Jump to content
ESB

Conceal Carry Gear and Clothes

Recommended Posts

On 5/31/2023 at 10:13 PM, High Exposure said:

3) Buy a yoga block and use a razor blade to make your own wedge, then glue/Velcro it to your holster. You can experiment and see what you like. Change sizes, shapes and thickness until you find what you like.

If you have an electric knife (the kind with two serrated blades that move against each other) that cuts foam really nicely 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Krdshrk said:

I've seen those style belts.  How bad do the upper/lower prongs stand out?  They're really fairly obvious that you're wearing some sort of tactical belt from the belt release prongs.  

this particular belt has a smaller buckle. you can fit it through most belt loops. the prongs don't stick out far at all. i'll see if i can get a pic of it buckled. i don't tuck, so the belt's not really visible at all. if i tucked in, then the buckle would be visible, but i kinda feel like it's small enough to not be noticed by most people.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Krdshrk said:

I've seen those style belts.  How bad do the upper/lower prongs stand out?  They're really fairly obvious that you're wearing some sort of tactical belt from the belt release prongs.  

What? That’s bananas.

First, they don’t stick out. 

Second, who the hell is looking at your upper crotch that hard to see if they can tell if you you are wearing a cobra buckle or not? 

Nobody cares.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
49 minutes ago, High Exposure said:

What? That’s bananas.

First, they don’t stick out. 

Second, who the hell is looking at your upper crotch that hard to see if they can tell if you you are wearing a cobra buckle or not? 

Nobody cares.

Random conversations.  I've been asked if I wear a belt at work... apparently a lot of younger people don't wear belts...  The Kore belts I have use pretty standard looking buckles.  One has a more dressy look... but yes, different belts for different wear situations.  If I'm tucking shirts, I will wear a more normal looking belt.

It's also my personal body shape, etc.  My gut does sometimes hang over my pants while sitting or whatever - don't want any pointy corners poking up at me (I have some surgical scars around the area that are a bit sensitive).  

Now that I look further - the Vedder Cobra isn't quite as bad as other's I've seen - the buckle release is rounded and recessed under the buckle clip.  It's not as bad.

I was remembering more of what I saw of other types of belts like this - the belts are overt tactical and the clips are pointy and stick out past the rest of the buckle.  For Example:

20221212_162012_1024x1024@2x.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 5/31/2023 at 7:32 PM, DirtyDigz said:

I'm starting to carry regularly and I'm looking for advice in 2 areas:

1 - I carry AIWB.  My "sweet spot" for concealment without printing through T-shirts is right about 1:30 (12:00 being my front centerline).

However, this position puts the lower edge of my kydex holsters right into the crease where my thigh meets my hip.  It's really getting uncomfortable and raw in that area between driving and sitting, so I need to do something.  I've been considering something along the lines of gluing a fold of moleskin over the lower edge of the holster, or stretching a sock or similar over the bottom half of the holster.

Any other ideas?

2 - A car lockbox.  I've been looking around and haven't found what I want yet.  My criteria:

- Has to have a "stout" cable (something that can't be snipped with a common hand tool like a big wire cutters or linesman pliers)
- No electronic anything - No biometrics, no electronic touchpad etc.  All mechanisms have to be purely mechanical
- I'd *REALLY* like it to have a simplex-type pushbutton lock that I can operate in the dark/by feel
- Big enough to fit a Glock 19 with Optic in a holster and an extra mag
- Narrow enough to fit completely under my car seat (I need to measure to find out exactly how much height I have).

Any suggestions for my criteria?

