The Covert Companion was the second holster that Bill Wilson send me for testing. This is an IWB (Inside the Waist Band) holster, enhanced by some clever features.

The first is a stabilizing shield, which extends the holster surface by about 100%. This creates a paddle, which helps distribute the holster pressure on the bearer's body, more evenly, than it is the case, with simple IWB holsters. The shield is also contoured in such a way, to embrace the body of the bearer, thus allowing more confort. The holster has two straps that pass under your belt and which are secured with heavy duty snaps. These two straps, together with the shield, whose rough side is towards your pants, help stabilize the holster, at the exact position you put it, thus preventing it from moving around your waist.

The second interesting feature is a protrusion of the rear part of the holster, which covers (almost completely) the rear part of the slide and thumb safety, reducing the wear (and discomfort) on the bearer's body. This is a very interesting feature, especially for people living in hot climats and owing a blue gun (not a stainless). Your body sweat can create interesting deposits on blue guns!

I tried this holster with the same Bianchi belt I used for the Lo-Profile. I carried my M-1911 in this holster for several hours and I felt no discomfort at all. The holster stays exactly where you put it on your waist, without moving back or forth. This holster presents the same problem I had with the Lo-Profile, namely the fact that the gun's butt is carried high above the waist. It might be my particular body shape, but I prefer the gun to be tacked in, lower in my waistband, preferably with the belt passing above the triggerguard. In that way, the gun is pressed more towards my body, eliminating the shaping of the gun, outside your shirt. I have to note here, that I usually wear only a loose shirt hanging outside my pants, or a T-shirt, which provide all the concealment. However, I should note here, that the Covert Companion was much less prone to this problem than, say the Bianchi Model 19, that I use normally. With this last holster, the butt of the gun, protrudes quit a bit more than with the Covert Companion. I believe that the Covert Companion would be best suited for carrying larger guns, like a Government model, since the longer holster length, will reduce the problem much more than with my M-1911.

One other thing to note, is that the rear protrusion of the holster which covers the safety, works wonders. With other open-top holsters, the safety lever and the rear top corner of the sight cut on my skin. With this holster, that protrusion alleviates the problem completely.

Drawing from this holster is very fast. I did some quick draws (again, no specific times, simply my feeling), and the gun simply slides out and forward very easily. This might be attributed to the fact, that the front part of the holster is cut low, almost to the belt level, so the shooter can start moving his gun towards the target, as soon as the gun's muzzle is above his belt level.

Finally, I have to mention here, a problem I had with this holster. It looked as if the holster (which is a closed-muzzle one, meaning that the muzzle end of the holster is sawn) was a tiny bit short for my gun. I found that out, when I tried to insert the gun in the holster, with the hammer down. The gun goes down enough, then it stops. The frame however can still go in, about one more millimeter, enough to half-cock the pistol. This problem however can be alleviated as the holster is used more, since the holster was a very tight fit on the gun. As it loosens up, it might correct itself. On the other hand, this holster was a preproduction sample, so probably Wilson Combat have already taken care of it.

The most important characteristic of this holster, is the level of comfort it provides to the person who wears it. I had my M-1911 on myself, for more than 8 straight hours, without feeling the slightest discomfort. Thumbs up on that!

Return to Product Tests

Return to the M-1911 Pistols Home Page