Better leather belt than crossbreed

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iShatterBladderz

iShatterBladderz

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I've tried a few different gun belts, and I always end up coming back to crossbreed belts. can carry a full size pistol, two spare mags and a knife with no sag and without feeling any added weight. So for me, my crossbreed belts are what I compare everything to. I’d love to hear anybodys recommendations, but I would really love to hear from people who have worn a CB belt.

I’m looking to try some new belts, leather is a must. A couple that have caught my eye are the shanks steel core, beltman and the ratcheting belt that always pops on Facebook, I forget the brand.

Look forward to hearing your feedback!
 
Try kore essentials belt, they have reinforced leather belts. They hold my 686 that I carry in place. Just type koreessentials.com for their website. I replaced by crossbreed belt with it, in my opinion it is better in a different way, not knocking crossbreed down as I use their holsters too.
 
My experiences so far:
  • Aker B21 -- I've had one for years and it's a great "economy" gun belt. I wore it with a suit for about 7 years, then upgraded to a Beltman, but I keep the B21 around for weekend wear.
  • DeSantis Econobelt -- imitation leather. Great economy belt. The run about $38 and it looks like they're calling it the EDC belt or some such. I'm on my second one.
  • Beltman -- I bought one of his quick ship belts. It's a very good belt, and priced accordingly. I must admit that it has not held up quite as well as I'd hoped, but that may be because of my svelte figure. :uhoh:
  • I have a Daltech dress leather steel core belt on the way. I'll report back when I know more.
 
I have three gunbelts - one Crossbreed and two from Midway of unknown brand. Frankly I cannot tell much difference in everyday wear and carry. They are constructed much the same - two plys of heavy leather, well stitched, Chicago screws, good buckle. Once you reach a certain quality level I suspect they are all good. The Midways cost me about $50 each and the Crossbreed was a second which set me back $40 as I recall.
 
I bought a VersaCarry belt 4 years ago. Wear it everyday; work, dress, casual; with EDC full size 1911. Still new condition. IF I ever need another belt, it will be VersaCarry.
 
Lenwood Leather Hybrid. Mine carries an Combat Commander, mags, and 10 years in the first one is still going strong albeit sweat stained a bit.
 
I wore a Beltman out in less than 5 years. I wouldn’t say I babied it though….

Since then I have only worn my own personally made belts. I wore one of those out too. The first I ever made for myself. It was a little thin where the buckle holes were and wore through over time.

Since then, I have found horse butt leather. Horse butt is a byproduct of the high end shoe and upholstery industries. They use the good part of the horse hide and cast off the butt ends. Tough to work with, thick, dense, and hyper stiff, this leather has held up admirably. I have 3 belts made from it now and one from bull hide and the horse hide ones are bar none superior. They are slightly less comfortable though and will need a good application of neatsfoot oil before final finishing.

I bought my wife an A&G horse hide belt years ago for her work as a parole officer. She used it for 4 years daily carrying a Glock 22, 2 spare mags, cuffs, light, and pepper spray and there is still very little wear on the belt or the holes.

The takeaway here is to use a superior material like horse hide or just get an A&G. I believe horse hide is an option from most leather belt makers. I’m not sure if it would be horse butt however any horse hide is superior to cow or bull hide.
 
I don't care for the Cross Breed holster but I do have two of his belts. I will likely buy another from them when I need one. I wear them every day.
 
Last edited:
ericuda said:
Hanks belts.

Excellent company lifetime warranty. Got their billfold and Leatherman sheath too.
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Just out of curiosity, have you ever worn a crossbreed belt to compare the two? That’s the belt I’m most curious about, but it’s hard to bring myself to pay $90+ for a belt that may not be any different then what I currently have, especially when I can go onto crossbreeds seconds website and get used like new belts for $15-$25.

I like that they have matching wallets though, I hadn’t seen that. I’m the kind of person who likes to all my stuff to match
 
tominboise said:
I don't care for the Cross reed holster but I do have two of his belts. I will likely buy another from them when I need one. I wear them every day.
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Yeah, I’m with you there, I haven’t been a fan of any of their holsters I’ve tried. I have not yet tried their super tuck 2, but I wasn’t impressed with the super tuck when I tried it. I do have one of their bed defender holsters tho. AFAIK, they’re the only ones who make a form fitted mattress holster and for what it is, it works just fine.
 
If you’re happy with the Crossbreed, I think you will find that other options will have different prices, but likely not different results. I’ve used TT Gunleather reinforced belts for the past 6 or 7 years and am satisfied with the quality and customer service. I like being able to email the business owner and get a response from him. Not that I’ve ever had quality issues to discuss, but I’ve had many order changes and such. For reference, I have or have had a best-guess 60 of his holsters, belts, mag carriers.
 
iShatterBladderz said:
... but it’s hard to bring myself to pay $90+ for a belt that may not be any different then what I currently have, especially when I can go onto crossbreeds seconds website and get used like new belts for $15-$25.
Click to expand...
I think you've probably found what you like, and would most likely be disappointed with another product.
 
I have 2 belts from Kore Essentials. Although neither of mine are leather they do offer them in leather. Based on over 2 years of wearing one everyday I'd guess their leather belts are up to the task as well.

-Jeff
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I think for now, I will probably stick to Crossbreed just because it doesn't seem like theres much more to gain and I know they work for me. I may grab a Hanks belt sometime just out of curiousity, i do like that hanks makes leather wallets as well.
 
Well, you say you're sticking to Crossbreed, but I'd also recommend BladeTech's leather gun belts. They just seem to break in better than the Crossbreed (I have two Crossbreed, one black, one brown) but my old BladeTech (I think their inside reinforcement is plastic) has worn in quite nicely and is holding up well. The buckle seems slicker that the Crossbreed buckles as well. Nothing wrong with the Crossbreed.

A dark horse out there is Kirkpatrick Leather's nice tan belts with the brass buckles. They're thick, well-made, not reinforced, but plenty heavy enough for wearing with a quality holster and heavier handgun. They break in really well, very comfortable.
 
Crossbreed seconds - same belt at half the price.

I do like Kore though, and they offer a mil discount code for the times when they're not running a sale code (no, they don't stack).
 
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