The Test of Time, Part II: The DeSantis Econobelt
If you read last review, you know a little bit of my history. My first actual gun belt was an Aker B21. Several months after I bought my Aker B21 that I mentioned in that post, I decided that I couldn’t wear the same belt every day. A lot of guys can, because they work in jobs where matching your belt to your shoes really isn’t an issue. By contrast, I wear a suit to work. I wear a suit about 4 days a week, and while it’s unlikely that I would be ostracized for ill-matching belts and shoes, those items really should match.
In any event, since I had a brown belt, I went on the hunt for a black one, still severely constrained by finances. I discovered the DeSantis Econobelt while researching. DeSantis describes it as “. . . . a combination bonded leather and other synthetic materials . . . . designed as an under-belt for the NYPD officers[.] It is available in black only with a black powder coated buckle.” In other words, it’s meant to be sturdy, not pretty. It’s meant to be hidden under another belt. As of this writing, an Econobelt is priced at $28.99. It was about $25 when I bought mine, and I found it on sale even cheaper than that. As I recall, I paid around $15 plus shipping.
There’s an old saying in retail: “You can have it good, fast, or cheap. Pick any two.” My DeSantis Econobelt apparently has a problem living up to that. I’ve been wearing this belt for ~5 years. I wear it as my black dress belt, and I CC under my jacket. I carried a 1911 when I first got the belt, then switched to a G19 about 4 years ago, and have now switched to a S&W Shield. The Econobelt will hold up a full-sized pistol, and it has worn exceptionally well for such an inexpensive belt. Black belts, like black cattle, are pretty hard to photograph, but I can tell you that after ~5 years, it shows very little wear. It shows only minor cracking and warping. The buckle shows no wear whatsoever. And not one soul has ever commented on whether it's a "real" dress belt.