Regarding lockbox and cable - having a snip-resistant cable seems like a great idea, but pretty much any cable you are going to find on a box can be cut with a bolt cutter that can easily be transported in the culprit's car, so keep that in mind. I recently did some work with heavy cable taking the sag out of my driveway gates, and was surprised at how easily my 30" bolt cutters went through the stuff. IMO, same thing goes for the box - anyone looking specifically to snag secured items from a parked and locked car is more than likely equipped to either break into most boxes on-site, or cut the cable so he or she can compromise the box at leisure at another location. My thought is that the role of the box and cable is to make casual theft more difficult, and that doesn't require a lot of expensive pieces. I own a few examples of two sizes of HF lock boxes with key locks that come with cables that are marginal, but would appear to serve my intended purpose. I have extended those cables with additional nengths of about the same weight so that I can more easily position the box to make surreptitiously securing and removing the gun more convenient. My biggest problem with the HF boxes is that there is no keyed-alike option and no easy way to change the locks, so keeping track of the correct keys can be an issue (the lock/key number is inscribed in very small characters on each item). 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
31 minutes ago, Krdshrk said:

Random conversations.  I've been asked if I wear a belt at work... apparently a lot of younger people don't wear belts...  The Kore belts I have use pretty standard looking buckles.  One has a more dressy look... but yes, different belts for different wear situations.  If I'm tucking shirts, I will wear a more normal looking belt.

It's also my personal body shape, etc.  My gut does sometimes hang over my pants while sitting or whatever - don't want any pointy corners poking up at me (I have some surgical scars around the area that are a bit sensitive).  

Now that I look further - the Vedder Cobra isn't quite as bad as other's I've seen - the buckle release is rounded and recessed under the buckle clip.  It's not as bad.

I was remembering more of what I saw of other types of belts like this - the belts are overt tactical and the clips are pointy and stick out past the rest of the buckle.  For Example:

20221212_162012_1024x1024@2x.jpg

I'm using the 1.5" Kore nylon reinforced belt, and I'm generally happy with it. It does a great job of supporting my holstered 4.1" 357 SP101 revolver, which my standard 1.5" Carhartt leather belt does not do. I have two minor issues with the Kore. The first is partially self-inflicted. I trimmed to belt to length (intended part of their design) for IWB carry, then decided to stick with OWB, so it's longer than necessary. Being reinforced, it is very stiff, the free end exerts quite a lot of outward force, and that can "tent" a cover garment out quite noticeably, and probably will also result in premature failure of some of my pants belt loops. I am reluctant to trim it again and lose my IWB option, and I'm not even sure that would eliminate the issue. I have used heat on it to try to give  the free end more of a circular curve at rest, and that has helped. I think I will need to repeat that process at least one more time before I am satisfied with it. The second issue is that the belt comes with an end retaining loop made of the same HD material as the belt, that is not sewn to the belt, so that the wearer can place it at the most approriate place around his/her circumference. When removing the belt from pants, wearer has to be cognizant of that unattached loop to avoid it falling to the floor and potentially becoming lost. I'd like to see Kore include a spare loop, or at least make the item available to buy separately. The release on my Kore buckle is a lever at the edge of the underside of the buckle, and is moved away from wearer to disengage. Took some getting used to in the dark, but after a few clumsy tries I mastered it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
28 minutes ago, Grima Squeakersen said:

I'm using the 1.5" Kore nylon reinforced belt, and I'm generally happy with it. It does a great job of supporting my holstered 4.1" 357 SP101 revolver, which my standard 1.5" Carhartt leather belt does not do. I have two minor issues with the Kore. The first is partially self-inflicted. I trimmed to belt to length (intended part of their design) for IWB carry, then decided to stick with OWB, so it's longer than necessary. Being reinforced, it is very stiff, the free end exerts quite a lot of outward force, and that can "tent" a cover garment out quite noticeably, and probably will also result in premature failure of some of my pants belt loops. I am reluctant to trim it again and lose my IWB option, and I'm not even sure that would eliminate the issue. I have used heat on it to try to give  the free end more of a circular curve at rest, and that has helped. I think I will need to repeat that process at least one more time before I am satisfied with it. The second issue is that the belt comes with an end retaining loop made of the same HD material as the belt, that is not sewn to the belt, so that the wearer can place it at the most approriate place around his/her circumference. When removing the belt from pants, wearer has to be cognizant of that unattached loop to avoid it falling to the floor and potentially becoming lost. I'd like to see Kore include a spare loop, or at least make the item available to buy separately. The release on my Kore buckle is a lever at the edge of the underside of the buckle, and is moved away from wearer to disengage. Took some getting used to in the dark, but after a few clumsy tries I mastered it.

