Holster belts

Whatever belt I happen to be wearing. I carry a S&W shield 9 in a tagua pancake w/ thumb break- light & skinny pistol.

If you wear a gun on your belt all day long you need a real gun belt. The normal pants belt will not work they just can not hold up. About 10 years ago a found a 501 brand gun belt. It has a plastic insert between the lesther. One stiff belt that you can not bend. I also have gotten gun belts from other gun belt makers. I real gun belt are not cheap and can cost up to $100.00 or more. But you get what you pay for. The same with hosters. You can go cheap and you get cheap. I like galco hosters they hold up well. Search the Web for a gun belts and get a leather belt from a gun belt maker. Remember it not going to be cheap.

After a number of years carrying I have discovered the belt may be more important than the holster. For non reinforced belts there are a lot of great makers with varying prices. I have a number from Rick at RG Leather. Fair prices and good workmanship.
When you decide you want a belt that ends the need to keep pulling up your pants or sags down under the weight of your full sized holstered firearm, you may need a reinforced belt. Some are cheap but investing in a higher quality like one from A better Belt USA you will find you can carry a full sized handgun all day without the least bit discomfort. I have two and they do the job perfectly.
Buying a $600 handgun and shoving it in a nylon or cheap leather holster then mounting it on a thin belt is comical. Stay away from the range for one day and you will have the money to invest in a quality leather belt that you can wear for dress or casual.

JTQ said:

Wilderness Tactical Instructor belt, the 5-stitch stiffness.

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Like JTQ, this is what I wear on a daily basis regardless if it's dress up or dress down. Just follow their instructions on how to order.

Those 30 some years carrying a full size handgun on my right side; two (sometimes more) mags on the left side and using just a store bought, heavy duty thick leather belt and sometimes when wearing dress slacks a thinner belt, and now people are telling me I should have had a special made belt designed just for carrying a weapon. Go figure all those years I was doing it wrong.

Cary Turpin said:

I agree with the advice given above. A few months ago I purchased the leather Midway USA concealed carry belt. Item number 705007. They were on sale for $35. I got the black one. I like it so well I plan to get one in dark brown next time they are on sale. I use it even when I'm not carrying a gun. They are an excellent belt for the price.

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I bought one of the Midway belts as well, the brown one in fact. Dang good belt. Makes a big difference in how comfortable it is to carry a heavy handgun on one's belt.

Naturally they put them on the $35 sale the week AFTER I ordered mine!

I love my Desantis from the S&W store, best, most comfortable belt I have ever owned, wear it every day gun or not. It has a very soft suede on the inside, 7 years of everyday wear and still looks new. Stout enough to belt carry an SW500 for a day of hunting comfortably. Its the 42 inch with embossed logo, about $73.00.

Milt1 said:

Like JTQ, this is what I wear on a daily basis regardless if it's dress up or dress down. Just follow their instructions on how to order.

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If you go Wilderness Tactical follow the sizing instructions To The Letter.

Beltman, without the velcro, for everyday use 1-1/4". One in brown and black. Wonderful!

For IDPA fun I use a kevlar tactical belt that is stiffer. Blade Tech Industries UCB Titan Ratchet, Belt Holster, Universal up to 48", Nylon, Black UCB-1-1-1

Also have a leather belt for jeans:
The Ultimate Concealed Carry CCW Leather Gun Belt - 14 ounce 1 1/2 inch Premium Full Grain Leather Belt - Handmade in the USA!
Relentless Tactical

I've found that when using a GOOD, Quality, holster belt oft times you'll forget you're even carrying. I have a couple that were made with saddle type leather. Don't remember the names of 'em, or even what I paid. They just work for me.

herrwalther said:

I would dare say a good gun belt is more important than a good holster. Many of the problems you will have with uncomfortable carry come from the belt, and not an uncomfortable holster.

I have tried several low cost/economy belts such as the Gould and Goodrich Security Pro, Desantis Econobelt, generic nylon and leather belts. The belt I am currently using is a gun belt from KORE. I have one in nylon and faux-leather. The biggest upside to this belt is it doesn't use belt holes. Instead there is a very durable track on the back side that allow for much more size adjustment. Just made a big meal? Can back the belt off half an inch without being too tight or too loose to hold up a firearm.

https://www.koreessentials.com/collections/gun-belts

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A few years back, I needed new belts for work. I dress business casual (khakis, button down shirt, shoes or dress boots) and do not carry a firearm at work, but I wanted belts that would work both with and without firearms. I bought a pair of Kore belts, the black and brown leather looking ones, a pair of buckles (X1 & X3), and a hanger for under $100 with the military discount they offered me. For the last couple years up to this Christmas, I've worn one of these belts pretty much every week day, and most weekends. Both belts still look like new, and do NOT look worn in any way. Largest firearm I carry is a Glock 21, but I typically carry either a Shield or a Glock 19/23. No complaints, and these belts perform great! I never have issues with the track system...matter of fact, I won't ever go back to traditional belt holes again!

