The best tactical belts for concealed carry

Buying a concealed carry belt doesn’t have to be complicated, and the 5.11 Mission-Ready belt is proof of that concept. It’s a simple leather belt that doesn’t stand out as much as a distinctly tactical nylon belt. What’s great about the Mission-Ready Belt is that it’ll offer good support for concealed carry, but it’s also simple enough for an everyday belt to wear around town. Additionally, the Mission-Ready belt is easily available from most retailers, so it’s not a difficult belt to shop around for if your usual outlet has them out of stock.

The 5.11 Mission-Ready Belt is a normal belt, and that’s that. There’s very little in the way of frills in terms of technology or materials, which is a great feature for many users who like to know what they’re getting. It’s also durable in its simplicity. Several friends specifically praised it as a good choice for concealed carry. A large part of their praise focused on the fact that the belt was comfortable and supportive to a wide variety of holsters and firearms, which is the ideal characteristic for a gun belt. Finally, if you don’t care for the admittedly utilitarian belt buckle, or if you’re like me and like to match your belt buckle to your watch, the buckle on this belt can be swapped for any buckle that’s compatible with a 1.5-inch belt.

Unfortunately, the key limitation of the 5.11 Mission-Ready Belt is that it’s just not a stylish belt. It satisfies the requirements of being durable, simple, and supportive, but loses out with its distinctly utilitarian styling. The tail of the belt is embossed with a 5.11 logo, immediately outing this as a tactical product to the trained observer, and features a utilitarian bevel to the tip. This is not a belt that dresses up well, and given that many people wear belts for stylish reasons entirely these days, a utilitarian belt stands out much more readily than an ornate one. There is also a limited range of colors and sizes, so you can have any color you want, as long as it’s one shade of black and one shade of brown, and if you can find it in your size.

For the value, the Kore Essentials leather gun belt will challenge your understanding of fit, style, and materials. This Kore belt is part of a larger ecosystem of products, and the value comes not from the cost of initial purchase, but from the ease of adapting the belt to your needs. For instance, we linked to the leather belt, but you can buy a more supportive nylon belt and use the same buckle, or vice versa.

The biggest advantage of the Kore Essentials belts is its use of a ratcheting system. It ensures that the belt fits an array of common sizes, but also that it fits you and your gun with ease. The look of these belts is somewhat more flexible than other options, since they offer various shapes of buckles to fit a wide variety of styles, and this, combined with the flexible fitment, means that it will work well for many people. The leather belts are also reasonably supportive, especially when compared to similarly priced department store belts.

Although there are a variety of Kore buckles and they’re swappable, they’re all very modern in terms of style, so the belts end up looking like something a philandering waiter wears at the local midrange bar and grill. Long-term users have also reported that the belt buckles lose their finish after about a year of consistent use, which is especially true for the placard-type belt buckles with a lot of exposed metal. The buckles can be easily replaced for roughly $20, but the finish damage shows especially well on the coated gunmetal and nickel belt buckles. A final disadvantage of these belts is that while they are more rigid than a standard leather belt, they are still not rigid enough for outside-the-waistband carry, or for users like plain clothes law enforcement who may be carrying a sidearm, handcuffs, magazines, and other tools.

For the fashion-conscious concealed carrier, or someone who wants a belt that doesn’t look at all like a gun belt, the Esquire Premium Dress belt is the option for the discerning shooter. Made of luxurious vegetable-tanned leather, and featuring a durable construction that’s sturdy enough to support your average compact duty-sized handgun and at least one spare magazine. It’s a belt that looks as great as it performs, provided the user is willing to pay the price.

There’s very little that comes close to looking as good as a leather product that’s tanned with vegetable-based dye, and the Esquire Premium dress belt shows that. The stainless steel buckle and veg-tanned leather will not suffer from worn finishing and poor aging the same way that standard chrome-tanned leather belts with plated buckles would, meaning that this is a belt that only gets better with age. Best of all, it just looks like a belt and has very little in the way of telltale signs that this is a belt specifically designed for an armed person.

