Best OWB Holster For Glock 19 in 2024 [Top 10 Picks]

Here’s the good news: there’s no shortage of quality holsters made for the Glock 19. Unlike some other pistols, the Glock 19 has so many companies making holsters for it that your choice can be more about personal preference than objective quality. That said, my pick for best overall is the Blackhawk Serpa Sportster Holster. 

There are plenty of ways to differentiate between all the different holster options, and we’ll go over all those different ways in this article. If you’re unsure where to start or what considerations you should have when looking for an OWB holster, you can check out the buying guide further in this article.

Otherwise, we can jump right into the products that I would recommend for anyone looking for an OWB holster for their Glock 19.

10 Best OWB Holsters for Glock 19

1. BLACKHAWK Serpa Sportster Holster

I know not everyone loves Blackhawk, but the numbers don’t lie – the Serpa has over 7,500 reviews on Amazon alone, with an average 4.6 rating, and there are good reasons for that. 

The Serpa is available in either black or gray and for either left-handed shooters or right-handed. You get adjustable passive retention on the detent and a trigger finger lock to release the firearm from the holster. There’s an audible click when the gun is secured inside, and the paddle will fit not only duty belts but can work for carrying elsewhere on the body.

The paddle doesn’t keep things as tight on the duty belt as you may want, and a holster designed specifically for duty may keep things snugger, but it keeps everything where it’s supposed to be, and there shouldn’t be any risk of things falling out or otherwise failing.

There are three positions on the cant – forward, upright, and backward, which should work fine for most shooters. This may not be the holster for you if you have strong opinions about the difference between a 20-degree forward cant and a 25-degree forward cant.

Pros:

• Adjustable cant
• Adjustable retention
• Compatible with duty belts
• Can be carried elsewhere besides OWB if desired
• Same model also fits Glock 23, 32, and 36

Cons:

• Cant has three settings
• Fit on duty belt is snug but not perfect
• Only comes with paddle attachment; no belt clips included

2. Bedone G19 OWB Paddle Holster (Upgraded Version)

Since we’re already talking about adjustable cant, let’s look at the Bedone OWB holster for the Glock 19. This holster does a lot of things right, but probably the most interesting thing is that it allows you to get literally 360 degrees of adjustment on your cant.

You know, for all those times that you want your gun to hang upside down.

But this is an excellent option for the hardcore folks who want to adjust their cant further forward or backward than most holsters allow.

Besides the over-the-top cant adjustment, this holster offers a similar auto-locking mechanism and trigger-finger release button to the Blackhawk. It’s made of a “lightweight polymer” (not Kydex) that is plenty durable and strong, especially for the price point.

Overall, it takes up very little space on your hip and is a fairly comfortable option.

Pros:

• 360-degree adjustable cant
• Affordable price
• Adjustable retention
• Trigger finger quick-release button

Cons:

• Only fits belts up to 2” wide
• No audible click when the gun is secured

3. 1791 Gunleather XDS Thumb Break Holster

I’m a fan of leather holsters, and while I appreciate their functionality and durability, the truth is that there’s just something appealing about a leather holster. The XDS really goes a step further on the aesthetics by having a few different color options on the holster to get exactly what you want.

To secure the gun, the XDS uses a thumb break at the top, which I find to be just as quick to draw as the trigger finger releases that are common on Kydex and plastic holsters. You have two cant positions, either an FBI (forward cant) that will make your draws quick while standing or a back cant for easier draws while sitting.

1791 Gunleather has a lifetime warranty on all their products, including the XDS, so if you get one that was got by their quality control department, you can get a complete refund. This holster will also fit with an optic if you have one mounted on your G19.

Pros:

• Leather with multiple color choices
• Thumb break for retention
• Adjustable cant
• Compatible with optics

Cons:

• Won’t sit straight up (must be forward or backward)
• May stretch over time

4. Gun & Flower Level III Retention Duty Holster

One of the annoying things about most holsters is that they will only fit belts up to 1.5” or 2” wide. While some duty belts fit within that, most of them are 2.25” wide. Finding a holster that fits up to that width can be tough.

If you’re looking for one, look no further than the Gun & Flower, my friends. It comes in two flavors – the Kydex Level II retention and the Level III retention (pictured above). Level III is a “fiber-reinforced polymer” instead of Kydex and seems plenty strong and tight.

To release the firearm from the holster, you need to use both your thumb and index finger to disengage the retention before the gun will come clear. This might slow down your draw, of course, but practice can get that time down significantly. 

Check out this article on glock trigger upgrade by Hunting Mark.

The biggest drawback to this holster is that there isn’t much adjustability. You can’t adjust the cant (no pun intended) or the retention. Granted, the retention should come properly calibrated from the factory, but if not, there’s not much you can do besides return it.

