Belt Confusion

[jacob2745]

Today i visited a store that had a pretty good selection of 5.11 gun belts. Seeing as i dont have a gun belt, they drew my attention. After handling several i didnt really notice any difference in stiffness from some of my regular belts. I assumed extra stiffness was what made a gun belt. Am i missing something?
If i decided to go with a 5.11 offering can anyone give me some pros/cons of leather and the web type?

 

[Bovice]

5.11 has different belts. Their "tactical TDU" belt isn't stiff. The 5.11 operator and tactical trainer belts are. I wear a tactical trainer pretty much every day and it holds the relatively heavy P220, 226, and 229 just fine.

 

[creeper1956]

I was going to write a big long "leather vs. nylon" post, because I have quite a bit of experience on the subject... then I remembered that Detroit Steve had already done that, and very well I might add. This is one of the best posts you'll find on the subject.

 

[p2000sk]

If anyone wants to try a rather inexpensive leather belt, Carhartt makes a pretty sturdy one.

 

[birdshooter]

I would suggest buying a leather gun belt from the likes of Simply Rugged or Beltman. Once you do you will laugh at yourself for thinking the Carhart ones are stiff. Best purchase I have made in a long time was a good gun belt.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I have a 5.11 Tactical Trainer belt, either 1.75" or 2" wide. It's stiff and would be a great pistol belt if my holster loop was wide enough to fit it.

I wear a thick, heavy leather Dickies belt that works great, and didn't cost too much, whereas I have a $35 (it may have been more) 5.11 belt sitting unused in my closet. It's sturdy enough to the point I hardly feel my S&W 469 riding on my hip.