[JREwing]

I was at a gun show today and looked at gun belts priced from $42.00 to over $100.00. At JC Penney's, they have "work belts" for $14.99. I can't honestly see any difference in the strength of the belts.
I need a good belt for my new High Noon iwb holster I have coming and don't want something that will sag on me.
Your thoughts.

 

[jdsumner]

For casual range work and rough training- Wilderness Tactical 5 stitch belt.
For real concealement and everyday totin'-http://www.brommelandgunleather.com

Be advised, once you get your Brommeland belt, the others get left behind.

Dan

 

[Bud White]

The cheeper pennys target walmart belts wont hold up .... now a true work belt im issued one with my uniform works well it is a heavy duty belt just like my gun belts

 

[Prospector]

Don't know exactly what belt you looked at but quite frankly, if it's fairly thick leather (not the dress belt sort), then I don't see any reason not buy it...all this talk of not "holding up"....for $15 I'll bet it holds up for several years....I still have belts I bought in High School....were talkin late sixties! Some I could still wear if I didn't have this doggone inner tube around the waist. Nice thing about the cheaper belts is you can buy several colors for different wear...that'll help make em last....oh by the way...since they're leather, I assume you have leather shoes....and I assume you shine those shoes....think about taking care of your belts in like manner......my two coppers!

 

[jdsumner]

Dang, Prospector,
late sixties, shine those shoes...
that really IS you in your avatar, aint it?

Dan

 

[ExSoldier]

Have Another Belt On Me.....

I was at a gun show today and looked at gun belts priced from $42.00 to over $100.00. At JC Penney's, they have "work belts" for $14.99. I can't honestly see any difference in the strength of the belts.
I need a good belt for my new High Noon iwb holster I have coming and don't want something that will sag on me.
Your thoughts.

If I'm wearing an IWB any old belt will do. But for a standard strong side hip holster, I have to have a real honest to goodness GUN BELT. My first came from SafariLand back in the 1980's and it was the most comfortable belt I'd had in my life. But alas, I outgrew it with the steady progression of my "DUNLAP" Disease. (anybody get that?)

My current belt comes from Dillon and I love it. It's a 1.5 inch double thick heavy duty stitched masterpiece. This is all necessary to keep a holster from flopping around and further fatiguing the wearer.

Look, for folks who are serious about carrying a firearm there are certain pieces of equipment that are necessary. A GOOD quality holster, coupled to a good gunbelt and a spare ammo (mag or speedloader) carrier. The Wilderness Belt is a good belt, and it's a heavy duty nylon. I have one. I'm not saying it's got to be exotic (Alligator skin from Mitch Rosen) just quality. You get what you pay for. I wouldn't look for a K-Mart Blue Light Special for $14 to support my $120 Sam Andrews Hybrid Saddle.

Besides my 1.5 inch belt, I think I need a slightly more narrow belt like 1.25 in so I'll be getting another one from Dillon (about $50) in brown, shortly.

 

[Bud White]

But alas, I outgrew it with the steady progression of my "DUNLAP" Disease. (anybody get that?)

Been There GOT THAT

I wouldn't look for a K-Mart Blue Light Special

That Will be S-Mart Soon !!! :usa2:

But ohh well Shop Smart shop S-mart

 

[Prospector]

Yep it does make a difference if wearing IWB...any belt will do. I'm not knocking putting out for a good quality belt for OWB holsters, I just prefer not to spend $60 or more for the ones I've seen at the gun shows....I haven't looked for a blue light special belt so I'll take your word for it that they're not up to par.....best to shop around though.

 

[Bumper]

Hey, I cut that picture out of our high school year book and made it into his avatar. :biggrin:

Dang, Prospector,
late sixties, shine those shoes...
that really IS you in your avatar, aint it?

Dan

 

[Bumper]

I'm not sure who makes them, but when I was at the range this evening they had double thickness stitched leather gunbelts for $33. They came in both tan and black and had a brass buckle on the tan and a chromed brass buckle on the black. I came close to buying one and may do it next time I am in that neighborhood. Darned nice looking belts at a darned good price.