Pros:

• Fits up to 2.25” duty belts
• Level III retention (if you want)
• Kydex (if you choose level II retention)

Cons:

• No adjustable retention
• No adjustable cant
• Made to fit multiple firearm models

5. Warriorland OWB Kydex Holster

A lot of these holsters are designed to accommodate optics, so if there’s another holster on this list that you like for other reasons, you can certainly check to see if it will work with the optic you have. For this one, though, Warriorland designed it specifically to work well with optics.

The retention is adjustable, and you should hear a click when it’s properly inserted. The cant, however, is not adjustable, so if that’s important to you, check one of the other holsters. It’s made of Kydex, which is the only material (besides leather, of course) that I would recommend when all other things are equal.

The clip will only accommodate belts up to 1.75” wide, which makes it great for everyday carry, but probably not as much for duty. Warriorland uses a “Posi-Click” audible retention system, which works well.

Pros:

• Will fit just about any optic you can put on a G19
• Kydex construction
• Lifetime warranty

Cons:

• No adjustable cant
• Won’t fit duty belts
• May need loc-tite on some of the screws

6. Bravo Concealment OWB Holster

As their name would imply, Bravo Concealment specializes in holsters for concealed carry, and as a matter of fact, another one of their holsters is our choice for best for concealing, but this one takes the top spot for being compatible with weapon lights.

It’s designed to fit a Glock 19 equipped with a Streamlight TLR1 out of the box and can work with other weapon lights if you’re comfortable modifying it to do so.

In order to accommodate the weapon light, the holster had to move the retention to be onto the light itself. As a consequence of this, the gap at the top between where the gun slides in and the actual edge of the holster is large enough to actually reach in and touch the trigger.

For a lot of folks, this may not be a problem, but if you have young children or are around children while carrying, the gap is certainly large enough for a little finger to get in there and discharge the weapon. The retention (level II) is sufficient to make it difficult enough for someone to take your firearm without you cooperating, so it’s really up to you.

Pros:

• Can fit a weapon light (TLR-1)
• Level II retention
• Fairly small profile, concealable

Cons:

• Retention is on the weapon light
• Gap at the top big enough for a finger
• May not work with some weapon lights

7. Gun & Flower Leather Thumb Break Holster

A lot of holsters on this list have lifetime warranties, and honestly, it can be hard to distinguish between different lifetime warranties. Most of the time, the real difference between lifetime warranties is how responsive and cooperative the company is when customers need to make a claim on the warranty.

I’ve not personally made a warranty claim with Gun & Flower, but they seem to do a pretty good job administrating it. The holster itself is quality leather and will mount up with a slightly forward cant.

Overall the holster works well and is comfortable, but if you’ve got an optic on your G19 it may not fit as well as you might hope. This holster is designed to fit multiple models of pistol, most of which are a little bigger than the G19, so the 19 might sit too low in the holster for the optic to also fit. It could work fine, but something to research if you’re considering it.

Pros:

• Lifetime warranty
• Nice leather
• Slightly forward cant

Cons:

• Made to fit multiple firearm models
• Not double-stitched

8. Bravo Concealment OWB Holster for Concealed Carry

As a general rule, I don’t consider OWB holsters for carrying concealed, but there are situations where they can work well. Anytime you’re wearing a jacket for work, going to church, or any other reason, carrying outside the waistband can give you quicker access to your firearm than carrying inside the waistband would.

Obviously, if you’re just wearing a t-shirt like the guy in the picture above, the gun and holster are going to print heavily, and you might as well just open carry at that point.

Silly marketing photos aside, if you want to carry concealed OWB, then this is a good holster to look at. Not only can you adjust the cant and retention, but you can also adjust how high the holster rides on the belt. In addition, you can get IWB clips for this holster to swap it to the inside if you need to.

This will only work with belts up to 1.5” in width, but since you generally won’t be carrying concealed while wearing a duty belt, that’s probably not a big concern here. BCA also has a number of accessories that pair well with this, including paddle attachments and extra magazine pouches.

Pros:

• Easy(ish) to conceal
• Options for swapping to IWB
• Adjustable cant
• Adjustable retention and ride

Cons:

• Polymer construction
• Only comes in black

9. TEGE Glock 19 OWB Holster

I know right now you might be thinking, “Cameron, surely carrying ‘off-duty’ isn’t different from any other type of everyday carry, right? What could possibly make a holster best for such a specific use case?”

Well, friends, I shall tell you. First, if you’re looking for a holster specifically to wear while off duty, you probably don’t want to spend a ton of money on it since you already have a holster, and the Tege is one of the most affordable holsters on this list. 

Second, you want it to be simple, straightforward, and effective because you won’t be clocking as many practice hours at the range with this one as you do your duty holster. The Tege has a simple but effective level II retention system, and you can choose between a forefinger release or a thumb release.

And that’s the third thing that makes it great for an off-duty holster. If you want, you can choose a thumb release that makes it much harder to reach for children or assailants while still being quick and easy to draw. Lots of holsters work for off-duty, but the Tege seems designed specifically for it.

