Belts for Everyday Carry

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Guntalk

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It's obvious that regular dress belts are pretty worthless for everyday carry. The "work" belts sold at Wal-Mart fall apart quickly.

What brand of quality belt do you wear? How does it hold up?
 
I wear an Aker or a Milt Sparks belt. They are dress belts and will support the heaviest handgun.
 
Try a Blackhawk CQC Stealth carry belt. Made to look like a nice dress belt. But made of special material that is stronger then leather and won't wear out, because it's synthetic.

Me and 3 of my friends wear them. One's a cop. He likes it for off-duty work.
 
I have been wearing a double thick horsehide belt from Kramer Leather.I have worn this belt daily for the last ten years.Belt is still in great shape and will probably outlast me.Belt is very stiff and carrys my 41 magnum and double speedloader pouch and surefire without any sagging.
 
I carry with a Wilderness Frequent Flyer Belt (1.5 inch - reinforced), so if you want to go non-leather, I'd suggest one of their belts or a Liger belt. Otherwise, there are many good leather makers, some have already been listed in this thread.
 
Almost every belt I own in leather was made by hand by my wife, so I got a number of custom belts. I also like the old British pattern 58 web belt. Lasts forever and can fit through belt rings when I go hiking or camping. The walmart belt I got lasted all of a month before it suffered irreparable damage.
 
I too tried the Dickie's belt from Wal-Mart while waiting for my Brommeland stuff - it does not do the job very well.

Any double thick gun belt should serve you well. My Brommeland belt has been worn for a few years now and shows no wear at all.
 
Another vote for Wilderness Belts (Instructor). I have a similiar belt from Blackhawk. very well made, but only about 1/3 as thick as the Wilderness and doesn't support carry of a handgun very well. I'm getting another Wilderness in coyote brown next bonus check.

As for leather, most all the custom holster makers make very good ones. I actually found a 1.25" Fossil dress belt at the mall that is thick enough to support a good holster/weapon system, but it wasn't much cheaper than ordering a custom would have been. It has lasted several years, though.
 
I have 2 belts:

One is a black pebbled finish Milt Sparks belt. Absolutely awesome. Not cheap, and the wait is long, but fantastic. Looks good too.

My other is a brown Gunner's Alley belt. Doesn't look as pretty, but about half the price and a much shorter wait.

Both are 1 1/4" width, and I find that holds even a full size 1911 comfortably while still fitting through belt loops without a problem.

I would recommend either.
 
I wear a Liger 1.5 inch gunbelt. It's synthetic and doesn't absorb perspiration.

Bill
 
My buddy Finn Does custom leathers, he has a shop in Morro Bay, lots of high end motorcycle leather, but he loves doing guns. I've never seen off the shelf product come anywhere near his level of craftsmenship. I have custom cases for several of my shotguns, hand tooled pistol cases, beautifull slings, gunbelts, and some of the most beautifull durable 1911 mag pouches that I've seen anywhere for any price. Im actually thinking about doing a thread on high end custom leather, but I need to get my camera working first.

Finn even made a special quick draw shoulder holster for my Tec22, couldn't tell it was there even with a 30 round mag in place.

No comercially produced product will ever be as perfect as something thats tailored to your needs.

I'm thinking of having a belt made that is layered bull hide, nylon and thin latigo, with eyelets rivited to it every four inches for locating mags pouches and holsters on.

I know this sounds like an add for my friend. And I guess in a way it is, he loves working on guns, but he lives in california and there is alot more demand for motorcycle leather and handbags than quality gun leather.

here is his shop info, look him up if you want some custom high end gear.


The Leather Shop
880 Morro Bay Blvd
Morro Bay, CA 93442

805-772-0255
 
I've worn the Bowen Garrison belt daily for over 6 years with the WSE buckle and haven't formed a single complaint yet.

http://www.bowenknife.com

They're affordable, and also have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee. They also offer a demagnetizing service so that a standard metal detector won't detect your buckle.
 
I wear 1.25" wide leather belts of my own making daily with my favorite Montana Silversmiths trophy buckle (which as I understand it, makes a belt last 5X longer than a belt used with the other type buckle). I make my belts from 8-9oz. veg tanned strap leather selected from a firm double shoulder- I use the long edge where the double shoulder was cut away from the back and try to avoid too much flanky kind of stuff on the ends same as not cutting the strap from the belly. If a heavier belt is desired, cutting the strap from the back of a side of saddle skirting would be a good idea, IMO, and then maybe skiving down to the desired weight/thickness. Sometimes I wear a gun on these belts and sometimes not depending on where I am and what I'm doing. When I wear my sidearm, my belts support a full-sized holster pistol quite well and comfortably- the times I carry an N-frame S&W in a crossdraw with an Uncle Mike's nylon holster come to mind. However, I also make my own leather holsters for my Ruger sixguns and while I've been using Oklahoma Leather cartridge belts, I'm getting about ready to try a canvas cartridge belt as it appears to me it'd be more comfortable as well as not forming that green corrosion on the brass cases.
 
Last edited:
Most of mine are from Ted Blocker. Some in 1 /4 and some in 1 1/2. Had them
about fifteen years now and still working well.

One thing I picked up from Ted was putting seven adjustment holes in the belt
instead of five. Put them on 3/4 inch centers rather than 1 inch centers. Gives
a finer adjustment, worthwhile when carrying full size 1911.

When I bought my Kramer rig I had him do the belt with the 7 x 3/4 hole set up.
Cost me a few extra bucks but worth it to me.

allan
 
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