Concealed Carry With No Belt?


SmokinLawyer

New member
How does one do concealed carry when wearing suspenders, rather than a belt, for medical reasons and working in an professional office setting where no coat, sweater or other similar over-garment is ever worn?

How can you do concealed IWB carry with only a shirt and no belt? You might say, put it under the shirt, but dress shirts have l-o-n-g tails. Pulling up the tail of a dress shirt would take longer than accessing one of those trick holsters, seems to me. And the weight of even a .380 can really tug your pants down when you're not using a belt.

My question isn't just rhetorical. I'm facing that very question while waiting for my new Sig P238 to get shipped. I chose a .380 because a larger pistol would further aggravate the problem. I'll carry in a wallet holster or a SmartCarry holster if nobody has a better idea, but neither approach really appeals to me much.
 

I'm not really sure what to say here. You say you're worried about the weight of the pistol piling your pants down but you've picked possibly the heaviest, and thickest, .380 on the market. I carry a KelTec P3AT with nothing more than their belt clip in the small of the back with shorts on. The wallet holster method probably is your best bet.
 
Tough Question

You might try the new concealed carry cell phone holster. It works fine in loose fitting pants like dress slacks and can handle any firearm. It fits down inside your pants and has a cell phone holder on the outside.
 
Can you carry it in an ID or Passport holder? The kind with a cord around the neck worn under the shirt.

Before you say no. Try different cord lengths and carry positions until you find one that works. Possibly using the waistband of your trousers to hold the improvised holster against your body while the cord supports the weight of the pistol so your pants don't sag.

You'll have to rip the buttons of your shirt to get to it quickly but it might work.
 
I agree with the post above. You've picked a pretty heavy .380.

I slip my LCP into a IWB holster without a belt quite a bit...no problems.

Take a look at the Keltec or LCP...they are almost identical and are very light.
 
I understand not being able to wear a belt for medical reasons. I would assume that anything tight around your middle is a no go.
It is time for a visit to the tailor. What you need is a wide nylon band (~2")stitched to the wasteband of your trousers. It must fasten in front to form a complete circle (like a belt). However there is one crucial difference: this remains loose around your middle. Additional nylon loops are sewn to the band to attach your holster. The holster should be one of the sorts that uses those Kydex clips to make a tuckable holster. The suspenders hold the whole rig in place. While I am on the subject, you want braces, the kind of suspenders that button to the inside of your trousers not the clip on kind. (the clip on kind are hard on your trousers and will likely not hold a gun up for any length of time.)

What you have done (along with your tailor) is to construct a concealed set of military LBE. The nylon should be stiff enough to maintain control of the holster, your shirt can be tucked around the holster and no one is the wiser. I have an old set of trousers and considerable skill with a needle. I may be able to knock up an example and post pictures.
 
The t-shirt type of holsters would work, but the drawback is speed of drawing......

Here is but one example of the many available....

Link Removed
 
I use the White Hat "max tuck. It can be worn on the waist of your pant at alot of angles. You can set the depth at how far above or below the belt it rests. Even the Kant angle. Many will also say the the "crossbreed" holsters do this(which they do). I just chose this maker because I can swap the kydex scabbards out with my weapon choices. Today I have my full size Springfield Armoury 1911. Tomorrow I can wear my J frame revolver.
 
During our warm weather in Arizona, I often wear elastic-waist shorts. And when wearing no-belt shorts, I carry my Sig P238 in a SmartCarry holster, like you are considering. Takes a little getting used to...but the holster works as advertised.

In addition, I have a Harpoon model pocket holster from Pocket Concealment Systems. This holster also works well for me. But I don't know how well it would work inside the pocket of loose-waisted pants. Most pocket holsters adhere to or hook the inside of the pocket to keep the holster stationary during a draw. With loose-waisted pants, would your pants ride up while drawing your gun...thereby complicating the draw?

Good luck!

