The irony remains that AIWB carry (appendix position) of guns is nothing new at all. Cowboys often did it, officers in colonial days put flintlock pistols in that position, and even the Caribbean pirates typically wore their black powder pistols forward of the hips. The advantage of appendix carry was not lost entirely in the 20th Century either, as many deep cover cops in the urban environment would conceal handguns in this location during the 70s and 80s, and likely before.
However, in the last decade, AIWB has taken hold in the concealed carry sector like never before, and this has been driven by several factors. To begin with, simply having so many people now carrying guns has led many to seek out the best way to conceal a gun on the body, and for many, that is AIWB. Second, with a lot of high-end practitioners using it, the merits of AIWB are now well established. Third, the incredible advancement in holster technology in the last decade has made AIWB more comfortable and concealable than ever. It is this technological advancement that has made AIWB so popular and versatile. Dedicated AIWB holsters that use wings/claws, wedges, and the right kind of clips or loops, have elevated concealment to a point that larger guns can truly disappear on the body if we put effort into it.
Sure, we all have our opinions, and mine is that AIWB is the best way to carry a concealed handgun for a squared-away armed citizen in our contemporary environment. The benefits in concealment, accessibility, and speed of deployment are self-evident to anyone who has put in the time with it. The common modern casual clothing style, which typifies an untucked shirt more so than the standard tucked shirt of decades past, facilitates the universal use of AIWB; it is simply the easiest way to conceal a larger gun with contemporary clothing choices.
Further, the advent of better belly band options, typified primarily by the Phlster Enigma (which is not really a belly band) has changed our choices for concealed carry even when wearing a tucked-in shirt. For cops who wear suites, the carry of a service pistol, strong-side, under a jacket, will probably remain the norm, but that is a different set of demands and priorities compared to the armed citizen.
If you conceal a gun under a jacket as a citizen, unlike a cop, you can never take the jacket off when in the company of others. Therefore, concealment under a jacket has always been problematic for the armed citizen, unless you will be in a cooler environment for the entire duration of your public outing. I have never found that limitation feasible. Even with the use of an open-front shirt, or a vest, the inability to take that additional layer of clothing off is a limitation that can be conspicuous. With a Philster Enigma or similar solution, even a larger gun can be easily concealed under the tucked-in shirt, thus eliminating the need for the second-layer cover garment, which significantly deepens concealment and increases convenience.
Which brings me to this: AIWB carry, which can work for both tucked and untucked garments, offers a single concealment mode that works for almost any situation. Strong-side carry can’t do that, and even pocket or ankle carry is dependent on the right garments. If you could only keep the gun in one body location, yet want to remain armed at all times possible, AIWB facilitates that ability better than any other concealment mode. I still use pocket carry occasionally, and even ankle carry for the rare event that I carry a backup gun, but AIWB facilitates concealed carry in almost every situation in the contemporary lifestyle.
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