I'd be happy to show you my shield sometime. I love carrying it all day! I actually forgot that I was wearing it just now until I opened up this thread. Haven't taken it off since about 8am and never have any uncomfortable "end of the day pains" from it digging into my back, etc. If you're going to "pocket carry," It's probably a little big, as is the LC9, IMO. If I was going to pocket carry, I'd look for something a little smaller like the LCP or one with a pocket clip like somebody mentioned. With the right holster, you can get a shield or LCP size gun to conceal REALLY well like Herzog said. Before I bought my gun, I went to the range and shot all of them that they had that were the size I was looking for and that helped a ton. I settled on the M&P compact, but before I ended up buying it the shield came out so I jumped on it as soon as it was available and got lucky (after a 6 week wait) to get one. It shoots great and every time I shoot it I get more and more accurate with it! If you'd like to check out how well it can conceal, I'd be happy to shot it to you!