This is a good-looking belt and will complement even the most foppish concealed carrier’s clothing well, especially matched with a quality pair of shoes. The classic buckle design and padded belt not only mean that this is a comfortable belt, but also one that looks indistinguishable from standard premium belts that one can buy. Even with all this beautiful styling, the belt is still stiff, durable, and comfortable, due to being made of thick leather, so it will still support your weapon of choice.

Unfortunately, the Hank’s belt comes with a premium price as part of the premium materials, and that’s the biggest hurdle that prospective buyers will have to overcome when shopping with Hank’s. These belts aren’t artificially stiffened with steel or any other material, and instead, use thick leather as the basis of their holster support, so the belt is very thick, and that gives the belt eyelets a very distinctive, utilitarian appearance, somewhat betraying this belt as a gun belt. Finally, while this belt is capable of supporting a pistol, it’s not one of the pistol-carry specific belts that Hank’s makes, so it’s not optimal for users who want to carry a heavy equipment load, such as those who would carry an especially heavy weapon outside the waistband.

Although the PHLster Enigma is a somewhat complicated carry option, it’s also the best tactical belt for women wanting to conceal carry. It came very highly recommended by all the women I know who carry concealed because it conforms to a variety of women’s attire, which is typically slim-fitting and lacks functional belt loops. This bizarre and aptly named belt — consisting of a belt, a mounting platform for a holster, and a leg lanyard — creates a stable platform for almost any handgun and is one of the best IWB holsters on the market (for women and men).

As you may have guessed, the PHLster Enigma fits around your waist and under your clothes, and you wrap the leg lanyard around your thigh for stability. If you search online, you’ll see most people wearing it appendix style, but you don’t have to. But probably the biggest advantage of this belt is that it’s completely clothing-agnostic, meaning you can wear it with anything and access your firearm as long as you have access to your waistline.

The PHLster Enigma is complicated, expensive, and largely proprietary, which are the big issues with the system in a nutshell. It retails for the price of some of the more expensive belts on this list and requires that you buy a PHLster holster to go with it, which leads to a higher price tag. Another complicating factor is that if your weapon of choice doesn’t fit into a narrow range of holsters, or if it uses a weapon light, you’ll need to buy the light-bearing Enigma, which requires hand assembly. Finally, putting the enigma on requires a more complex procedure than simply threading a belt through loops, as you have to get your leg through the leash, adjust the belt, and then put on your clothes.

Certain discerning users need to move between covert and overt very quickly, wanting gear that easily facilitates a day that can include serving a high-risk warrant or shooting a two-gun match, as well as a trip to the local mall to grab lunch without standing out too much. Other users want to be able to shoot using a Velcro battle belt without having to wear specific tactical pants with enlarged belt loops. In both hypothetical situations, the Ciguera Gear Emissary Velcro belt is the best choice. This is a heavy-duty belt that doubles as an inner belt for a battle belt or tactical gun belt, and features a loop Velcro outer layer in addition to a stiffened liner for added support, all joined by a brass buckle.

The Emissary is a competent belt that fits into any pair of pants that will accommodate a belt, freeing the wearer of the need to wear specific tactical pants to then later use an outer battle belt. This flexibility is a specific advantage for people who want to wear normal attire to the range, or for plainclothes law enforcement who want to be able to quickly put on a battle belt over top. The belt is also very supportive, able to hold heavy outside-the-waistband holsters without much flex. Finally, the fact that it uses a familiar belt fastening system rather than something like Velcro means that at a passing glance by an untrained observer, it looks like a normal cloth belt.

I did say an “untrained observer” though, and that’s because this is very obviously a tactical belt. Normal attire doesn’t usually feature a nylon belt, and so any hope of blending in is limited by how closely someone is looking at your wardrobe. Another limitation is part of wearing a belt with a brass buckle is that the plating will eventually rub off over time, and you’ll need to replace it, which is less of an issue with more expensive steel buckles. Finally, due to being a combination of two different purposes, and in an attempt to do them both well, the Emissary belt is pricier than most CCW belts or most inner belts for use with a battle belt.