A gun belt is a crucial piece of the concealed carry equation. The best gun belts are those that address the realistic concerns facing both the dedicated concealed carriers and those who use a holstered gun on a more sporadic basis.
A legitimate gun belt will have a robust build quality, a great brand reputation, and beneficial features to set it apart from the crowd. The right belt elevates the routine concealed carry experience to a comfortable, natural-feeling daily undertaking.
In this article, we're going to review some of the best gun belts on the market. We'll be highlighting why each model made our list, so stay tuned!
At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Gun Belts
Comparison of the Best Gun Belts
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Are All Gun Belts The Same?
All gun belts are not created equally. This is no more apparent than the first time you feel your new gun belt begin to sag under the weight of your concealed carry weapon and allows your gun to “print”, and discomfort as the belt twists and flops around.
Not only do you need to be looking for a rigid/stiff gun belt, but one that has a proven history of providing long-term service to users.
There are plenty of great belts, and many achieve the same strength and rigidness through different means, materials, or design options.
Many belts meet the stringent requirements to be included in a list of “the best gun belts”, and there are many more belts that aren’t worth the material costs that went into their construction.
We’ll do our best to help you understand what makes the best belts for long-term use, and possibly even lifetime carry of your concealed weapon.
Note: Sometimes appearance is everything, and you can, and should, compromise on stiffness and look for a belt that can be used in specific scenarios to keep you concealed. We added a couple options for such an occurrence. We would never use them as dedicated gun belts, but for more formal settings, where clothing is important, they fit the bill when utilized properly.
Fitting a Holster to a Gun Belt – What You Need to Consider
Fit is everything with a holster belt. The size and adjustability of the belt will be a huge determining factor in how good that belt actually is.
One of the most significant aspects of the fitting process for the belt to fit your holster is the width of the belt. Most traditional fashion belts are ¾” or 1” in width.
Sometimes you might be able to find a fashion style belt that is slightly wider. With a legitimate gun holster belt, you can expect not only a wider belt but a much thicker material in conjunction with the wider width.
Note: This will sometimes mean that your existing pants will not work with your gun belt. The belt loops may be too small to fit the heavy-duty belt you’ll want to invest in for concealed carry use. That is usually not a problem for holsters. Most holsters can fit a wide belt by default. The slots on most holsters are at least wide enough to handle the standard 1 ½” belt, or even larger belts in many cases.
Review of the Best Gun Belts
Now that you know some of the practicalities for choosing a gun belt, you’ll still want to factor in the individual benefits of each design and have a look at our preferred choices.
We detail some of the different styles you will run across when looking at top tier gun belts for competition, concealed carry, or other use cases.
Each of these reviews should give you an apples-to-apples comparison to improve your selection criteria for your new gun belt.
Best Overall:
Relentless Tactical The Ultimate Concealed Carry CCW Gun Belt
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
New buyers were impressed with this belt’s ability to handle various holsters and keeping them in place without the holster itself sliding around. They also noticed that the leather was nice and firm and didn’t sag like some of the cheaper belts they’ve used in the past. Overall, they reported a nice and snug fit across many sizes.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This might look like an ordinary fashion belt. But rest assured, it was manufactured specifically to handle all your concealed carry needs. It’s made from high-quality leather that will be really hard to damage or scuff up. And it will certainly give you a leg up in terms of wearing it around your waist. It’s thick enough to handle clips and is guaranteed to fit many waist sizes. Whether you are of average size or larger, this might be the belt you’ll want to handle for all your concealed carry holsters and maybe some other goodies.
A belt with a lifetime warranty is an all-too-common thing nowadays, but Relentless Tactical is one of the versions that actually makes sense to own.
You won’t have to hope they honor their warranty claims or worry whether the reviews that buoyed up your choice to buy from them were all fake.
Instead, you’re getting legitimate build quality, customer service, and performance out of this 1.5-inch wide belt that should fit most mainstream pants and most holsters without fitment concerns.
