Weapons >> Gun Belt Review

If you do not own a gun belt, you need one. I wore a thick work belt for a long time and just kept tightening it as it stretched or to make up for the weight of the gun, both IWB and On the Waist Band.

Once you get one you will realize the importance of it.

And when you get a good one, it is something you can pass on to your kids, these things are built to last.

- A good gunbelt is important to the performance of a holster, without it the holster will not give you the presentation you really want.

- Thicker than a normal belt. This extra thickness equates to additional strength and support.

- It is significantly more durable that a standard belt. Most standard belts are made of a thinner leather. Over time and use, the thinner leather tends to break down. This break down causes the belt to stretch and sag. Have you ever put a regular belt on only to find that you now have to move the buckle in to the next closest hole? If you haven't lost weight.....

I am doing a quick review on two belts.

The first is the Don Hume 1 1/2 Leather belt (Model B109) They recommended you order 2 inches bigger for IWB, when it got here it was too big and I had to get it in the right size. Delivery was 2 days later, great customer service.

You can feel this is a double thickness belt, mine is brown and it looks like a dress belt. You can wear this anywhere and look fine. When I put a gun and holster on the belt it made a huge difference. The gun (Full size 1911) did not pull down at an odd angle, it didn't pull my pants down to where I had to tighten the snot out of my pants.

When drawing the weapon, the belt supports the holster so that the draw is smooth right out of both leather holsters and kydex. This is where a gunbelt shines, great performance.

Now I can see how an OWB holster can be concealed in an untucked shirt.

IWB was better. The gun was well supported and my belt wasn't tightened super tight to keep it in place.

I paid $51.00 for the belt and highly recommend it, Lots of support, looks great. I have seen others that are more expensive and thicker, I can see the benefit of them.

the second belt is the Wilderness Instructors Belt

http://www.thewilderness.com/storepinnacle/index.php?p=product&id=2309&parent=142

I love this belt, it goes with my jeans perfectly and does not look out of place.

The belt was originally designed to clip into a secure system while "instructing" others in high places. Produced from specially treated nylon, it's a tremendously strong belt with a specially designed V-ring buckle that has been treated with a non-glare black coating.

When the Wilderness Belt was first introduced, customers started experimenting, and discovered that, in addition to it's Fire and Rescue uses, it also worked great as an everyday pants belt for casual or outdoor use. Those same folks also discovered that the Wilderness Belt made a fantastic gun belt for range use and concealed-carry.

This belt is very strong and give the stiffness and support of thicker leather gunbelts. Like the Hume belt above it supports the gun holsters both in and on the waistband and allows great presentation and Carry options.

What I like the most about this belt is it looks great with jeans, you don't look like a geek with an odd belt, (The Hume leather belt looks great, just like a nice new leather belt) it feels great wearing it, my Gerber multitool fits on it and the buckle allows a perfect fit. then the tail of the belt Velcro's down and looks clean. If you carry tools on your belt this is going to be a huge asset and is not uncomfortable

If you can afford just one, get the wilderness 5 stitch Instructors belt. The instructors at Gunsite use it. Look at their videos on line and you can see it, mine is in coyote, its tan.

I hope this helps, again if you do not own a gunbelt you really need to get one, you will be happy with the investment.