I recently covered some product recommendations for carrying a pistol with mounted reflex sights. The articles focused on holsterswith and without using a mounted flashlight. In this article I am going to focus on my preferred gun belt brand for this setup.
Early on when carrying a pistol with reflex sights, I found that a quality holster such as BlackPoint Tactical’s Leather Wing line would compensate for not having a good gun belt by keeping the pistol relatively tight to the body. Still, it never felt quite right due to the weight of having a pistol with a fully loaded magazine, kydex holster, reflex sight and mounted light.
This led me to seek out a proper gun belt. I went to the range with a buddy of mine who is former USMC EOD and he was bragging about this new gun belt he had picked up from Kore Essentials. After his excitement about the product, I decided to check them out for myself and I’m glad I did.
Kore has been around since 2013 and they produce high quality gun belts, fashion belts, wallets and accessories. What makes their belts stand out from a traditional belt? Their patented Trakline technology uses a ratcheting system in increments of 1/4-inch instead of traditional belt holes that are spaced 1-inch apart. This is key in achieving the proper balance of comfort and retention for your weapon carry; it also allows for the perfect fit.
Kore belts are shipped as a one size fits all (24” up to 54”), and the customer is responsible for trimming the belt according to the provided instructions. The steps were simple and couldn’t have been easier to follow. You take your waste (pant) size and simply add 4 inches. The back of the belt has marked lines to tell you where to trim. Once you do that, it is as simple as locking the cut end into place in the buckle receptacle.
The two products that I reviewed are Kore’s reinforced leather belt and their tactical belt.
Leather Reinforced Belt (Brown)
This belt is very well made from high quality leather and looks great with both dressy or business casual clothes. The buckle I have is their Eureka stainless steel model. The release tab made it very easy to loosen or remove the belt as needed. The ratcheting system is smooth and feels quite secure once set. I never encountered a hint of slippage when testing, and the reinforced belt did not sag or fall away from the body even when carrying my Sig P320 Compact RX with Streamlight TLR-1 held in a BlackPoint Tactical Leather Wing holster. Mine is a heavy CCW setup and this belt was comfortable and in control.
The leather belt seemed to hold up well after weeks of wear as I noticed no sign of scratches or grooves in the leather from carrying my weapon. I can honestly say that this belt checks all the right boxes for cost ($59.95 for belt and buckle), quality, effectiveness and fashion. I’ve paid a lot more money for belts that did a lot less–this one will be hard to beat.
This belt may look simple but it is all business. It has a nylon webbing outer covering and a reinforced poly-core center. The belt buckle is Kore’s X1, but if you ever wanted to switch it out, all their gun belt and buckle options are interchangeable.
It had a much tighter fit than the leather belt when getting it through the holster loops due to the extra grip from the nylon covering, but it also did an excellent job of keeping the weapon close to the body. It was comfortable when sitting or moving around and as with the leather belt, held up well after weeks of near-daily wear. Storing a Kore belt is made easy by a simple hanger that connects to the ratchet system, and it only costs $3.95 for one that holds two belts. These belts are great for open or concealed weapon carry and they’ll hold up to daily wear and tear. Kore offers a great product with their gun belt line, and I recommend that you check them out.
