A good belt really is crucial if you’ll be carrying even a moderately sized pistol on a day basis. This especially holds true if, like me, you decided that Springfield Armory’s finest boat anchor will be your EDC piece. I have watched helplessly as spindly little dress belts have been crushed under the weight of my mighty XD(m). The only belt that has consistently kept my pants and my gat off the ground is my CompTac Kydex reinforced contour belt. But, the biggest failing of that system comes with the use of IWB holsters that use the waistband of my pants to rest on . . .
A prime example from my holster collection are the C-clips and J clips used on some of CompTac’s holsters. As long as I’m wearing sturdy denim or canvas, those clips don’t present a problem. But sometimes a pair of lighter weight chinos is in the cards, and Mike McSorly at EDC Belts has a solution for your woes.
Mike’s EDC belt uses a very sturdy Nylon inner belt covered by a leather-backed nylon outer belt to cover the clips and other accoutrements necessary to carry your piece. What this allows is a VERY stiff ring of nylon on which to hang holsters and mag pouches while allowing you to wear thinner or lighter pants that would normally buckle under the weight of a typical full-sized handgun.
In this respect, this belt works very well. I’ve been able to wear a variety of holster/pant combos I normally couldn’t with a regular leather belt. If you cinch down on the buckle sufficiently, you can nearly cut off blood flow to the lower extremities. I don’t recommend that for EDC, but rest assured that in my testing, the EDC belt remained unscathed whilst supporting my pants, phone, wallet, a GLOCK 19, and an extra magazine.
Unlike your typical EDC belts, this one requires a bit more of a ritual in the morning and evening as it becomes semi permanently attached to your pants during the day. First, you must remove the male end of the buckle, thread the belt through your belt loops, then add any holsters that don’t quick-disconnect. Once you’ve accomplished that, thread the male buckle back in place, adjust the length, and click it into place.
As you can see in the photos above, there’s an elastic cuff that the stiff nylon inner ring rests inside. If I had my way, the nylon ring would be about two inches longer so that it firmly rested inside the elastic cuff. At what appeared to be the typical outer belt setting, the nylon ring would just rest inside the cuff. My hope is that future revisions would have a slightly longer inner ring.
Another nit that needs picking is the stitching work. Full disclosure, I got a very early run of the belt so it’s possible that Mike’s later products will have some smoother edges and a bit more “polish.” This belt’s reason for being is to provide a good looking leather belt with a very functional inner core that can hold the heaviest of heaters. While it certainly does the latter part well, the first part is marginal. It looks nice enough from 10 feet, but close inspection reveals that this is still very much an industrial product.
Overall, I feel that Mike has a solid product on his hands. The belt took whatever I threw at it over the course of nearly two months of everyday carry in a variety of wardrobes. I tried OWB, IWB, AIWB, and strapped mag pouches, flashlights, and all manner of junk to it. I couldn’t get it to fail. Probably the ultimate test came during the carbine competition last month when I ran my Garand. As you can see in the video, I have an OWB holster with my XD(m), a dump pouch on the back, and a mag pouch holding about 40 rounds of .30-06 and an extra 19 round XD(m) magazine. All told that’s a lot of gear to hang on a belt and the EDC belt performed flawlessly while I ran around like an idiot.
Specifications: Leather EDC Belt
- Buckle: 1.5″ Quick Detach AustriAlpin Cobra Buckle
- Dual layer construction: A rigid, inner structural belt combined with an adjutsable outer belt.
- Inner belt: rigid, load-bearing, double-thick rigger’s webbing
- Outer Belt: composite of heavy duty nylon webbing and a kid leather outer
- Colors: Black, brown and white with various colors of buckle are now available.
- Price: $100 on EDCbelts.com. Various prices available on their Kickstarter page
Durability * * * * *
I’m fairly destructive, but I was unable to put a dent in this belt. The buckle is stupid stout, the inner belt is like wearing an iron band around your waist, and when cinched down, the outer belt effectively retains anything between it and the inner belt. I wore this belt every day for 2 months and was unable to find any flaws in construction.