The looks are clean enough that you can use it as a “fashion belt” and the build is heavy-duty, so you can use it for a gadget-laden duty belt. It’s a chameleon and a workhorse at the same time when it comes to gun belts.
Who Will Use This Most
This will be a simple to use concealed carry gun belt that will work in favor of those who carry compact or full-sized pistols. It will also be a belt that won’t allow for any damage that may occur from the simple task of attaching and detaching your holster. The clip may scratch or snag with some belts, but it will not harm a belt like this at all.
Bottom Line
The Relentless Tactical The Ultimate Concealed Carry CCW Gun Belt will probably be one of the best standard gun belts that you can find on the market. It can handle so many holsters and handguns that go along with it. It will handle not just holsters, but also some of the other EDC items that you must have on hand no matter where you go.
This belt is an investment, and compared to what you might be used to paying, this belt is much more expensive, but the value for the money is absolutely there – you won’t need to buy a new belt every year or two either. If you have a problem with the belt, it gets replaced.
Best for the Money:
Hanks Everyday -"No Break" Thick Leather Belt
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
Most of the new users were looking for a belt that was pretty much the closest they could get to something that won’t damage easily. They were not disappointed in the slightest when they gave this belt a shot. It was able to handle all the EDC items and even their concealed carry pistol of choice. About half were compact pistols while other users relied on full size. No stretching or sagging was good enough for one user who just wanted a belt that would fit and nothing more.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The “No Break” lives up to its name and for good reason. It’s a pretty flexible belt made from high-quality leather material that won’t warp, crack or sustain any damage. It’s probably the closest thing you can find to an indestructible belt. The good news is that you’ll be able to attach and reattach your favorite holsters without having to worry about scratching the belt itself. For a concealed carry belt, it can handle a good deal of stuff as a good belt should.
This belt is more of a fashion belt that can handle the use of a holster than a dedicated gun belt. But there is sound reasoning for choosing this belt over other “dedicated” gun belts too.
It looks better than most belts, it is made from even more premium finished leather, (though the weight of the cut is 13 ounces compared to usually higher weights for gun belts from Hank’s), and it is more versatile by far.
It won’t sag like cheap belts, but it also isn’t made for heavy gun holstering. However, it is a great belt that you can use for gun needs.
Beautiful, functional, and versatile, this is a perfect mate for your small or medium sized gun as a daily carry belt, or for occasional use for heavy gun setups.
Note: Because it is made first as foremost as a belt, and not a gun specific belt, you might consider a dedicated gun build if you plan on carrying a lot of weight 24/7 or even just daily. For everything else, this belt is excellent.
Who Will Use This Most
This is a belt that might fit users that will be looking for the best quality possible. Granted, this belt isn’t cheap in quality (or in price). But rest assured, it’s worth every penny and it proves that in so many ways. Just wear this sucker around your waist and it will be reliable and hold its own for well over a year or more. You’d be surprised how this stacks up against regular leather belts that are typically worn for fashion purposes.
Bottom Line
The Hanks Everyday “No Break” Thick Leather Belt is just too hard to pass up for a few good reasons. You can strap this on and add your pistol of choice and you will be ready for any potentially dangerous situation that might be lurking at home or even while you are out and about. If you are serious about concealed carry, you need a belt that is serious about handling all your needs.
An excellent belt that doubles as a gun belt, even if it wasn’t purposefully made for that reason. But this belt is in a whole other league compared to big box store belts or cheap belts you find at knock-off retailers and in retail in general.
If you want the very best carrying capacity, warranty, and stiffness in a belt made for heavy duty use but still lightweight and semi-casual, this is a serious contender for your dollars.
Best Kore Gun Belt:
KORE Men’s Track Belt
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
New users say that the belt was really easy to adjust and wear. Even better, they were able to add on holsters and other EDC items without any additional issues. The leather quality was pretty sturdy and they were also impressed with the belt’s flexibility. One user said that he wears this for concealed carry and on some days for the purpose of wearing a belt. He said the belt was of excellent quality and wasn’t too long or too short.
