Anyone that carries a pistol, should have a good holster. It doesn’t matter if you conceal carry, or just open carry. The point is, everyone needs a holster. This brings us to Rough Cut Holsters. They sent me one of their Rhaegal inside the waistband (IWB) holsters, with a few asked for modifications. This holster is nicer than I was expecting.

The Rhaegal holster is one of Rough Cut’s IWB holsters. This particular one is for a Kahr CM9. They make this holster for a number of common pistols like Glocks, Sigs, Smith & Wessons, etc. The Rhaegal is a taco style holster. Meaning that it is one piece of kydex wrapped around the firearm. It’s a common type of IWB holster, especially for concealed carry.

I asked for some options on this holster. One of them was a small “claw”. It adds like $5 to the price. But I really wanted to see if the claw would help conceal the small pistol better. Rough Cut told me it probably wouldn’t, and guess what? The holster maker was correct. The point is, they will let you do options, even if it doesn’t make much sense.

Rough Cut also has various pattern and color options for their holsters. As we know, everyone likes to somewhat personalize their gear. I opted for a zombie green topo kydex with zombie green washers. It’s an IWB so nobody really sees it anyways. But if you want options, they can give you options. They also will do custom holsters. If they don’t have your firearm, they have some options for that also.

There are many great features to the Rhaegal holster:

First up, it comes standard with the Discreet Carry Concepts (DCC) monoblock clip. This is the clip that attaches it to your belt, and the DCC is the best in my opinion. You can wear the holster straight up and down, or adjust the DCC clip to give you a 20 degree cant. Both holes are pre-drilled in the holster. I use the 20 degree cant as I feel it hides the butt of the pistol better. With this clip, the Rhaegal holster doesn’t move at all on my belt, it just stays where I put it! There is also an option for belt loops, if that’s what you like. I did ask for them to include holes to mount an UltiClip or another type of DCC clip, Rough cut supplied the extra holes. I did try it out using a single DCC clip and it works fine. This actually made the holster ride farther down the waist, and helped conceal the holster a tad bit better. It does make it slightly harder to get a good grip when drawing the pistol. So I went back to the way the Rhaegal came. But if you need ultimate discrete carry, that may be the way to go.

Next up, is the quality. For the price you pay, I have never had a holster with as much attention to detail put into it. The Rhaegal is made from 0.080” thick kydex or boltaron. The thickness keeps the holster stable when drawing or reholstering. It also gives the pistol a positive “click” when holstering or when drawing the firearm out of the holster. The Rhaegal’s design gives it an undercut trigger guard feature. This undercut makes it easier to get a full grip, on the pistol, when drawing. But yet it still covers the trigger guard completely. The edges on the holster are the smoothest I have seen. Rough Cut explained how they do this. All I heard was, “lots of time is taken to do this”. The Rhaegal also came in a nice little cotton bag, just another little touch that Rough Cut adds in.

Last up, is retention. I already mentioned the “click” when holstering and unholstering. But you also get adjustable retention. The 2 screws, in front of the trigger guard area, can be tightened or loosened to your liking. I have mine set somewhere in between tight and loose. I still get really good retention, in fact, if I hold the holster and shake it, the pistol stays in the holster. But yet it still has a really smooth draw to it.

I literally have been wearing the Rhaegal everyday since it arrived. It took about a week for me to get used to it. It just rode in a different spot than my previous holster. After that initial week, I don’t even know I am wearing it. I wear it at 3 O’clock, but it can also be worn appendix also. Practice draws are way smoother than my previous holster. Reholstering is also super smooth. I have lots of practice draws with it, they are just as smooth today as when I first received the holster. The Rhaegal’s high sweat guard is rounded in a way that I do not notice it pushing on my side. This is a big plus, as I shy away from high sweat guards because I have not had good luck with them in the past. It is hard to put into words how well this holster carries and works. So you’ll actually have to trust me on this, it just does everything one would want a quality holster to do.

One of the reasons to get an IWB holster is concealment. Well, since I am using a small pistol, the Rhaegal/pistol combo just disappears. I literally can wear this combo with shorts and a T-shirt. The comfort also helps. Since the combo is small and uses a DCC clip, I can wear it without a belt. I don’t recommend this, but I have done it without feeling like my holster was going to fall out/off.

Rough Cut Holsters did a great job with the Rhaegal. They make a bunch of other holster styles also. So if this little IWB rig isn’t what you want, well, they probably have you covered with something else. Their prices are very reasonable, especially when you see the quality you are getting. So far in my review career, this is the first holster company that I will be buying another holster from. So if that doesn't tell you how I feel about Rough Cut Holsters, I don’t know what will. Definitely go check out Rough Cut Holsters, and maybe tell them we sent you over.