Fit & Finish * * * *
This belt ran true to size, but you should accurately measure yourself before you submit your order as all belts are custom made. I’m knocking one star off for the leather being a little rough around the edges, and the inner belt not being quite long enough to fit firmly inside the elastic cuff. If those two items were addressed, this would be a firm five star belt
Overall Rating * * * *
This is one of the stoutest belts I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting my hands on and is a nearly constant companion in my wardrobe. I’d like to see the overall finish out a bit better, but for $100 this is still a great buy if you’re in the market for a hellishly stout belt with some cool features. The two part construction results in a very useful belt that actively retains all the parts and pieces in your EDC kit.
Guns, gear and EDC notwithstanding, I’ve always been a belt guy. Some guys never wear a belt. I have friends/relatives who don’t even own a belt, or if they do, they have to go looking for it when they need it (e.g., weddings, funerals, graduations, etc.).
I even wear a lightweight D-ring belt with cargo shorts whether they need a belt or not.
Living behind the Iron Curtain, I can’t CC anything but an EDC knife but I always wear a belt. I think it’s the Boy Scout in me.
I cant carry a gun at work and i am required to “dress up.” Well by dress up i mean clean jeans and a button down tucked in with a dress belt. But I can have a gun in the truck locked and unloaded so as soon as i get off i place my LCP in my pocket holster and away I go. Much simpler than wrangling an IWB holster and untucking my shirt. But on weekends, days off, or when i go home and then go back out I have been using a BLACKHAWK! Leather CC belt with the PVC lining. Supports my IWB holster and OWB mag carrier very nicely. Considering that i wear it 12hrs a week max it is a great deal.
You can’t carry at work… As in can’t because there are metal detectors and check points?
Or can’t as in its not “allowed” by company policy, so you won’t, but there are no physical limitations stopping you?
Well, its true, from a certain point of view 🙂
I have the same issue with my college and that it is a satellite campus with literally nothing, not even a single campus security guard…. nothing. Last year we actually had a scare from some crazy student also, SMU cops there for a month or two to appease the sheep, then back to being the softest of soft targets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSOBeD1GC_Y
Well, whether you choose to carry, or not, you’ll be the one dealing with the consequences. So, it’s your call.
I’ll say this, I’ve never been search or sent through metal detectors at any college campus.
Campus “Security” is a joke, at best.
My Company has a “No Berettas” sign posted at the front door and the company policy says anyone with a gun on their person during work hours will be fired. The “No Berettas” sign is not legally binding in my state however. The weapon policy just changed on 1/1/14 allowing lawfull CCW holders to keep their guns locked in their vehicle during the day. Before then any employee with a firearm with 100′ of company property would be terminated. Now i know people will say “screw the no gun policy” and “concealed means concealed” or “my life is worth more than a job” but i have people that depend on my paycheck, and i actually like my job. In my area decent paying jobs like mine only come open once every 10 yrs and i would like to keep it. It is just like flying on a plane… i cannot have my gun so i practice non armed techniques and carry the best self defense tool allowed and pray i dont need them.
Well, you gotta do what you feel is best for you and yours.
LCPs are damn concealable though, it’s a hard to beat gun when you NEED no one to know it is there.
As an employee, I wouldn’t put too much faith in a supposedly not legally binding sign on the front door as some kind of legal loophole for you. Usually, a state’s signage law applies to “constructive notice”, which is for people who don’t visit the property on a regular basis as an employee does. Constructive notice is the standard for general, catch-all notice to all comers, without imposing a duty on the property owner to conduct a formal rules and regs session for every last pizza delivery guy or whomever.
As an employee, however, it’s extremely likely that you have already been provided actual notice, as via a signed employee handbook or other document. In that case, the validity of the constructive notice signage is moot, as you’ve already been notified by way of direct and explicit documentation.
Jon, unless handbooks or signs can be used as a bullet shield if some crazy a$$hole comes in and shoots the place up, then I’m not too concerned about them.
There’s risk along with that, but can find new work and/or lawyer up, I can’t come back from the dead.
Check out the SuperTuck from crossbreed, it was made just for people like yourself. they have nice belts too.
Turn that into a dress belt version, and they’ve got my money !
This is a lot of trouble and expense when all you have to do is avoid “J” hooks and wear a decent double layer belt like a BeltMan model. Costs about half as much and the holster can be removed in a second, even while sitting in a car. Some people just like complications for their own sake, I guess.
I’m a double thickness,leather, gun belt guy…
The tactical nylon or whatever belts just don’t do it for me. They all seem overly complicated, it’s a belt, not a science project.
And, some people think that what works for them is the only solution that everyone should use. 😉
I don’t think you understand how this whole Internet thing works…
If I don’t convince people that my decisions are the only right ones, then how will I ever truely “win the interwebs?”
I wear a Beltman horsehide belt everyday and it has held up quite well for me. I carry all steel firearms. The belt looks good too, IMHO.
I wear a velcro lined Beltman with V clips and IWB… no one can tell, it supports a G19 no problems. I even run it in competition with my my G34 in a CompTac rig and it still does brilliantly. The CompTac paddle actually hooks onto the velcro lining as well. Twofer!
A Beltman belt is the last belt you will ever need, man. This is seriously the best I have ever had.
I know the ttag
I carry a full size original .45 XD and I agree, a good belt is needed. However I found a good work belt at walmart for about 10 bucks. Its a great sturdy belt that’s intended to hold a tool belt pouch. And made out of that same tool belt/pouch material.
Yeah, the biggest problem I see with this belt is the “tactical” belt buckle. I don’t really see the value in spending $$$ for leather when you are going to have a belt buckle that is definitely not dressy. I’m perfectly happy with my nylon only belt when using this sort of buckle.
While I LOVE a cobra buckle as much as the next guy (probably more) they really are a pain to get in belt loops sometimes, I need to buy a smaller EDC belt as the inner belt for battle belt will NOT fit in most any of my pants ha
Currently rockin a reasonable leather belt I got at Academy, but its about time for a new one.
This belt reminds me of something I saw on TV the other day…
The program was coverage of the new products at “SHOT show”, interviews, what’s new, etc. One of the hosts was talking to the people at “5.11” and the host stated that 5.11 was mostly known for clothing.
Well, the 5.11 rep quickly corrected the host by saying, “We are known for gear. We like to think of clothes as gear, gear that gets a job done .”
Well, basically, this is my long winded point, why does everything have to overly complicated “gear?”
This seems like reinventing the wheel, or the belt, as it were.
The solution for those of who don’t carry at work due to “company policy” may be to work from home. I understand that may not be possible for some, and others might not wanna because work allows them to escape from thier over bearing mother in law that just moved in, but it is worth some thought.
For belts I wear a simple leather belt that is fairly casual, and it supports my various firearms just fine. I like nylon belts, I just choose not to wear them unless I’m in the woods.
Or people can just carry anyways.
There are so many sub 16 oz guns out there now, it’s ridiculous.
I know there risks, but life is full of them.
Seriously, now many times do people search you or scan your body during the course of your work day? I many have ever experienced it at work.
And LCP or Bodyguard in a pocket pocket looks like a wallet. And an ankle rig disappears under long pants, unless you wear skinny pants, bless your heart.
Hell, NAA makes guns the size of zippo lighters, no one is going to know something that small is a gun in your pocket, or even ask.
There are OCs on here always talking about walking through Walmart or wherever with a pistol on their belt and people barely looking at them.
No one is going to be scrutizing the slight wallet or phone like bulge in your pocket.
What holster is he sporting in these pics? I’m looking for something other than my hybrid to use with my m&p 9c. ( i like options…)
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/04/tyler-kee/norcal-aiwb/
NorCal Kydex AIWB
Wilderness instructors belt. If you get your Chevy Suburban stuck in the mud you can pull it out with this belt.
I’m not a big nylon belt fan. My current belt is a 5.11 leather gun belt. And even that may get replaced by one of the custom leathermaker’s gun belts. And I EDC a Kimber Ultra Carry .45. So good belts are really important to me.
Original SOE gear has been making these for damn near 30 years. Bulletproof and under 100 bucks
Me personally I have a Galco CSB7 Cop Belt.(at least that is what it is called on amazon.com) and i carry my Glock 17 on a Galco Summer Confort IWB holster. Had this set up for almost a year now with no problems with a belt wearing down. Its all preference though when i comes to these things. It will always be about what YOU like and what is comfortable to YOU. Everybody is shaped different so something that works for me could be terrible for you. I like the Galco belt thought because it looks nice with anything you can wear.
Ares Gear Ranger. Indestructible. Harder and stiffer than a diamond in an ice storm. Almost infinite color combinations. Greatest customer service on earth.
Expensive, but if you want to hang 1000 worth of gun/accessories/ammo/extra mag on a belt, 100 dollars isn’t so bad. Only issue was getting it threaded, and Raven fixed that problem with their Quick Mount Straps. This belt has the supportive strength of reinforced concrete. Holds up a G17 w/X300 ultra and an extra mag every day.
http://www.aresgear.com/
Eh, it’s too gun guy ish. I want clothes to look like clothes, not tactical gear. The only 5.11 pants I would buy outside of a competition context would be the Covert 2.0.
“Eh, it’s too gun guy ish. I want clothes to look like clothes, not tactical gear. ”
Agree.
Hanks Amish Belts Tough as brick. My EDC is an all steel, full size CZ 75b in .40, one extra mag in pouch, and my cell. No problem. About $40.00 for most models.
http://www.hanksclothing.com/amish_belts_ccw.html
http://www.aerostich.com/last-chance-hd-totally-serious-belt.html
This is not bad.
If you’re not a fan of the cobra buckles, I’d recommend the vertx raptor belt. It works off a similar process, but the buckle is small enough to run through belt loops, and it’s backed by a layer of velcro for extra retention. I’ve been running mine for about a week and it’s pretty intuitive.
http://wearvertx.com/Solid-Raptor-Belt.aspx
Holy crap, that’s an ugly belt. It looks like part of an auto racing 6-point harness.
For casual, I wear a Crossbreed belt. For business / dress, I wear one of two Beltmans (one black, one brown). All have velcro sewn in, and I use the v-clips. So far, so good.
I have a variety of belts – thicker leather off-the-shelf, uber-tactical nylon “pull your Abrams out of the ditch” styles….the stiffness of some is terrific but you’re still stuck with a heavy amount of gear resting there. When I’m not tucking a shirt in, but wearing polo or a T-shirt, any kind of untucked shirt, I throw on some suspenders over my tshirt and under the outer shirt. Dickies, I believe it is, has a style that doesn’t pinch-clip onto your pants, they actually have plastic clips that go right onto the belt. Takes a lot of weight off of the hips, you don’t have to cinch the belt up as much for support either. Handy for when you open carry a Glock 20 at the range with a 29 AIWB and two 15 rd 10mm mags on the support side. MUCH more comfortable without a lot of “tacticoolness” showing to the world.
Tyler – enjoyed the belt review. But those shoes……
Hush now.
Never mind that it’s thick and sturdy. When I buy belts, I like to buy something… uh, what do you call it…. “LESS UGLY!” Yes! That’s what you call it.
It is a belt, nothing complicated. Just find a leather-worker and get them to make one (=pay them to make one for you). Can be a bit hard, but if you look you’l find someone. Also it will last you a really long time.