Why it Stands Out to Us
One of the things that stood out with this belt is the alloy belt buckle. It’s pretty sturdy and therefore gives the belt more sturdiness for you to work with. If you want a belt that is super sturdy, then you may not have to look any further than this belt in particular. On top of that, the belt is the best fit for sizes that might not be accommodated by other belts. So if you are on the large side, this might be a belt to consider investing your hard-earned money in.
Very specifically, the manufacturer notes to potential buyers that this is NOT a gun belt.
However, a gun belt doesn’t always mean it has to handle a ton of weight or have a lack of flexibility. There are times when deep carry and concealment requires a fashion belt and some workarounds to make the carry most discrete.
This is why this belt is included on the list. It is a dedicated fashion belt with an exact-fit, track style adjustment that will work well with those who need ultimate carry capabilities from a civilian/fashion style belt.
It is also good for supplementing a belly band style holster/retention system and for attaching a shoulder rig if necessary, despite its obvious hindrance to full concealment.
For those who need to carry very small guns like Derringers or lightweight small framed pistols, this can also be an exceptional option, especially when a jacket and suspenders might be included in the clothing choice.
Who Will Use This Most
This is an everyday carry belt that will support all kinds of holsters and pistols. If you are looking for a belt that will be solid in quality and not to mention really sharp in aesthetics, this could be the go-to option for you. You might be using a regular belt for your concealed carry uses right now, but this belt might be guaranteed to be ten times stronger.
Bottom Line
The KORE Men’s Full-Grain Leather Track Belt is no joke when it comes to what it can do for your concealed carry holster. It’s pretty solid in quality and will definitely handle its share of everyday carry. Don’t be shocked if this bad boy winds up sticking around for a couple of years or more.
You buy this belt as a secondary or tertiary choice for carrying and it is best suited for more dressy occasions where a dedicated gun belt would be awkwardly out of place.
It is an exceptional option for deep concealment of smaller pistols and for when you might need something to keep your shoulder carry rig in place, but require maximum benefit from the aesthetics, like in a partial concealment bodyguard-type setting at formal events.
Best Ratchet Gun Belt:
Marino Men’s Genuine Leather Ratchet Dress Belt
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
As expected, a lot of new buyers were really pleased with the belt in so many ways. For one, they said the quality was impressive and it looked really sharp in terms of aesthetics. This belt was best for every day concealed carry or even every day wear according to one user. He added that the belt was easy to adjust and provided an excellent fit for his waist size.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Ever saw a gun belt that was so versatile you could wear it every day without carrying a pistol? This is the belt that matches that exact description. You can wear it as part of your everyday wardrobe or use it if you plan on carrying a pistol and maybe some EDC tools. It’s the kind of belt that will work hard day in and day out to give you a quality concealed carry that will stand the test of time.
Another very specific option, this is a dressy belt without nearly the durability and build quality from a toughness perspective of a dedicated gun belt.
But it’s not meant for heavy duty carry, it is meant for use in formal or dressy situations, where overall aesthetics will be a huge part of the need for your carry. This is not the first choice for a gun belt.
That must be clear. This is a choice for those who know they need a dressier option or who need the track style adjustment to blend with a variety of clothing options.
This is a great belt for small, lightweight firearms and when other dress accouterments may be present like a jacket, suspenders, or other items.
Who Will Use This Most
This will be the best belt that any concealed gun owner will use if they intend to dress sharp on a regular basis. Wearing this with a t-shirt and jeans may feel a bit out of place. So it will work as a nice belt for those who dress to impress (or if they have to dress professionally for their occupation like security guards). Regardless, it’s a belt that blends in nicely and is pretty sharp looking. Let’s not forget, it’s pretty tough and sturdy as well.