I have noticed the free end sticking out a bit more - it can hit my belt cell phone holder.  It doesn't really tent out any garments at all for me - and the pants I wear have reinforced loops (LA Police Gear Pants).  I don't use the end retaining loop they supplied.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 7/1/2023 at 9:24 AM, Grima Squeakersen said:

I'm using the 1.5" Kore nylon reinforced belt, and I'm generally happy with it. It does a great job of supporting my holstered 4.1" 357 SP101 revolver, which my standard 1.5" Carhartt leather belt does not do. I have two minor issues with the Kore. The first is partially self-inflicted. I trimmed to belt to length (intended part of their design) for IWB carry, then decided to stick with OWB, so it's longer than necessary. Being reinforced, it is very stiff, the free end exerts quite a lot of outward force, and that can "tent" a cover garment out quite noticeably, and probably will also result in premature failure of some of my pants belt loops. I am reluctant to trim it again and lose my IWB option, and I'm not even sure that would eliminate the issue. I have used heat on it to try to give  the free end more of a circular curve at rest, and that has helped. I think I will need to repeat that process at least one more time before I am satisfied with it. The second issue is that the belt comes with an end retaining loop made of the same HD material as the belt, that is not sewn to the belt, so that the wearer can place it at the most approriate place around his/her circumference. When removing the belt from pants, wearer has to be cognizant of that unattached loop to avoid it falling to the floor and potentially becoming lost. I'd like to see Kore include a spare loop, or at least make the item available to buy separately. The release on my Kore buckle is a lever at the edge of the underside of the buckle, and is moved away from wearer to disengage. Took some getting used to in the dark, but after a few clumsy tries I mastered it.

That loop is what keeps the end from sticking out and tenting your shirt.  I have also found that if you use a t-shirt over the belt without that loop, your shirt can get cought on the shirt as you lift it up on the draw.  I always use the loop now.  Looks better and functions better.  You can buy them separately now on Kore's site.  https://www.koreessentials.com/products/belt-keepers

FYI,  I'm very happy with my Kore belts.  

  • Agree 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 7/20/2023 at 4:19 PM, ESB said:

That loop is what keeps the end from sticking out and tenting your shirt.  I have also found that if you use a t-shirt over the belt without that loop, your shirt can get cought on the shirt as you lift it up on the draw.  I always use the loop now.  Looks better and functions better.  You can buy them separately now on Kore's site.  https://www.koreessentials.com/products/belt-keepers

FYI,  I'm very happy with my Kore belts.  

Yes, that is how I use the loop, and why I'm moderately concerned about misplacing it. SIting the loop to most effectively constrain the free end is sometimes a compromise, depending on the belt loop location on the pants/shorts I'm wearing at the time. I just finished a two week working trip to our off-grid property, and I wore my Kore belt every day for about 12 hours, with my SP101 in an OWB holster. It was pretty comfortable, for the most part. I did discover that one of the pairs of pants I took were self-belted, so I wore the Kore as a stand-alone gun belt that day. I felt the edge of the belt digging into my waist on numerous occasions, which was to be expected. I wouldn't claim that it was extremely painful, but it wasn't comfortable, either.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 2/7/2023 at 4:26 PM, 10X said:

It's not UnderArmour, but the concealed carry aisle at your local Walmart stocks these polyester base layers for $7.48, in a variety of sizes and colors.   Go down a size from what you're used to, for a snug fit.  They run long, so they stay tucked in.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Athletic-Works-Men-s-Active-Core-Short-Sleeve-T-Shirt-Size-S-3XL/832673974

Another find in the concealed carry aisle in Walmart...their Wrangler leather belts are extremely heavy duty and stiff.   More so than either my Safariland or 5.11 belts.    Perhaps they won't hold up as well--it's too soon to tell with mine--but for $16 they're worth a look.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 12/15/2023 at 10:52 AM, 10X said:

Another find in the concealed carry aisle in Walmart...their Wrangler leather belts are extremely heavy duty and stiff.   More so than either my Safariland or 5.11 belts.    Perhaps they won't hold up as well--it's too soon to tell with mine--but for $16 they're worth a look.

I don't find Safariland or 5.11 belts to be overly stiff - try Kore belts.

  • Agree 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...