Phlster Enigma SHOT Show 2021

Alright, so this wouldn’t really be considered SHOT Show coverage of a new product since it came out in 2020. It is, however, it’s a little known gem on the concealed carry market that will make all the athletes trying to stay armed very, very happy. The Enigma is being hailed as the very first Concealment Chassis, but for our purposes we’ll just call it the belly band from Cyber Punk 2077.

The Phlster Enigma allows the user to utilize an existing but compatible holster with more flexibility for movement, because of that it’s a belly band that allows you to keep the retention & safety of a traditional Kydex holster, while getting the flexibility of a belly band. In order to get this done, Phlster teamed up with AXL Advanced to design the chassis; you’ll see their logo on the carbon fiber piece that your holster attaches to.

There is a catch that I mentioned before, the Enigma only works with compatible holsters; no, compatible doesn’t mean it has to be a holster from Phlster. A compatible holster has to be non-lightbearing (the example above is a Phlster Pro Series Holster). It also needs to have one of three specific “wing” or “claw” attachments on it.

Now that we’ve gone over what the Phlster Enigma is, let’s go over what it’s made of. It’s a 12-point adjustable chassis system (advanced belly band) made-up of Mil-Spec 17337 nylon webbing, a Fidlock magnet-assisted buckle that can be swapped out for any 1.5″ buckle, and in the center is the carbon fiber faceplate produced by AXL Advanced. The leg leash you see is made up of a stretch nylon material, the purpose is to keep the system anchored down when you go to draw the gun.

All around, the Phlster Enigma does more than filling a niche for those that live an active lifestyle, or want to carry while they’re at the gym. It helps the average concealed carrier with carrying a larger firearm without needing to dress around the gun. It will also make it more comfortable to carry the gun, which means more people will carry more often.

This is a product that the concealed carry market needed, desperately. Too many individuals were sacrificing lethality with mouse guns to be armed and too many were sacrificing safety with soft belly bands that made the trigger vulnerable to exterior forces. The Enigma solves all of those issues it seem and I hope other companies try to innovate this way.

For those curious about how adjustable the Enigma is, Jon Hauptman goes over how to adjust this holster to fit your needs.