum, but I have, and have used, a Wilderness Safepacker. http://www.thewilderness.com/index.php? ... t=171&pg=1



You have the possibility of forgetting it somewhere, letting it out of your hands etc. I used it some with a 226 and with a P7M8, and never had an issue of that. That doesn't mean nobody else will, of course.

There is a video at the link with the pros and cons.

Shoulder holster or a kangaroo carry. I used to carry a H&K USP Compact .40 in my shoulder holster, a pistol roughly the same size as your Glock 30. It carried very well that way.

I also suffer from a very bad back, and I have had surgery and hardware implanted, and it used to be worse even before the surgery. I wear a Wilderness Tactical Instructor's Belt, and an OWB holster. It is not "All Day" comfortable for me, but it is relatively comfortable, and I can wear my gun without problem for hours at a time. I still have the shoulder holster, but I need to buy another holster body for it to fit my EDC as I no longer own the H&K.

I also suffer from low back trouble. I have no problem with a S&W 340PD (.357 J-Frame) in my pocket with a speedloader.

I use a Kangaroo fairly often. I play musical instruments in front of my church and am concerned about the IWB showing with just the dress shirt that I wear most of the Summer. I carry a Sig Compact and find the Kangaroo comfortable with it. It does have a couple of drawbacks

- it is made from unbleached muslin and must be hand washed. Because I perspire a fair amount just getting to and from the church in the Summer, that means a fair amount of care for it. In cooler weather, I wear an undershirt under it an that helps.

- draw is definitely slower. I'm satisfied with the speed of my draw from my IWB and the Kangaroo, even with regular practice, is 2x to 4x slower. Whenever possible, I use my IWB. When it isn't, I accept the limitation.

I've had and used the Kangaroo for over 2 years.

Suspenders with a small 9mm in a pocket holster.

ldavidson ,

I too had one or two ruptured discs (don't precisely remember the number) and after a lot of other, less than surgical 'modalities' - I had surgery.

All it amounted to was a bit of disc material and a very small amount of bone removal to relieve the pressure on my sciatic nerve, and voila' - pain gone. (I can wear an OWB holster and Glock 19 all day long with no pain)

This was done by a neurosurgeon.

In at 10:00 A.M. - home roughly two hours later.

Initially, I was quite frightened to have back surgery after hearing all the horror stories of back surgery gone afoul.

If you're holding off because of the stories you've heard, perhaps you should talk to a neurosurgeon.

P.S. Orthopedic guys approach this type surgery differently and it's not a route I would choose. The neuro guys jokingly call the type surgery I had - a nibble-ectomy... Presumably, because they remove so little to get the job done. Ortho guys (if I recall correctly) fuse the bones as their method to fix this type problem and that's not for me...

Anyway, food for thought.

Thanks for all the helpful answers.

One option that I use quite often is a leather vest with a pocket inside for a weapon. It does take some getting used to for the balance of the vest but works great.

I have to say that I went through 20+ years of the back pain you describe before I finally had surgery. Like stated above, see a neurosurgeon and not an ortho doc. Although I was in the hospital overnight, I was up walking in 2 hours after surgery (as soon as I was good and awake) and have not regretted it since. I will tell you that you will feel the weather changes a day or so before they arrive but the discomfort is far less than the pain I went through.

Also, on a side note, my neurosurgeon told me that the best thing I could do for my back was to lose my front.

I have the following vest and it works well year round. Carry compact 9 or 40 in inside pocket in pocket holster for cross draw and carry double mag holder in opposing inside pocket. Plenty of pockets for other items. Spreads weight distribution better than shoulder rigs or 5.11 undershirts in addition to better concealment and easy draw.

http://www.amazon.com/Rothco-Plaincloth ... y+clothing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;