Bottom Line
This belt is stylish but freakishly strong. And it will be one of the best choices you’ve ever made if you went with this as your go-to concealed carry belt. It’s not your father’s dress belt (or yours for that matter). But it’s the kind of belt that will get you out of any dangerous situation no matter how sharp you dress up.
There can be no doubt that this is a quality belt, but this is a dedicated formal wear belt for deep concealment purposes and for use with small firearms only.
It might also double as a stabilizing belt for a shoulder harness/holster/rig for those who must maintain certain clothing requirements like dedicated professional protection details.
Best Tactical Gun Belt:
Mission Elite Heavy Duty EDC Tactical Belt
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
New users reported that this belt was super sturdy and easy to adjust to accommodate most sizes. This belt was a perfect choice for those who not only carry their pistols for EDC purposes, but also use it for carrying additional tools like flashlights, first aid kits, and even small items like whistles and compasses. One user said that he takes this just about anywhere, even when he was hiking in the woods recently.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This belt is made from high-quality nylon that is guaranteed to keep hold of all your tools and your pistol of choice without sagging or ripping apart. Not bad for a belt that is made from soft materials of all things. The belt itself is designed to fit all kinds of waist sizes. So if you are a size 30 or a size 40+, this will still provide a snug, comfortable fit that will be hard to beat.
Arguably the best option for those who want to carry lightweight guns in shorts or other lightweight clothes without a ton of hassle.
This is a very nicely reinforced nylon belt, that looks great while fitting the tactical, but is also decidedly less tactical than most “gun belt” options.
This belt will serve you well if you want the ultimate in lightweight wear and good adjustability and are not carrying a ton of weight.
It is also a very nicely fitting belt for those who don’t want belt buckle holes. The price is right, and the quality is great.
Who Will Use This Most
This is the ultimate gun belt for those who want to prepare for when SHTF. Danger and disaster can lurk and happen just about anywhere. It doesn’t take a coffee break, nor does it take a day off. It can happen close to you. But if you must prepare for a self-defense situation, carrying your pistol with this belt will be key. It’s tough to handle not just a pistol, but anything that you may need in order to prepare for any bug-out situations that may occur.
Bottom Line
The Mission Elite Heavy Duty EDC Tactical Belt is no joke. Especially when it’s designed to support every single thing that you should carry with you every day. You have plenty of space to work with and the belt won’t wear you down in the slightest. Overall, it’s a pretty solid belt that will have your back anytime and anyplace.
For the person who wants to carry in lighter weight clothes or needs water resistance and hard-wearing durability with a synthetic build, this is a very nice option that won’t cost an arm and a leg.
It is perfect for shorts and smaller firearms, especially when used for IWB (Inside Waistband) holsters.
Best Leather Gun Belt:
Hanks Gunner - Concealed Carry CCW Leather Gun Belt
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
Most of the new buyers were looking for something fashionable, but yet sturdy enough to handle a concealed carry pistol. It is able to keep holsters in place and prevent it from sliding all over the place. The belt was a hit with most buyers who had larger waist sizes that were measured at 40 inches or above. One user said for a big guy like himself, the belt was nice and snug.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Yes, the belt is fashionable. It looks sleek. But it’s anything but an everyday belt that you can wear for fashion purposes. Indeed, you can do just that even without carrying a pistol. But it can handle holsters better than any belt you can find on the market just for the sake of making your pants fit better. The belt is tough, easy to adjust, and will last you years or even decades. And it’s backed by a warranty that will last you 100 years. It might as well be a lifetime.
A perfect choice for IWB and stiffened paddle holsters, this is the extremely popular Gunner Belt from Hank’s that has outsold most other belts for the company on a regular basis. They call it their most popular belt by volume.
That is obvious in the utility and strength of the belt, even if it doesn’t “seem” like a dedicated gun belt.
This is the choice for when you want a T-shirt and jeans to carry in. It’s strong enough to hold the weight of a gun, but it isn’t so stiff as to be uncomfortable while carrying.