This Christmas, I jumped on the 40% off sale and bought the two nylon web looking belts, two more buckles I didn't have, and another hanger. I'm wearing the nylon belts with jeans and cargo pants/shorts as they are more casual than the leather belts.

I do wish they were made in the US, but they are great belts. I wish I could tell you how well they work with a full size metal frame gun like a 1911 or a Beretta, but I cannot.

I use two, both 1 3/4". One is from Simply Rugged and still doing well after 3 years. The other is from Crossbreed. After 5-6 years it's starting to lose it's stiffness. I need to give the Beltman a shot.

One thing to remember it to match the belt width to the slots on the holster to reduce shifting of the holster.

I'm wearing a leather belt with the Cabela's name on it. It's fairly stiff but not too much and is 1 3/4'" wide. It works very well for me. I have not seen them online since shortly after the Bass Pro Shop buyout but they were just under $40. Now I'm glad my last purchase was but 1 get 1 half price!

Far from cheap, my Ares Gear Ranger belt gets the job done.

http://www.aresgear.com/

i have owned one of these for over a year.

https://www.30dollargunbelt.com

wear it everyday and still looks brand new. very nice.

Most often it is one from High Noon Holsters. I've been using these for well over a quarter century now and they still work fine. Gotta admit though they seem to have shrunk over the decades; I have fewer holes left unused than when they were new.

"...but it's not very stiff and allows my holstered gun to twist and fall over when I'm trying to put on my pants.." Are you saying you put on your pants with a holstered gun attached to them? Who the hell does this? Take your gun out of the holster before you put on your pants. Buy a $30 dollar belt and you'll see a huge difference in comfort and rigid support. They have a website. Their belts are very high quality 1/4 in. thick leather.

An on line company called Your Tack has a great selection of suitable belts for carry. Also Kleinschmidts in western Missouri. Both have very reasonable prices considering the high quality

A good heavy leather belt spreads the weight around your whole waist instead of hanging it all on one spot on one side. It feels like you took weight off the rig but you actually just spread it around. Mo betta.

I’ve always worn tooled leather belts, which are inherently stiff. Carrying up to a Commander 1911, I’ve never been disappointed. A 7.5” Super Blackhawk is a little different.

I run during warm months with nothing but the draw string in my board shorts holding up my LCP or LC9.

I haven’t seen the OP state what he’s carrying, but I’m a long ways from needing a steel lined belt for any of my EDC pistols.

Another fan of the Wilderness Tactical belts. Worn mine for about 18 years and only had to send it back once to get the velcro replaced.

Another vote for a Beltman.

Wilderness 5 stitch for when people aren't going to see my belt, or I don't care. This is what I wear at work every day (full time LE at our academy, so gun and mags all day), and what I still use for my normal wear. Had it for 13 years still wearing great. I picked up a beltman belt years ago (probably 10 or 11 years) for wearing with a suit to court or what not. I don't wear it often but it still looks great and works well. Lastly I bought a brown leather belt at tractor supply probably 10 years ago, and it has also worked very well. I carry OWB at 3-4 oclock, with a full size gun (G34, USP, P226, etc), all the above belts will work just fine for you.

I have a few belts and I’ve learned a little over the years.

The first gun belts I got were hanks, the gunner. They’re nice belts. When they come in the mail they’re nice and stiff and stand up to the weight of G19 pistols well. I have a brown and black and they look really nice.

Unfortunately I wore the brown one just about every day for 6 years or so and the leather relaxed so much it’s got the backbone of a wet dishrag these days. I’ve had to retire it for anything other than casual use. The black one is still pretty strong but a bit more relaxed than when I got it. I like both belts but just be aware that they could have a “carry shelf life” and you may need to replace them at some point.

For Christmas I got a Kore essentials ratchet gun belt. I really like it and the micro adjustments are good for getting the fit right. It’s very stiff because of the plastic liner which can make getting the belt through holster slots or loops tough. It can be just a bit tricky to carry at 1:00 too since the release lever is located in front of the pistol. It doesn’t open the ratchet just presses on the holster a bit so you can’t move the holster too close to centerline.

I recommend both belts for different reasons, but I’d still like to try the area aegis.

I use a Bullhide Belts 1 1/4” belt in plain black with the silver buckle (1041-18) for my everyday duty wear (Investigations). The belt will fit through the belt loops of jeans, Dockers style slacks and even my dress suits for Court/dignitary protection details. The leather is 1/4” thick so it’s stiff enough for OWB or IWB belt slide holsters, and it still fits through the smaller dress pant loops.

My duty holster is a kydex Safariland paddle, and this belt easily supports the holster and Glock 34, double mag pouch with 17 9mm in each, knife, compact expandable baton, spray and handcuffs.

https://www.bullhidebelts.com/collections/gun-belts

Stay safe!