Belts?


M

maddog5150

New member
Curious what kind of belt everyone is using for every day carry.

"Normal" leather belt?
Gun specific leather?
Web belt with the stiffener in it?

In the past I have only used a normal leather or normal webbing belt. I'm starting to research now and it seems there are tons of options. What's the advantage to the super stiff options?

Thanks for your input.
 

I try to buy Dillon leather via the Blue Press Magazine. The last one, I still use it every day ($70.00), was in 2011. Black leather all around except with the full size 1911 Bianchi holster that is tan/brown.
 
I use one (1 1/2 inch wide) gun belt from The Beltman in Apex, NC; and another from Wm. Tucker Gun Leather in Houston, TX. The Beltman's belt needs a polymer stiffener; but the Tucker belt does not. Both have 7 hole tongues. Both are very well made gun belts that have the appearance of being, 'dress belts'. (To look at the belt buckle and tongue you'd never guess what it's carrying!)
 
I went to a local leathershop. They specialize in shoes moslty, but anything leather. You can pick out the leather color, design, the layering and the stiffness as well as the buckle. Cost, about the same as any you find in the marketplace.
 
I also use a "The Beltman" double-layered leather belt. I've worn it daily for the last eight or nine years. I was exclusively carrying concealed when I bought it, and used a Crossbreed Super-Tuck with it. The Super-Tuck was the first (that I'm aware of) to offer Velcro clips, and The Beltman was the only belt I could find that offered Velcro sewn into the belt. Both sides of that configuration use extremely good hook-and-loop materials, and neither are anywhere near wearing out yet eight or nine years later. For the last year+ I've been open carrying, and the double layering of the belt carries the weight of my full-sized S&W4563 in various holsters, with a two-mag carrier on the opposite side, with no trouble at all.

I'm very satisfied with my Beltman, but I have noticed that there are more than a handful of up-and-comers on the scene who sell similar belts for quite a bit cheaper than The Beltman does. Can't testify to their quality, but there are a lot more options now than there were when I was shopping for one.

Blues
 
Can't understand why people go and buy these expensive belts ($50-$100) for their carry belt. You can buy a excellent heavy duty belt at places like Walmart and Tractor Supply for $15-$25. I have a belt that I wear everyday that came from Walmart over 10 years ago. It is 1 1/2" wide and made of heavy cowhide. I have seen many great looking belts at local Tractor Supply stores, in outdoor and western design. Buying a belt from a holster company is like buying custom wheels from a auto dealer. You know their going to be over priced.
I guess it just proves some people has more dollars than sense as my Daddy use to say.
 
Well, maybe but the Dillon leather has lasted a long time for me and it goes well with my Levi dress pants as well as my Wranglers. I have a box of cheap leather and a dresser with the ones I wear.
 
SR9 said:
Can't understand why people go and buy these expensive belts ($50-$100) for their carry belt. You can buy a excellent heavy duty belt at places like Walmart and Tractor Supply for $15-$25. I have a belt that I wear everyday that came from Walmart over 10 years ago. It is 1 1/2" wide and made of heavy cowhide. I have seen many great looking belts at local Tractor Supply stores, in outdoor and western design. Buying a belt from a holster company is like buying custom wheels from a auto dealer. You know their going to be over priced.
I guess it just proves some people has more dollars than sense as my Daddy use to say.
Click to expand...

Do your $15 to $25 belts come with lifetime warranties? Or any warranties at all? Will Walmart sew Velcro into the waistband so you can conceal without even the clips of an IWB holster showing? Does Walmart or Tractor Supply offer to adjust the holes and length as many as 10 years down the road if you gain or lose weight (inches), because maybe you don't know, but double-layered belts should not just have new holes punched through them willy-nilly. They will begin to separate where the new holes are punched if not done right.

Most of us have been carrying for the better part of our adult lives and already know how adequate (or inadequate) a Walmart or Tractor Supply single layer belt is for our own purposes. I've never seen a single layer belt that didn't eventually start folding from the weight of a daily-carried weapon. There are no visible signs on my double layered belt of a gun even having ever been mounted on it.

I couldn't care less that you prefer to spend less or prefer a single layer, off-the-shelf cheap belt over a custom made one, but your level of "sense" is no better than anyone else's just because of that choice. I collect knives. Most of them come with adequate sheaths for carrying it from point A to point B and back again, but they're no-frills, often made in Mexico, Taiwan or China and made out of materials (Cordura mostly) that I simply don't prefer, so I go to one of my favorite custom leathersmiths or Kydex benders and get something with more style, more functionality and more durability. Sometimes they even cost more than the knife itself, but it isn't a consideration of cost of one or the other, it's a system that I'm putting together that just isn't complete without the knife, sheath, fire-steel, pouch to carry various things in from fishing line to chemical fire tender, modular mounts for carrying vertical or horizontal etc. It's the same with buying gun belts. We choose to consider the system that works best for us. Why do you think you have more "sense" than any of us just because you prefer to consider only price?

Blues
 
SR9 said:
Can't understand why people go and buy these expensive belts ($50-$100) for their carry belt. You can buy a excellent heavy duty belt at places like Walmart and Tractor Supply for $15-$25. I have a belt that I wear everyday that came from Walmart over 10 years ago. It is 1 1/2" wide and made of heavy cowhide. I have seen many great looking belts at local Tractor Supply stores, in outdoor and western design. Buying a belt from a holster company is like buying custom wheels from a auto dealer. You know their going to be over priced.
I guess it just proves some people has more dollars than sense as my Daddy use to say.
Click to expand...

The difference between a true Instructor grade belt, and a TSC or box store belt is night and day if you know what you are looking for. Put a good carry belt in your hands and it will not sag, curve, roll into a noodle, etc. Regular pants belts use your pants loops to tell the belt where to stay. A carry belt tells the pants loops where to stay. That profound difference is worth its weight in gold for people carrying a gun 365 days a year.

A good gun belt is more important than a good gun holster and on par with needing a good gun.
 
SR9 said:
Can't understand why people go and buy these expensive belts ($50-$100) for their carry belt. You can buy a excellent heavy duty belt at places like Walmart and Tractor Supply for $15-$25. I have a belt that I wear everyday that came from Walmart over 10 years ago. It is 1 1/2" wide and made of heavy cowhide. I have seen many great looking belts at local Tractor Supply stores, in outdoor and western design. Buying a belt from a holster company is like buying custom wheels from a auto dealer. You know their going to be over priced.
I guess it just proves some people has more dollars than sense as my Daddy use to say.
Click to expand...
Every Walmart belt I've owned has broken within a few months(at best) at the buckle. And this was before I started carrying, I'm 6'6" & 300lb. I chose my belt for longevity and durability. The $65 I paid for this belt which has lasted me a couple years so far is cheaper then the 8-10 $15-$20 belts I've been through. Everyone has a preference, your setup has worked for you, but it's not the end all, be all for everyone.
 
Fasten a good carry belt like you were wearing it. Not on pants, just by itself. Put your gun holster and gun at 3 o'clock. Hold the belt at noon and 6 o'clock. A good belt does not roll under with the weight of the gun. Should sag little to none. That is what you are looking for in a good carry belt.
 
Want to increase the function of a good carry belt? Add a good quality set of suspenders. I added them a couple years ago and it is amazing how much my comfort level rose. Night and day. I use Perry 2" heavy duty ones from Amazon. They fasten to the belt, not your pants.
 
N R A said:
Fasten a good carry belt like you were wearing it. Not on pants, just by itself. Put your gun holster and gun at 3 o'clock. Hold the belt at noon and 6 o'clock. A good belt does not roll under with the weight of the gun. Should sag little to none. That is what you are looking for in a good carry belt.
Click to expand...

I never thought about this. Always used "normal" belts. I'm going to have to check out one of these purpose built belts and see how it does.

I ran across a 5.11 belt that had the stiffeners in it at my local gander mountain. I did like how the "loose end" of the belt outside of the buckle could be velcroed to itself to keep it from flapping around.

So much to learn. :)
 
Blues,
By trade, before I retired, I was an Industrial Buyer. My job, and I was damn good at it, was to purchase products and material for the industry at the best price for the best quality, and quickest means possible. Example: I could go to a hardware store and buy a certain brand of tools at the going price, or I could research the same tools and find that I could save 30% buy buying it elsewhere. Same item, same quality, save 30% and get it next day for a small charge that still made it cheaper than buying from the local hardware store. The savings that benefited the company was tracked and recorded in a monthly report. Year end bonuses were base on savings on purchases. I was the top guy in the plant for savings to the company. So, you get an idea that I have some professional knowledge of purchasing. It carries over into my personal life. I don't waste money needlessly. I also am not a person that likes to go out and buy expensive products, just so I can brag about how much money I throw around. Like saying I spent $150(this spells fool, to me) on a belt. What does a belt do? It holds up your pants, and your gun. I see no value in paying $150 for a belt to hold a holster that is suppose to be concealed, as well as the belt holding it. It can be accomplished for under $30. Get my drift?
 