Who Will Use This Most
This gun belt will come in handy if you are just looking for something that is simple to wear and can even handle some other EDC tools if you choose to carry them. It’s got the sturdiness and is willing to work with all kinds of shooters of every size. It’s a simple belt that will look stylish even without the EDC tools handy.
Bottom Line
The Hanks Carry Leather Concealed Carry Gun Belt is worth the investment if you want something that will last you years and is backed by a warranty that could last you a lifetime. No matter what you carry with this belt, this will give you reliable service for as long as it can stay firm.
A beautiful option for the shooter who needs a strong no-nonsense belt without fluff, but doesn’t want it to rule their lives. This is a semi-casual belt that can be used as a day to day belt or as a belt for all your gun gear.
It’s made for jeans and a t-shirt more than for duty weapons and gear holders. But if you find yourself needing a belt for general carry and want an exceptional belt first and a very good gun belt second, there is no better choice. Period.
7. Hanks Extreme - Leather Gun Belt For CCW - Concealed Carry
Pros
Cons
What Recent Buyers Report
New buyers were looking for a simple gun belt that will handle their holsters along with other EDC items that they felt was necessary to take along with them. This belt was quick to handle so many holsters and other goodies without weighing the belt down or causing it to sag. The leather material was pretty solid and durable according to these new buyers. Furthermore, they added that the fit was snug and accommodated their waist size.
Why it Stands Out to Us
If you truly want a belt that is solid in quality and can handle a good amount of weight, this is the go-to option for you. This is the kind of belt that you’ll want to have on if and when you take part in any outdoor activities that may end up in you getting lost in the woods. Furthermore, it’s a pretty good belt to have in case you need to bug out and get to a safe location. And by the way, we hope that you have a bug out bag handy just in case SHTF.
A 17 oz. leather belt with a 100-year warranty. It doesn’t get much better than that. The customer service stories set this belt apart and their easy replacement policy also includes shipping costs back to the factory for replacement. Hank’s has a great product on their hands.
While it is super rigid it will still flex a bit, as it is a natural, non-stiffened product, but that helps with the versatility of the belt and offers a bit of comfort at the same time.
This is the belt to buy if you want a quality leather product so you won’t ever have to buy a gun belt again. It will serve the vast majority of users for many years.
Who Will Use This Most
This belt will be a good fit across many sizes. And it will be great for those in law enforcement or among civilians who EDC carry on a regular basis. No matter what your occupation is or how often you conceal carry, it’s good to have a belt handy to handle your favorite pistol. Of course, it’s better to be prepared than not at all.
Bottom Line
The Hanks Extreme Leather Gun Belt stands out as one of the best quality gun belts on the market. So if you want something that is extremely sturdy and can handle a good load of EDC items, this might just be the belt you can put to good use. Once you strap this on along with the tools you need (including your pistol), this will probably be your best friend that will stick to your side no matter where you are.
Companies like Hank’s have differentiated themselves so well in the market, that soon there will only be a handful of leather belt manufacturers that will continue making the product.
It’s hard for companies to compete with excellent customer service, great ratings, serious build quality, legacy performance, and that 100-year warranty.
It starts with a premium build from top tier leather and culminates in a better experience for concealed carriers and duty carriers all over the United States.
If you need a great warranty, and you want a no-hassle, no-nonsense return/exchange policy, Hanks is a very good option. You are unlikely to need a replacement belt, rather you are more likely to have it for many years because it’s already very well made.
Conclusion
With the impressive list of gun belts covered in this article, there is no reason you cannot find the perfect holster/belt combination to ensure a comfortable, intuitive, and safe concealed carry, or range training experience.
The robust, high-quality belts showcased here are absolutely best-in-class for heavy weight capacity, holster retention, and integrated functionality, and can easily be the simplest part of the carry equation.
Because you now know where to find the best gun belts, and there is a strong core of belt offerings on showcase, you can feel confident in your gun belt selection.
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
To see other apparel related posts that relate to concealed carrying, be sure to visit some of the posts below:
