Braxton Taylor
The Jake Holster is a concealed-carry holster launched by Raven Concealment Systems at the tail-end of 2023. Raven Concealment partnered with Matt Jaques of Victory First to work on The Jake’s design, which incorporates a combination of classic Raven Concealment design cues along with more modern touches from current EDC firearms and trends. In designing this concealment holster, Jaques also relied on his extensive experience as an undercover detective from his law enforcement career for added insights. The Jake can be carried in the strongside inside-the-waistband (IWB) or in the appendix inside-the-waistband (AIWB) positions while also providing both right- and left-handed people a level of convenience with its fully ambidextrous design. Even hardware included with The Jake can easily be mirrored to suit the end user.
The Jake Holster Overview
As its main means of connection to a gun belt, The Jake incorporates Raven Concealment’s classic 1.5-inch overhooks, made from a flexible yet durable polymer material. While these overhooks don’t lock-in like the bite of a Moray eel like some other metal clips on the market, I find them a bit more comfortable to wear, especially on long trips where the holstered gun settles on my person as I drive and stop at gas stations. Raven Concealment overhook clips have attached many a holster to my belts, and the company even incorporates them into their premium flagship concealment holster, the Executive VSB. Raven also pairs a low-profile “claw” that puts leverage against the belt to tuck the pistol’s grip closer to the body.
To protect coat linings, undergarments and the body itself from the sometimes sharp metal edges of pistols, The Jake has integrated full size body-shields/sweat guards that cover the sides of the slide nearly all the rear. Material contours on The Jake are also cut to stay clear of slide-mounted reflex sights, which are finding their way onto more and more everyday carry pistols nowadays. Likewise, the Boltaron material is folded in such a way that its bend makes a high arch to clear taller back-up iron sights that are often paired with slide-mounted reflex sights.
For many years, savvy concealed carriers have been sticking wedges made from foam or other materials onto their holsters to tweak, tune and tuck holstered pistols over their bodies for better concealment. Raven offers an interesting solution–each Jake holster comes with a couple of different sized “solid wedges” whose screw-holes line up with other screw-holes on the holster for secure fastening. After receiving the holster, the wearer can try the different sized wedges (4 total 1 large, 1 small for both right and left sides) on for an ideal fit and skip cutting and gluing foam.
Carrying With The Jake
I’ve been carrying a Glock G48 with The Jake for the better part of three months. I’m used to carrying a duty-sized Glock with a light, and there’s no doubt that the Glock G48’s smaller and lighter form-factor makes it easier and more comfortable to carry regardless of chosen holsters. With that said, The Jake is the first appendix holster of any kind that I’ve used with any sort of wedge, and it’s nice seeing how it helps since a holster sized for a Glock G48 doesn’t have much of a keel (vertical stabilizing length, like that found on a sailboat). As previously mentioned, the flexibility of the Raven polymer overhooks adds a degree of comfort and play between my belt, holster and body needed for extended wearing comfort. Besides several extended drives, I wore this holster during the season opener for dove hunting, which involves much sitting, standing and crouching and The Jake was never a hindrance.
The Takeaway
Raven Concealment has been established in the holster business for over two decades now. Years ago, it was the success of the company’s Kydex Phantom holsters that popularized it. After that, the versatile AIWB/IWB Eidolon made some waves in the mid 2010s–the same timeframe that appendix carry was starting to become more widely accepted. The Jake’s goal is to provide a practical, concealable and easy-to-carry holster that’s available for both standard double-stack Glock pistols along with the thinner “slimline” models. The Jake also fits modern SIG Sauer P365/XLs and P320s in addition to Staccato 2011 P/ C1/C2 double-stack 2011 models. Retail pricing for The Jake starts at $124.99. Visit rcsgear.com to learn more.
Read the full article here