NovemberKilo
Plinker
I am going to use this review to summarize my experiences with three separate belts, only two of which are pictured here (the third has been relieved).
Four years ago I ordered my first "nice" gun belt from Looper Leather. It was a standard bull-hide belt with a square buckle and kydex insert. I had good luck with Looper from a product and customer service standpoint. Their belts, at the time, were priced at about half of what The Beltman was selling his for.
For the first twenty-four to thirty months, the Looper Leather belt worked very well. Out of nowhere, it went completely limp on me and became virtually useless.
It wasn't exposed to any abnormal elements or treatment or leather conditioners or anything - it just went totally flaccid.At the time, I had read online that some folks were having problems with getting orders filled by Looper Leather (no idea if this is true or not), so I opted to bite the bullet and order a Beltman belt.
I chose to order a black bullhide "quick ship" belt with a square buckle (pictured) and no kydex insert for use as both a dress belt for work and a back-up carry belt. Because I planned on wearing this belt every day for work (I can't carry at my job), I figured it didn't need to be as rigid as my "normal" carry belt.
I also ordered a brown horsehide "custom" belt with a square buckle (also pictured) and after researching, decided to forego the kydex insert as the horsehide is allegedly much stiffer than bullhide. This belt was to be my primary carry belt and would see daily use outside of work.
Review:
I'll start with the difference between the bullhide and horsehide... As it turns out, the horsehide is not only less rigid, it is actually put to shame by the bullhide belt despite being supposedly "stiffer."
It only took about a month and the brown horsehide belt had really softened up. I won't use the word "disappointed," but I was unpleasantly surprised given that it cost substantially more than the bullhide belt. Meanwhile, the black bullhide belt ran like a champ despite being worn daily for work. "Well, you weren't carrying with the bullhide belt though, so it wasn't seeing as much 'wear,'" you may say? Eventually, I started wearing the black bullhide belt all day long (work and free time) giving it 9 hours of non-carry time and 7-8 hours of carry time each day and it has fared much better.
In fact, the black bullhide belt has retained its shape, rigidity, color and finish much more so than the "better" brown horsehide belt. The horsehide belt still looks great and easily supports my firearm, but it is nowhere near as stiff as the black bullhide belt at this point. That said, it is still much stiffer than the Looper Leather belt was after the same amount of wear - and the Looper Leather belt had a kydex insert to maintain rigidity.
After a year and a half, I can definitively say that the Beltman belts are of better quality and retain their rigidity longer than the Looper Leather belts. I can also tell you that I would/will purchase another Beltman belt in the future. I am disappointed in the lackluster performance of the horsehide belt versus the bullhide, but both belts still see routine use.
Verdict: I will be buying Beltman belts from now on. There is no real benefit, in my opinion, to purchasing the more expensive horsehide belts. If I had it to do over, I would buy the bullhide belt in each color with the kydex insert.
+1 for The Beltman. Great product and well worth the cost. I foresee several more years' use from each of my Beltman belts.
