I Carry: Glock G48 in a Galco KingTuk Air Holster

Welcome to another episode of "I Carry," Shooting Illustrated's weekly video series covering the guns and gear needed to put together a potential everyday-carry kit. Today we have a Glock G48 in a Galco Gunleather holster. We also have a Propper shirt, a SOG knife and a SureFire flashlight.

Glock G48 (MSRP: $580)

Glock’s new G48 is the single-stack 9 mm Glock that fans had been clamoring for since, well, about 20 minutes after the double-stack G19 hit store shelves. The double-column magazine of the G19 necessitates a much wider pistol than a single stack, and a thinner gun is easier to conceal. The G19 and G48 are the same overall length and height, and differ in weight only three and a quarter ounces. It’s the width, though, that’s the big difference: The G48 is a full quarter inch thinner than the G19. That can mean a significant difference in the ease with which one can conceal the G48.

Sure, you do lose five rounds of capacity, and if that’s a critical factor in your EDC gear, spring for an extra magazine for your backup. A G19 and one extra mag is precisely the same capacity as the G48 with two extra mags. Magazines for the G48 that have capacity greater than ten rounds are not currently available, but give it some time; it’s almost certain that particular market niche will have plentiful options shortly. It’s up to you to decide whether the lower-round-count of the G48 is or isn’t a deal breaker.

Other than the dimensional differences; there’s hardly any difference between the G48 and the G19—as long as you’re comparing the Gen5 G19. The G48 has the same safe-action trigger, the same grip angle, sights and everything else with which you’re familiar in the G19. There is one notable exception: there’s no accessory rail on the G48. Since it’s thinner than the G19, the standard rail won’t work. It’s worth theorizing that this may change in the future, but for now, you’re not going to be able to easily add a universal light and/or laser to the G48.

Galco KingTuk Air (MSRP: $69)

We’re acknowledging the easier concealability of the G48 with a Galco KingTuk tuckable hybrid holster. This holster system features a molded kydex shell attached to a leather backing. The theory behind the hybrid setup is that the kydex offers a precise, custom fit to the handgun that keeps it in place, while the leather is more forgiving against the skin

This particular variant is, as the name implies, tuckable. You can attach the holster to the belt while inside the waistband, then tuck a cover garment over it for extra concealment. The clips are still visible, so it’s not completely hidden, but to the vast majority of casual observers it’s not going to be seen.

A note of caution on tuckables: While these holsters do offer greater concealment, it comes at the price of accessibility. Rather than sweeping a cover garment aside to access your concealed firearm, you need to pull the cover garment up and out of the belt line, which can eat up precious seconds. It takes quite a bit of practice, which should be done with a blue gun for safety. Just something to think about. Personally, I prefer to leave the shirt untucked, but I know there are situations that may require it.

Propper Covert Button-up Short (MSRP: $19.99)

Since we’re talking about concealment and cover garments, let’s talk about this Propper Covert button-up shirt. Designed with concealed carry in mind, the Covert features CCW-friendly touches like breakaway snaps down the front for rapid access to your holstered firearm, magnetically sealed chest pockets and a pattern engineered to break up outlines for maximum concealment. Dedicated gear helps make concealing any firearm easier, and while the Glock G48 is pretty slim and unobtrusive, a proper cover garment makes sure that concealed means concealed.

SOG Flash FL (MSRP: $21.95)

A sturdy pocketknife is another EDC essential, and the Flash FL from SOG is an inexpensive option that’s definitely worth consideration. With a 3.44 inch blade constructed of 8CR13MOV steel, reversible pocket clip and frame lock, the Flash FL is full-featured—at an MSRP just over twenty bucks. Having a solid but inexpensive pocket knife is invaluable. If you’ve ever had to unexpectedly go through a metal detector, for example, it’s nice to have a knife that can be replaced without too big of a hit on the wallet. If that knife happens to have nicely textured steel handle, drop-point blade and easy thumbstud opening, it’s even better.

SureFire Stiletto (MSRP: $109)

The last item in our EDC kit today is another must-have: a good flashlight. Here we’re carrying a SureFire Stiletto rechargeable unit, which offers three settings from 5 lumens up to 650 lumens. The battery is charged using a standard micro-USB cable, which is pretty neat. I’ve got these cables all over my house, in my car, and even at my office—there’s plenty of opportunity to charge the Stiletto should it start to run low. Speaking of that, there’s a neat little LED light right next to the charging port that gives a quick approximation of charge. Green means it has 90 percent or greater, red means recharge ASAP, and yellow means you might want to plug it in the next change you get.

In addition, it only weighs 2.8 ounces, has a pocket clip for easy carry and even comes with a momentary-on tailcap switch. The Stiletto is also programmable for the sequence of the activation switch should you wish to change from the factory’s low-medium-high default. All this in a dirt-, impact-, and water resistant polymer body for around a hundred bucks? That’s a lot of value in your EDC light.