I also would recommend the Wilderness 5-stitch for casual wear. They come in black, OD and tan.

 

[Gary Brommeland]

Hey guys!

I'll toss my 2 cents in here as well. (Please bear in mind that I ABSOLUTELY HATE to make gun belts - this sure ain't a sales pitch)
A proper gunbelt is designed in such a way as to lay flat on the hip bones (which are narrower at their top - so the belt needs to be curved) for comfort, and provide the support of a gunbelt, while having the appearance of a dress belt.
Secondly, all leather is not created equal - a really good belt needs to be cut along the animal's spine - this portion of the hide is very supple, yet very tough as well. It is sort of the "fillet mignon" of the hide, so it will be expensive. Also, the majority of the strength of a piece of leather is found in the first 1/10th of an inch of the grain (smooth side) of the material. Subsequent thickness beyond that does add more body, but little additional strength. For this reason, the belt needs to be constructed of two layers of this really expensive "fillet mignon" leather to have sufficient lateral stiffness. It needs to be properly bonded together (or else it will squeak) and stitched from AT LEAST #277 bonded polyester or nylon thread. The finish should be acrylic ( lacquer will tend to check and crack, and oil will soften the belt to the point where it is useless.)
All of this adds up to being a royal pain in the butt to do, so that is why a premium concealment belt will cost in the neighborhood of a hundred bucks. (my materials cost alone on a belt is about twice what you pay for the "wally world" special.)
For IWB holsters, there is a possible alternative - several companies make "instructor's belts" of multiple layers of nylon webbing stitched w/ multiple layers if stitching. I have no real experience with them so I cannot offer a recommendation. However, many of my customers report good results with this approach, so I think that it probably is worth investigating.
All in all, there is more to a gunbelt than meets the eye - and the right belt will allow your holster to function at it's full potential. The wrong belt can be a disaster.

 

[Prospector]

Hey guys!

I'll toss my 2 cents in here as well. (Please bear in mind that I ABSOLUTELY HATE to make gun belts - this sure ain't a sales pitch)....... The wrong belt can be a disaster.

Well blow me down! Thanks for the info Brommeland...will cut and paste this one in my "Tips" file.....that's what I love about this site....great info out there.

 

[A1C Lickey]

Bumper, I'm stationed at Luke and going for my CCW class next week, what range do you goto? (I'm looking for a good belt and paying $33 sounds really good, I'm just an A1C.)

A1C Lickey

 

[RSSZ]

I don't want anything to do with leather,or wood. That is stocks,grips,slings,holsters,ammo carriers,knife shieths,or belts. I wear all my handguns OWB(for CCW and hunting) and I am a firm believer in the "instructor type" belts mentioned above. I wear/own several,including one that is reinforced from(I believe) Galco. They can be ordered in at least 2 widths and almost any length. However this type of belt is NOT a dress type belt. For me it's fine cuz I'm always in jeans or BDU's anyway.----------

 

[SOLOLUCKY]

hafta agree with the fact that a good gunbelt definitely makes carrying OWB much nicer. been carrying an Ultralight 38 snubnose, not a heavy gun at all compared to what i've read most of ya carry. and the difference was noticable right off. used my old regular k-mart grade leather belt up to now and won't interchange carrying without the real thing again.
and i love the sentiment epreseed "i'm not hanging my $120 custom holster on a $15 belt!" and that really makes sense. if yer gonna spend money buy the whole package!

 

[Zach S]

I havent really looked at the chain store workbelts, I carry IWB so the simple 1/8" thick leather belt that I've been wearing for about ten years does the job well.

 

[Rem700]

I prefer the adjustment of the Wilderness belt, Maybe picky but the holes in the leather belt one is too tight and the other to loose. How would a leather ranger belt with a nylon tongue and the roller buckle work?