Gotta admit though, was expecting some belt with pouches or something from reading the title.
RockOnHellChild, I’m fully aware of the wide selection of itty bitty bladders out there. The thing is that there are folks on here who won’t even carry one if those.
In thier defense the smallest gun I have ever carried/ will arty is a Glock 26. Why? Any smaller than that and I have issues getting purchase in the grip. Plus the smallest caliber I actually prefer is 9mm.
I was just mentioning another option.
I have an LCP and it fills a niche the 26 does not (certified glock guy saying this, btw). A single stack “pocket nine” such as the Shield or the XDs is what I would recommend if a 19/23/29/30S is deemed too big. I’d still recommend the 19 first, but the thickness can be tough to contend with.
All of those are fantastic daily carry options. I am a bit of a simpleton, but I absolutely love the XD Subcompact line. Reliable, next to perfect ergonomically (at least for me), and has a similar line of sighting to the 1911. Also, the price tag is unheard of for such a well-made weapon. Also, I haven’t encountered any reports of frame failures from +P ammo like the XDM line. Granted, I’m 6’5″ and have large hands, so they’re probably not appropriate for everyone. I do like the 3″ barrel, as I can sit in the driver’s seat and not be tortured by the slide protruding into my crotch when carrying AIWB.
As long as you’ll actually carry it, then good on you.
Just don’t be the guy that say, “I’ll only ever carry X gun.” And not have it on you when it matters.
I think belts like this are illegal in IDPA, aren’t they? Maybe I am not understanding that rule well enough.
I don’t wear belts much, since I’m an OFWG. Guess I’ll need to start.
Renegade Dav, the shield, xds, and LCD are good guns. But from a personal standpoint the smallest I go is the 26. Grip has something to do with it, and personal experience does too, the three above mentioned are on my list to try out sometime, I have handled all three, but the real test is shooting them for me.
I like the idea of this belt but I don’t care for the execution much, I need a stout belt that looks good with a suit, and I do mean good, not marginal.
I’m lucky enough to know a good custom leather man and a seamstress who works on the cheap. The leather guy over sews nice belts I bring him to reinforce them with an second layer of leather and the seamstress enlarges the loops on my pants so that the double thick belts will fit. You’d pretty much have to see the belt off my body or be pinching it to detect the customization and they really work well.
First, I’d like to thank Tyler for a very fair review! Everything he has said about the belt is absolutely true.
I’m not a high-end clothing producer and as such my finishing skills aren’t as developed as some folks out there. What my main concern is, is to put a belt to market that is at the intersection of Ultra-high durability and high functionality, and is passable as a casual or professional dress item for those of us who choose to take the responsibility to provide for the safety of ourselves and those around us.
Some notes:
The shortcomings of the belt that Mr. Kee reviewed are correct, and in current design have been fixed. In the interest of clarity, the rough edges of the leather are outside of my capability to finish, but like he mentioned, it’s only upon unusually close inspection that the rough edge of the leather becomes apparent. The inner belt length has been increased so that the retention area gets a firmer hold of the inner belt overlap.
Also, the rough stitching in the joined sections of the belt is a result of the excessive redundancy of covering each seam 3 times to increase the durability of the seam. This was a conscious decision on my part, because I wanted to make sure that this belt will NEVER fail you or fall apart. The compromise was with aesthetics. I really appreciate the honesty of Tyler’s review and can’t thank him enough for how he has lent his credibility and reputation as the utmost and most honest reviewer of equipment for our community.
I feel very lucky to have received the attention of such a well-run blog and will stand by any review that this site makes! Thanks Tyler, and Thanks to TheTruthAboutGuns.com!
Much love,
Mike
Boy that belt is ugly. I have a 1 1/2 ” elephant belt which is superb, gives up nothing, and an ostrich belt damn near as good. With hand carved silver buckle set.
This is what I’ve been looking for.. I will buy this belt. The looks are more than good enough for my needs. Thanks for the review!
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