Mouse Guns, Hot Weather Concealed Carry and Tactical Underwear

The summers in Virginia are brutal. It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. Making the task of concealing a handgun that much more difficult. Most summers I find myself putting away my usual carry guns, (Kahr PM40, Nighthawk Talon IV or SIG P239)  in favor of smaller, more ‘pocketable’ pistols like my Seecamp .380 or Ruger LCP.

Wearing a pistol wrapped in the the most ‘comfortable’ inside the waistband holsters (I’m partial to Milt Sparks leather) is like having a sweaty cheese grater next to your flesh. Generally, I am comfortable with the “mousegun compromise,“ recognizing the old adage that the gun you have with you is better than the one you have sitting at home on the night stand. It sounds good and it’s slightly comforting until you see the six-foot four inch specimen walking down the street and imagining that individual advancing at you with malice on his mind.

Then I begin to think about what type of shot placement is going to be required - and how close I’m going to have to be with my mouse gun to make this guy wince.

The inside the waistband carry problem in the summer is two-fold: in order to be comfortable, some sort of garment is required between the cheese and the grater. But, wearing another layer is hotter, compounding the problem. I have tried wearing a cotton t-shirt under a very light hawaiian shirt. This ‘solves’ the cheese grater problem but introduces the sweating profusely problem.

And, since the summer humidity in Virginia is abominable, the condition continues to exacerbate itself. Heat begets sweat, humidity multiplies the condition and now you’ve added a layer of of damp cheese cloth between the grater and the cheese (sorry I had no idea that this metaphor would adopt a life of it’s own) and the cotton shirt you’re wearing as a cover garment just serves to trap all that moisture.

I have tried many of the miracle fabrics that breath and (most importantly) dry faster than cotton. I have used Patagonia products extensively and for the most part find their products worthy of the premium price. Most of these products work as advertised with one annoying catch: they stink. Yes, if you have any intention of getting next to Mrs. or Ms. Concealed Carry, you’d better ditch the plastic underwear and shower PDQ.

After all of this, I have found a solution that works for me, allowing me to carry IWB on the hottest of days with one of my favorite Hawaiian shirts as a cover garment. You’re really not going to believe this, because it’s so counter-intuitive and really can’t be believed until you try it: a wool undershirt. Wait, before you leave in a huff, it works. I wear a wool ‘wife beater‘ undershirt (my apologies to the non-wife beating, sleeveless t-shirt wearing crowd) made by Ice Breaker. SmartWool also makes very nice Merino wool products, but so far, Ice Breaker is the only one who I have found who makes the sleeveless t-shirt.

The Ice Breaker sleeveless t-shirt is by far and away the lightest, driest and coolest undergarment I own. Somewhat counter-intuitively this wool is very cool wearing and not at all abrasive or scratchy. When it does become damp, unlike cotton it wicks moisture away from your skin and into the next layer. The result is dry air circulating next to your skin and not your cheese grater. I have to tell you, it is for me the most comfortable summer IWB solution I have tried yet. It works so well, that I’m done trying anything else. Also of great importance: it does not stink. I have worn the same wool under shirt for two straight days (trained professional, please do not try this at home) and it still passed my girlfriends bloodhound like stank detector. My plastic stuff couldn’t pass that same test after two hours!

So, the downside of this is that it’s not inexpensive. I can already hear a bunch of folks whining about a $50 t-shirt. These folks are the same ones who own $200 tactical flash lights and $3000 dollar 1911s. Believe me, I get it. That being said, this Ice Breaker stuff allows me to conceal carry pistols that I usually relegate to fall and winter. My Talon IV, even though it has been thoroughly ‘de-horned’ has checkering that will leave a serious road rash when worn against the skin all day. Two or three of these Ice Breaker t-shirts will easily last me a full week and give me the freedom to COMFORTABLY carry pretty much anything I can conceal with a cotton shirt. These t-shirts would be a bargain at twice the price.