Author Archives: Cloudster Pillow

Cloudster Pillow is a small family business that makes the Cloudster Pillow, an adjustable-fill holster pillow for IWB and appendix carry. Questions about anything on this page: cloudster@cloudsterpillow.com.

Cloudster Pillow's founder has carried appendix for years, started out with traditional foam wedges, found none that worked, and built the Cloudster Pillow for personal carry. Every Cloudster Pillow is made in the USA.

The Best Gun Belts for Heavy Firearms (1.5″ vs 1.75″)

Gun Belts for Heavy Firearms

The best gun belts for heavy firearms do one job above all others: they refuse to fold under weight. If you have moved past a micro-compact polymer 9mm and strap on a full-size, double-stack pistol—a Glock 17, a Sig P320, or a steel-framed 1911—your belt is no longer a wardrobe accessory. It is a structural […]

How Stiff Should a CCW Belt Actually Be?

How Stiff Should a CCW Belt Be

Ask any veteran concealed carrier how stiff should a CCW belt be, and you will usually get the same reflexive answer: “As stiff as you can possibly find.” It is well-meaning advice, and for a beginner graduating from a flimsy department-store belt, it is directionally correct—but it is also incomplete, and in some cases actively […]

Ratchet Belts: How They Work, Pros and Cons, and Ratchet vs Regular Belts

Quick answer: A ratchet belt has no holes. A toothed track runs along the inside of the strap, and a spring-loaded catch in the buckle locks onto it. You slide the strap in to tighten and press a release tab to loosen. Because the teeth are close together (Kore’s run in quarter-inch steps, with over […]

The Importance of 65Mn Spring Steel in Everyday Carry Gear

In the world of Everyday Carry (EDC), the failure of a single component can render an entire piece of gear useless. For pocket-carried equipment, the most common point of failure is not the chassis or the retention mechanism—it is the pocket clip. A cheap clip will bend and lose its tension after a few weeks […]

How to Perform a Tactical Reload from the Pocket

Under stress, fine motor skills degrade rapidly. If you ever find yourself staring at an empty chamber or clearing a malfunction during a defensive encounter, your reload technique needs to be entirely driven by gross motor skills and muscle memory. For those who carry their spare ammunition Inside the Waistband (IWB), the mechanics are fairly […]

Why Neodymium Magnets are the Future of Mag Retention

If you look at the evolution of concealed carry gear, the progression is clear. We moved from soft leather holsters that collapsed upon drawing to rigid Kydex that offered superior trigger protection and retention. But while primary holsters evolved, spare magazine carriers were largely left behind, still relying on the exact same friction-based technology. Until […]

IWB vs. Pocket Carry for a Spare Mag: What I Carry

When the slide locks back and your chamber is empty, the clock starts. In a defensive encounter, a rapid reload isn’t just a competitive shooting drill—it is a critical survival skill. But how fast you can get a fresh magazine into your firearm depends entirely on how and where you carry it. For decades, the […]