Welcome to another “I Carry” segment, bringing you firearms and gear for personal defense. Today we’re taking a look at the Beretta APX Carry in a DeSantis holster, along with some other EDC essentials. Let’s take a closer look at this gear.
Firearm: Beretta APX Carry (MSRP: $349)
Released in 2019, Beretta’s APX Carry pistol is built on the solid foundation of the APX platform, but smaller. A lot smaller. While the original APX was designed as a large, duty-size pistol for mainly law-enforcement and home-defense use, a Compact variant better suited for concealed carry soon followed. The APX line proved so popular that the Carry model was introduced in 2019, bringing a single-stack subcompact to the line. What’s especially noteworthy about this development is that Beretta already had a subcompact, single-stack, striker-fired 9 mm in its line-up, the Nano, released in 2011.
If the APX Carry’s size seems familiar, it should. It hits the sweet spot for a lightweight 9 mm in that you can get most of a three-finger grip on the pistol with the magazine extension in place. It’s still less than 20 ounces empty, just 5.6 inches long and less than an inch wide. Tucked in a good inside-the-waistband holster, it proves quite easy to conceal and carry all day long. An aggressive texture on the grip helps keep it firmly in the hand on the range, while controls are minimal – there’s only a slide-stop lever and a magazine release button to keep track of on the APX Carry. Perhaps most interesting are the sights. Rather than simply adopt the familiar three-white-dot setup, the APX Carry wears a white dot on the front sight while maintaining a plain, serrated rear sight. The contrast makes picking up the front sight easy, which is exactly what you want in a small, defensive pistol.
Competing in a very crowded market where the biggest names have entrants is tough. Beretta’s APX Carry adapts some of the best features of the APX line to a concealed-carry friendly package, and that’s no small feat. One of the more difficult tasks with the, well, more esoteric concealed-carry options is finding quality gear to accompany these offerings, which we’ll cover in the next segment.
Holster: DeSantis Cozy Partner holster (MSRP: $84.99)
While the APX Carry is equally at home in an appendix-style Kydex rig, there’s plenty of folks who prefer traditional inside-the-waistband carry. DeSantis’ Cozy Partner line of holsters offers leather construction, black or tan finish, pull-the-dot straps and adjustable retention. The APX Carry is just about the perfect size for this style holster, as the slim width lends itself to being carried comfortably, while the short barrel allows for rapid presentation when needed. A sweat guard protects the APX’s finish from perspiration—and your tender sides from abrasion from those distinctive slide serrations.
Knife: Kershaw Static (MSRP: $59.99)
Kershaw’s Static knife is, admittedly, not a terribly tactical knife. The 2.8-inch, 8Cr13Mov steel, cleaver-style blade is far more suited to cutting than fighting. You know what, though? In all my years, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been in knife fights (with five fingers left over), while the number of times I’ve used a knife to open a package or otherwise just cut something numbers, well, certainly in the thousands. Statistically, a knife built for cutting is going to be more useful than a dedicated fighting blade, and with the flipper opening mechanism and sturdy frame lock, the Static will serve you quite well. Push comes to shove, it will serve just fine in a fight, too.
Accessory: Mission First Tactical Dump Tray (MSRP: $29.99)
At the end of the day, having a place for all your stuff is one of life’s little pleasures. In the case of your EDC gear, though, it helps to keep everything in one handy place. Mission First Tactical’s Dump Tray has two separate areas, one sized for your cellular device and one slightly larger for your wallet, pocketknife, keys, spare magazine and anything else of that nature you want to have close at hand to start the day. Trays are available in a wide variety of colors and designs, and are all handmade in the USA by Veterans. Five rubber feet strategically placed on the underside help keep the tray from moving around or marring surfaces. Sorry, the Shooting Illustrated design isn’t among the offerings – this was a special run.
