Nylon Belt for Newbies:
7 Questions to the Right Concealed Carry Belt
Looking for a gun belt?
Here you go.
People carry a gun for various purposes. Some are due to their professional reasons like police while some do it for self-protection. Therefore, knowing why you are carrying a gun is important.
Different belts are designed for different purposes. For instance, a rigger belt is designed for climbers to withstand the pulling force while climbing against the cliff. A tactical belt is designed for combat reasons. And of course, a gun belt is designed to carry a gun!
Before you look for a gun belt, there are a few things you should know and keep in mind.
Open Carry or Concealed Carry?
How are you going to carry your gun? Open carry or concealed carry? Openly carrying your firearm is suitable in the scenarios when you want to access your firearm immediately in an emergency. On the other hand, carrying your firearm without revealing it to the public will be beneficial to those who never want to draw any undue attention towards their guns and themselves. Concealed carry has been a favorite of many as most of them would not want to scare the citizens. Most importantly, they worry that it might raise the attention of the violent criminals, especially if these criminals might spot out the weaknesses of their concealment methods.
Since concealed carry is a popular choice, this article will serve as a guide in concealed carry belt selection.
REMEMBER: the goal of concealed carry is not to stand out so that it would not draw attention to the belt and gun. So your goal would be to look for a belt that allows you to carry a gun more comfortably, more securely, and conceal better.
IWB or OWB?
Ask yourself 2 important questions:
• Weight: How heavy is your gun?
• Ways: How are you planning to conceal carrying your gun?
IWB stands for inside-the-waistband. It means you carry your gun together with a holster inside the pants. Your gun (with holster) is sandwiched between your body and the pants. OWB stands for outside-the-waistband. Your gun (with holster) is carried outside the pants
IWB is ideal for concealment. You can do it under an untucked shirt. How about OWB? It seems like open carry rather than concealed carry. Well, OWB is possible for concealment with extra preparation. Just wear a jacket to hide it from being visible to others. Also, make sure that the jacket is not too tight due to the printing issue.
Next, pay attention to the following factors in your search:
How Stiff Should Your Belt Be?
Firstly, it depends on the weight of your gun. If your gun is heavier, then you need a stiffer belt and vice versa. A stiffer belt also means less comfortable. Just strike a balance between these two based on your judgment. Secondly, it depends on the way of concealing in carrying your gun. OWB is ideal for carrying a heavy load. In this case, you need a stiffer belt to prevent your belt from sagging, warping, and twisting. Of course, you never want it to sag your pants and gun otherwise, it might lead to embarrassment and dangerous situations such as gun dropping. IWB is ideal for fitting your gun and the holster to your body contour. Therefore, it would be less stiff to ensure its flexibility to fit nicely and comfortably around your body contour. Lastly, sufficient stiffness is crucial to ensure quick gun draw in critical situations.
What Material Should I Look Into?
Leather and nylon are the popular options for concealed carry belts. Leather could be suitable for concealment as it blends in with daily outfits easily. In addition, it looks nice. However, it is hard to maintain as it is easy to dry out and crack over time. Nylon is easy to maintain, durable, and strong enough to carry loads as long as you choose the belt with more stitching. However, its tactical looks could make it more noticeable to others. In reality, you are not only carrying the gun but also the spare ammunition. The total weight needs to be supported by strong and long-lasting material. Plus, you might never have sufficient patience to maintain your belt all the time. Therefore, nylon is truly a good choice. To solve the concealment issue, choose low-profile colors like black and brown as well as hide them under your shirt.
How Kind of Buckle Should I Get?
The issue revolving around the buckle is the size and design of the buckle. Remember, CONCEALMENT is the goal. So, the buckle design must be minimal and not eye-catching. Besides, it should be small and flat enough to go through the belt loops. In addition, a low profile buckle prevents the abdomen pain due to a long time wearing of the belt. You can wear the belt comfortably with concealed carry.
How Wide Should the Belt Be?
The belt width on the market is generally in the range of 1 inch to 1.5 inches as most belt loops will not be wider than 1.5 inches. 1.75 inches to 2 inches are available on the market. But they are drawing attention from people. Definitely not a good choice of width you would want for conceal carry. As a rule of thumb: just pick 1.5 inches.
Adjustability?
Belts with 5 to 7 holes are commonly worn by people. Like leather belt. But it might fit you well due to a sizing issue. Belts with velcro can solve this issue but they might catch your belling hair by accident. Another solution is to choose belts without holes. Like nylon belt.
Our nylon belts met the above criteria of concealed carrying your gun. It is not only stiff, strong, durable, easy to maintain, and without holes, but also consists of 1.5 inches in width (except the slimmer nylon belts). Some buckles of our belts are designed with a low-profile like Mil- SPEC Nylonbelt as well as Ninja Metal. Ninja Metal is one of the quick-release series products which it meets the highest safety requirements, offering you the best protection from accidents or enemies as one-sided unlocking the buckle is impossible.