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The Annoyed Man wrote:What is "retention"?

Your holster with a lever is a "retention" holster. Also, some holsters require you to tilt your gun forward before drawing it. That's also a "retention" holster. Or a holster that requires pushing a button such as Blackhawk Serpa. It's just fancy schmancy "marketing".

A thumb break or snap strap with a lanyard should be fine.

Yes, it is safe to use a handgun open carried in a non-retention holster. Just do like they did in the old west and attach a lanyard to the gun. Glock handguns have lanyards for that exact reason.

A strap or a thumb break should do just fine, along with a lanyard.