The Carry Kit Checklist

Introduction

Why this guide exists, and how to use it

Most people who stop carrying don’t stop because of the gun. In our experience they stop because the rig let them down. The holster dug in by lunch. The belt sagged. The spare magazine rode loose in a pocket, collecting grit. Or the day’s clothes simply had nowhere to put any of it. A week of that, and the gun goes back in the safe.

That is a fixable problem. A carry kit is four parts that depend on each other: the holster, the belt, a way to protect the spare magazine, and a backup for the days your main setup won’t work. Get all four right and carrying stops being a chore you put up with. It becomes something you do every day without thinking about it.

This guide takes you through each part, shows the five most common ways a kit fails and the real cause behind each, and ends with a checklist you can tick off as you build your own.

Who we are. Sneaky Pete has made carry gear since 2011. Our holsters and cases are hand crafted in the finest calfskin, and the highest quality nylon, and canvas materials. We make the gear; we are not lawyers. Where the law comes up, this guide points you to the people who can answer for your state.

What this guide is not. It is not legal advice, and it is not a shopping list. It is for anyone putting together a first carry setup, or fixing one that never quite worked.

How to use it. Read the four parts in order, because they build on each other. Then open The Checklist and work down it. On screen, your ticks are kept in this browser on this device, so you can close the guide and come back later. Open the file on another computer or in another browser and the checklist starts fresh.On a printed copy, tick each box with a pen as you go.

Start Here — A Kit, Not a Shopping List

Why the piece you skipped is the piece that ruins it

Here is how it usually goes.

You spend weeks picking the gun. Weeks more picking the holster. Then you grab whatever belt is already in your closet. You drop a spare magazine in your pocket. You call it done.

Then the whole thing quietly underperforms. And you blame the holster.

Carrying a firearm is a system. It is not a shopping list. There are four pieces, and they depend on each other. Get one wrong and you feel it in the other three.

Why this matters more than it sounds

Think about the carry stories you have heard. The gun left at home because it was too heavy. The rig that got uncomfortable by noon. The magazine that fouled. The setup that felt so obvious the owner stopped wearing it.

Almost none of those are gun problems. They are system problems. In our experience they are the reason most people we hear from quit carrying, which is the only outcome that really counts.

Plan the whole system once, then buy the weakest piece first. Buy one piece at a time with no plan, cheapest first, and in our experience you end up assembling the same thing the slow way. You don't have to.