Link Removed
 
Last edited:
I very much appreciate so many of you taking time to offer good suggestions for concealed carry with suspenders and no belt. And what a variety of options you came up with! All good and some really unique. A couple of you were curious about why the P238. I prefer single action, having shot single-action-only for more than 45 years. I've got a lot of muscle memory built up and am not going to mess with it at this stage in my life. All of my other pistols are single action and I just don't want to have to stop and think which pistol I'm using in a crisis. Also, I've shot a variety of double action pistols recently and find that I really prefer a single action trigger. Nothing wrong with double action, just not my cup of tea.

The cell phone holster, passport holder approach, SmartCarry, T-shirt holster and Desantis holsters are all appreciated suggestions and I'll explore each. I particularly appreciate the time and effort Doc Mustang put into describing the LBE rig. Much appreciated and I will explore that too, probably will look around for suspenders that attach at 6 points instead of the present 3-point models I'm using. Probably would spread the load better.

Old Zebra, I share your concern about the pants riding up while drawing from a pocket holster. I have an unpleasant vision of doing a pocket draw with adrenalin pumping and giving myself the mother of all wedgies! Just in case I didn't live through it I wouldn't want a coroner standing there later saying, "Man, would you look at that wedgie!"

Thinking about the inside the waistband and Tshirt type holsters it occurs to me it might be useful to experiment with fake buttons on the lower half of one of my dress shirts. Say, maybe, permanently sewn-on buttons and hidden velcro closures. Should be workable, especially when it's camouflaged by a tie. Might be a lot better than trying to drag a long shirttail out of the waistband, especially with suspenders in the way. Wish I could carry open at the office as one of you suggested but I don't think it would send the right message to clients.

I appreciate the good report on the SmartCarry holster; I think I'll start with that option since they have such a generous return policy.

Again, thanks to you all for taking the time to make great suggestions.

Regards,
SmokinLawyer
 
I use the Smartcarry a lot in the summer when I mainly wear gym / sweatshorts + t-shirt and no belt.
I like the Smartcarry.
For me, it's fairly quick to access the pistol, very easy to conceal a pistol the size of a Glock 26/27 + extra magazine under untucked t-shirt, and suprisingly comfortable; I've worn a Smartcarry for 12 hours sitting in a vehicle on trips and even when mowing the yard.
If I were going to try to pull off wearing it (smartcarry) with a tucked in shirt and dress slacks, I would likely be limited to a pistol the size of a Kel-Tec P3AT or Ruger LCP, possibly a Kahr PM9; I'm anal about printing and wouldn't want a suspicious buldge.
 
Take a look at the COM holster. I wear a Ruger LCP in a kydex COM holster around my neck, under my shirt.
 
I don't want folks to begin thinking I'm a Crossbreed representative, but...., I think a Crossbreed could solve your problem. The Mini-Tuck can be had for the Sig 238, so design is no problem. If you are going to be wearing suspenders, the weight issue is already taken care of. You can tuck in your shirt, so concealment should be a snap. If the tails of your dress shirts are too long, make a simple adjustment by splitting the side seam part-way up, then tacking the seam so it doesn't run further. Or, just remove enough material and re-sew the tuckable portion of the shirt on the side you are carrying on. Yes, I know it sounds like a lot of trouble to go through, but we're talking about finding a way to discreetly carry a sidearm when faced with abnormal dress issues. Sometimes we just need to make the necessary adjustments to get to our goal.

The belt clips will probably be tight enough to provide a firm grip of your waistband. If not, or you just want added security, velcro strips are a cheap and easy way to make things stay put. One strip on the inside of your waistband, and the other strip on the face of the holster where it presses against the waistband and you're in business. Hope this helps.
 
I carry a 38 snubnose in my front pants pocket in a pocket holster and I use suspenders. There are different types of suspenders and Perry Suspender makes some nice ones. there are a lot of them out there. It might not be the best but not everybody can carry open, especially in their work.
 
Galco has a line that also work without a belt. one is the Ultimate Second Amendment (USA) holster, the whole line of theirs with that finish (light tan color) would work.
 

New Threads

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
49,542
Messages
611,255
Members
74,961
Latest member
Shodan
Back
Top