Our favourite gun belt is back on the market! The Bullbelt Steel Core was not available for many months but is now back in stock and at the same great price. Sadly other belts on our list are no longer available so we had to replace those as well. We do not know why but a lot of gear is no longer available for purchase, possibly due to the COVID virus. We suggest that if you find a belt you like then order a few as we cannot gaurantee they will be available in the years to come.
After 20 hours of research and actively testing 15 gun belts over 4 month’s we have decided that the Daltec Force Bullbelt Steel Core is the best gun belt to securely support your holster. It will carry all your tactical gear and holster without any sagging or stretching and looks like a real belt with a top quality finish.
This is just a well crafted and beautifully finished leather belt that meets all our requirements for a top quality gun belt. It has a steel core, changeable buckle with Chicago screws, two layers of bull hide full-grain solid leather and weighs in at 15oz. And to top that of the high quality finish means the belt can be worn as a dress belt if required. The only difference between the Bullbelt Steel Core and the Ultimate steel core belt is a slightly lower price and nicer finish. This gave the Daltech Force Bullbelt Steel Core a small advantage. This belt passed all our tests with flying colors.
They claim this is the toughest gun belt on Amazon. The Ultimate steel core belt lives up to it’s name and is great if you have a heavy gun and tactical gear, the inner spring steel insert makes all the difference. It’s just about indestructible and will handle anything you want to mount onto the belt. I found I could wear this belt a bit looser than regular belts which made it considerably more comfortable.
For those that want a belt without an insert then this is the one to get. Bull hide leather with quality stitching gives this belt a classic rugged style that is wearable anywhere. Without the insert this belt will conform to your body shape once worn in. Handmade in the USA from top quality bull hide leather in two different colors. The Double Tap Gun Belt has all the options we expect in a good gun belt, changeable buckle with Chicago screws and a lifetime warranty.
For an earlier version of this guide, we conducted a survey of GunsToCarry readers asking what they wanted from a gun belt. The most-important attributes named were the comfort of the belt (46.9 percent of respondents), secureness of a holster or other items attached to the belt (26.9 percent), and stretching or sagging of the belt over time (12.7 percent).
Once we surveyed the types of gun belts, we combed through sites that post lists and reviews of various gun belts. We also read discussions on reddit and in the forums on other sites, along with Amazon and accessory vendors websites on the 15 contenders we had selected. That’s a lot more than we usually do but given the lack of reliable information we decided to err on the side of thoroughness.
We carefully inspected each gun belt for any obvious deficiencies, the quality of construction and materials and what type of buckle was used. We then wore each of the most promising ones for weeks at a time with different loads.
Each belt was subjected to light and heavy guns along with all the tactical gear. We tried inside the waistband and outside the waistband holsters on all belts. It quickly became apparent as to which belts were not up to the task and after eliminating those we ended up with six belts that made the final cut.
We then narrowed those six gun belts down to the final three based on price, comfort, warranties, weight, range of options such as color, replaceable buckles and appearance.
The original steel core gun belt is made from ¼ inch thick premium bullhide leather. This is my first choice for a gun belt and in fact I have a few of them. Never had any trouble with it and it just does what it is supposed to. I have loaded it up with all the gear you can think of and it still supports everything. It is the steel core that makes the difference.
Has been refined over the years and is good enough to wear as a dress belt, you can wear it just about anywhere.
The Ultimate Steel Core is more suited to situations where you want to carry everything in tactical gear and a heavy gun.
Because of the spring steel in the belt it will not conform to your body shape like a regular belt and may take a bit of getting used to. There is also much less flex in the belt so I had to adjust my method for putting the belt on, but I cannot say it was harder to put on, I just had to change my technique. The buckle is attached with Chicago bolts that screw on, these are preferable to the snap on type which can sometimes come undone. Anyway, the buckle can be changed fairly easily if required.
Another thing to consider is that the thickness of the belt may require new clips on some but not all IWB holsters. I only had to change the clips on one of my holsters.
If you look after the belt by applying leather conditioner every now and then it will probably last you a lifetime so it’s a good investment.
The belt is available in two colors, black and brown and has a lifetime warranty.
We added in the Double Tap gun belt to cover people who cannot get used to a steel insert belt. Although, personally I find the steel insert belts more comfortable as they don’t need to be done up as tight as a regular belt. I have worn other similar belts but over time as they age they can start to stretch and twist. Not this belt though, I have worn it for six months now and it is still a solid support for my gun with no signs of stretching or twisting.
From my experience the Double Tap will outlast nearly all other non insert belts on the market and is capable of carrying the full range of guns from light to heavy. These gun belts will never split like some cheaper belts will – Made from 100% Full-Grain leather, the Premier can take anything you throw its way and will continue to look great with age. If you have a thinner, cheaper belt, by the time it has worn a bit and started to stretch the Double Tap belt will still be going strong. You may spend a bit more now but long term you will be saving money. Always buy quality over lower quality products.
The belt comes in two colors, black and brown and don’t forget the lifetime warranty.
Look at the handgun, belt and holster as part of a system, the weakest link will break the chain. More importantly this system could be needed to save your life some day so failure is unacceptable.
You can have a good gun, good holster, good ammo, and good sights, but without a good foundation to hang all these on you are wasting your time.
To prevent that system from failing the holster needs to be matched to a correct gun belt. If that is not done then the belt will not be rigid enough to give you the best support for the weight of your handgun and will not be comfortable. Although it may sound like a rigid belt around your waist will be uncomfortable they are not and are actually very comfortable to wear.
A good gun belt is reinforced with a metal insert and made from double thick leather. Avoid the plastic or kydex inserts as these can break leaving your belt totally useless, always go for a spring steel insert. You will find that with a poorly designed belt that even a good holster will hang outward from the body while constantly shifting its position. So it’s important to purchase a good gun belt along with your holster.
This is what we look for in a quality gun belt;
To get the best support you will need to match the holster to the width of the gun belt. Gun belts mostly come in widths of 1¼ – 1¾ inch widths. You will find that holster slots vary in width with some even using belt loops that can be adjusted.
Most gun belts are fairly similar but there are a few that stand out. You will need to pay a bit more for a top quality gun belt but it is worth it. I have had many belts over the years bought with the intent of conceal carry. They usually start off doing the job, but slowly over varying times they start to sag, pinch or stretch till I have to replace. So that’s why I always go with a steel insert now.
The one exception to the steel insert I would make is the above Double Tap belt which with it’s bull hide leather is certainly not going to sag or stretch for many years, if ever.
You can find tons of gun belt reviews online but in my opinion they are not giving you the full story
You can find tons of gun belt reviews online but in my opinion they are not giving you the full story. Yes, what they claim is probably true initially but what they do not tell you is that after the belt has worn in for 6 months (time varies) and become nice and supple, guess what is going to happen! This is important so I am going to repeat myself, it’s going to start sagging or stretching.
Lets say you thought you got a good deal with a $40 belt, well now you will need to buy another one for a total of $80. So if you find yourself in this situation then the prices of the belts we have recommended suddenly seem like a good deal, and to top that off they will last a lot longer than 6 months, you are looking at 10 years plus with these belts.
There is not much point in having a quality holster if you try to use it on a inferior cheap gun belt. So do yourself a favor and get a top quality belt.
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