Pros:

• Can choose between thumb release and forefinger release
• Low profile
• Affordable price
• Adjustable cant

Cons:

• Retention isn’t level III
• Polymer construction

10. Relentless Tactical Ultimate Leather

For those that have multiple pistols they may choose to carry on a given day, the idea of a single holster that works with all of them can be quite appealing. Personally, I like to pick a single pistol and carry it exclusively, but different strokes for different folks. Even for someone like me, when you buy a new carry pistol, it’s nice not to also have to buy another holster.

If you want to go the more universal route, I’d recommend looking at the Ultimate Leather holster from Relentless Tactical. It’s not truly universal; dropping a G43 in there would give you no retention at all, but it will fit anything similar in size to a G19 or G17. Holsters that are designed to be even more universal are generally made of neoprene.

Neoprene can be a good choice for IWB, but I would never recommend it for OWB.

The fit is remarkably tight on the G19 and keeps it in place better than I would have expected. There’s no tactical retention here, and there’s no thumb break or other snap that keeps the gun in place. It works well, but I don’t know if I would trust it on a run.

Pros:

• Nice, tight fit
• Works with multiple firearm models
• Thick leather

Cons:

• No tactical retention
• Not adjustable in any way (ride, retention, cant)

What to Consider While Choosing the Best OWB Holster for the Glock 19

Are You Carrying On or Off Duty?

It might be a bit surprising to realize that one of the biggest issues with finding a holster is getting one that is designed for the size of belt you’ll be using, but that’s really the case sometimes. If you are looking for a duty holster, chances are you’re using a 2.25” duty belt, in which case most of the holsters you see aren’t going to work for you.

Of course, if you are looking for a duty holster, chances are you already know a lot more about them than I do.

Whether you’re carrying on or off the job also has other implications. Off the job, you might be happy with level II retention, while on the job, you might require level III retention. If you’re not sure what those things mean, just read on, and I’ll cover it in a bit.

Leather, Kydex, or Polymer?

A lot of this comes down to personal preference, but there are practical cases for all of them. Leather is tough, durable, and only gets better over time (to a point). Leather is also more forgiving and has a lot fewer pointy corners. If your holster bumps into something, leather won’t make nearly as obvious of a noise as a Kydex or polymer holster.

Kydex is a really cool material, and it’s not “just another polymer.” Technically, it’s a thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride (thanks, Wikipedia). It has a lot of the same advantages as leather, but it also doesn’t need to be treated or maintained periodically to stay nice.

Polymer’s main advantage is that it’s cheap. Despite its negative reputation, the polymers that most holster manufacturers use is plenty tough and durable to stand up to normal use over a long period of time.

Also Read: 7 Best Kydex Holsters For Handguns

Warranty

Getting a good holster warranty isn’t as important as it would be for something much more expensive (like a good optic), but it’s still something to consider as you’re shopping around to figure out what kind of holster you like best. 

A company offering a lifetime warranty has the incentive to put an extra bit of effort into making sure they don’t have to make good on that warranty by making products that don’t break or malfunction. 

Is it a silver bullet? No, and you should always read reviews and do your homework rather than just trust a company that has a “lifetime warranty” on their website, but it can be a good indicator of a company that’s playing the long game by making good products and standing by them.

Retention

Technically, there are four levels of retention, but generally, you’ll only come across the first three.

Level I retention essentially means that it’s just a tight fit and requires a good yank to get it out of the holster. This is the bare minimum standard for a good holster, in my opinion. The only exception would be some IWB carry situations.

Level II generally requires one release – one button, one snap, one action that has to be taken in order to release the firearm, followed by the ‘good yank’ provided by level I retention. If you’re open-carrying, it is my opinion that you generally should have at least level II retention.

Level III retention requires two releases in addition to the ‘good yank’. Often this is a thumb switch on the inside and a forefinger button release on the outside.

I may be wrong on the exact definitions of those three retention levels, but in practice, that is what the terms mean.

Adjustability

Holsters are designed by people, and throughout the testing process, they are worn by actual people, which generally means that most holsters will be pretty close to how an “average” person would want them. For someone buying their first holster or who doesn’t carry very often, that’s probably just fine.

If you’re picky or planning on carrying a lot, though, you may want the ability to make tweaks to your holster, whether by tightening or loosening the retention, changing the cant, or adjusting the ride height on your hip.

There’s no real way to know whether you’ll want to do this until you start trying some holsters out. Luckily holsters aren’t as expensive as some other firearm accessories, so if you buy one or two that don’t work out, it’s not the end of the world.

FAQ

Final Thoughts

So overall, if you’re not sure what to look for, I would recommend the Blackhawk Serpa holster as the first place to start. If you look at the Serpa first, even if you don’t end up choosing it, you’ll have something to compare every other holster to. The Serpa is good for a lot of situations, but it’s not perfect for everything.

As always, let your own use case be your guide in choosing which holster to purchase. Are there any holsters that belong on this list? Have you had experiences with any of these holsters? Let me know.