SR9 said:
Blues,
By trade, before I retired, I was an Industrial Buyer. My job, and I was damn good at it, was to purchase products and material for the industry at the best price for the best quality, and quickest means possible. Example: I could go to a hardware store and buy a certain brand of tools at the going price, or I could research the same tools and find that I could save 30% buy buying it elsewhere. Same item, same quality, save 30% and get it next day for a small charge that still made it cheaper than buying from the local hardware store. The savings that benefited the company was tracked and recorded in a monthly report. Year end bonuses were base on savings on purchases. I was the top guy in the plant for savings to the company. So, you get an idea that I have some professional knowledge of purchasing. It carries over into my personal life. I don't waste money needlessly. I also am not a person that likes to go out and buy expensive products, just so I can brag about how much money I throw around. Like saying I spent $150(this spells fool, to me) on a belt. What does a belt do? It holds up your pants, and your gun. I see no value in paying $150 for a belt to hold a holster that is suppose to be concealed, as well as the belt holding it. It can be accomplished for under $30. Get my drift?
Click to expand...


I get that you haven't a clue what you're talking about IMO, a GOOD belt is key to a stable foundation to the pistol. It aids in carry, concealment, retention, mal drills, et al. I confess I do not understand why guys go out and spend 100s if not 1,000s on guns, ammo, training and holsters and then buy a belt on sale at the Gap.

I gave up on leather belts after trying a Wilderness 5-stitch. Don't get me wrong, I've had some good belts that have lasted a long time and I've been happy with them. But after buying a Wilderness, I'll never go back. Stiffness that is just right (bends easily around your waist but impossible to roll top to bottom), exact adjustment, not just holes every 3/4 inch, costs less than a quality leather gunbelt, lasts longer, it's a hands down winner.

Yes, it is stiff. I can only speak to the 1 1/2" wide 5 stitch model, but it has carried a P226 (and now an M&P 9), two reloads, flashlight, knife and cell phone with no problems. Grabbing the belt in your hand and trying to compress it top to bottom, roll the edges toward one another, just results in finger pain and "dang, that's stiff".
 
SR9 said:
Blues,
By trade, before I retired, I was an Industrial Buyer. My job, and I was damn good at it, was to purchase products and material for the industry at the best price for the best quality, and quickest means possible. Example: I could go to a hardware store and buy a certain brand of tools at the going price, or I could research the same tools and find that I could save 30% buy buying it elsewhere. Same item, same quality, save 30% and get it next day for a small charge that still made it cheaper than buying from the local hardware store. The savings that benefited the company was tracked and recorded in a monthly report. Year end bonuses were base on savings on purchases. I was the top guy in the plant for savings to the company. So, you get an idea that I have some professional knowledge of purchasing. It carries over into my personal life. I don't waste money needlessly. I also am not a person that likes to go out and buy expensive products, just so I can brag about how much money I throw around. Like saying I spent $150(this spells fool, to me) on a belt. What does a belt do? It holds up your pants, and your gun. I see no value in paying $150 for a belt to hold a holster that is suppose to be concealed, as well as the belt holding it. It can be accomplished for under $30. Get my drift?
Click to expand...

.
Great! On your budget, does your cell phone have a camera / video? Post an image of this belt, supporting the weight of your holster / gun. We would all love to see it.
.

Holding a camera and belt all at once is rather limiting. One end is laid across my leg. The belt is The Wilderness, with internal stiffening. It may be a little stiffer than the 5 stitch. This is the softest belt I own. My A Better Belt is stiffer, thicker. Wearing each, I feel no real preference, but I know, the stiffer belt is working just a little harder.
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Somebody makes a belt, with a stainless steel liner, I am going to try that one next. Do not remember who makes that belt.

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15867203489_3d30c0e003_c.jpg


15865878968_f4352114f6_c.jpg


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Above is a good grade belt. It does not roll, or easily bend under weight. Below is a bad belt. It rolls easily.
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15430976674_51ae64372f_c.jpg
 
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