U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- There are more ways to conceal a pistol than you can shake a stick at. While we all know holsters and bellybands, every now and then something new comes across my feed. A year ago it was the PHLster Enigma. More recently it was the Comfort Concealment Belt. Well actually it popped up in my wife’s feed, but I can’t let her have all the fun. With this in mind, I snagged it for myself when she periodically opted for other methods of carry. Over the past several months I’ve been experimenting with the Comfort Concealment Belt to see how it compares to other options. How does it stack up?
Construction and Design of the Comfort Concealment Belt
The Comfort Concealment Belt is a fairly simple piece of equipment. Essentially this is a padded nylon belt, featuring rubberized lettering on the outside to improve security within the pants. The most similar product that comes to mind regarding construction of the belt is the backer on the Alien Gear 3.5 Cloak Tuck holster. The belt is closed using Velcro on an elastic portion of belt. There are no rigid portions of the Comfort Concealment Belt, allowing it to be rolled up extremely tight for storage and shipping, or to flex with the body during movement.
This lack of rigidity reduces the belt’s ability to interact with claws/wings on holsters, thereby reducing its potential for concealment. Interaction with these concealment features can improve by tightening the belt further, however adjustments are limited by the sizing of the belt.
Real World Use
The real-world performance of the Comfort Concealment Belt varies widely based upon the equipment carried, level of activity of the wearer, and more. I wore this belt intermittently for three months during the review process.
Daily Wear of the Comfort Concealment Belt
When lounging about the house wearing a lightweight pistol, the Comfort Concealment Belt is fantastic. The soft material stays comfortable for long periods of time, allowing the gun to shift along with the body. Thanks to its relatively small footprint and ease of adjustment along the body, using the bathroom (number 1 and number 2) are a breeze.
I spent a few days wearing the belt in deep concealment, burying my Glock 48 below my waistband to avoid detection. From here I ran errands around town, cleaned house, and went bowling with family. I was able to fairly easily access my gun, managing 2 second draws from concealment. As time went on the belt began to sag where the gun was connected, drooping the muzzle near where the seat and crotch of my pants meet. Despite attempts to adjust things, the Comfort Concealment Belt stayed droopy throughout the remainder of the day, reducing comfort and concealment, while complicating the drawstroke.
Sagging and folding is a common problem I experience with the Comfort Concealment Belt. The Glock 48 I frequently wear with the belt comes in at 25.8 ounces loaded. This is fairly lightweight for a carry gun, and is still too much for this belt. I have far fewer issues with using my Smith & Wesson 351C, which comes in at 12.5 ounces loaded. I recommend sticking with lightweight guns when using the Comfort Concealment Belt, such as Airweight J-Frames, and other mouse guns.
Drawing the Gun and Holster Retention
Dry practice with the Comfort Concealment Belt is a challenge. Due to relatively flimsy construction, the holster and belt frequently find themselves substantially higher after drawing my pistol. Often times this pulls the front of the belt completely out of my pants, requiring a bit of work to reset everything to continue my practice. The movement isn’t a deal killer for me, but does add time and effort to my dry practice routine. I imagine this could also pose a problem in a real-world struggle for my firearm. This could be mitigated with the use of a garter or leg leash of some sort to help keep things in place.
On a few occasions, my G48 holster lost its grasp on the Comfort Concealment Belt, leaving my pants still attached to the gun. This holster uses a fairly low-quality plastic belt clip, which often has problems staying connected to rigid belts as well. I’ve worn holsters with Discreet Carry Concepts clips with this belt, and while I think they would perform better, they still seem precariously perched on the Comfort Concealment Belt. This makes me hesitant to use them here, despite their normally stellar reputation. My recommendation is to use either Pull The Dot loops, or a fully fixed belt loop, ensuring the holster is secure on the belt, with no chance of being dislodged.
Unique Use Case
An area I think the Comfort Concealment Belt could excel at is low-profile IWB carry of tools other than firearms. I’ve worn this with a flashlight, OC Spray, medical gear, and a small knife attached to the belt with a tucked-in shirt. A common suggestion is to strap gear to my ankles, but not all outfits lend themselves to that method of carry. The beltline however allows me to carry equipment in situations I normally would not be able to. Of course this isn’t quick to access, but it is certainly better than nothing.
Final Thoughts on the Comfort Concealment Belt
The main comparison I often see drawn between the Comfort Concealment Belt is with the PHLster Enigma. Between the two, the Comfort Concealment wins by a landslide in terms of comfort and price. However, the Enigma dominates in terms of concealment and security of the firearm. Because of this, I can’t give a broad recommendation of the Comfort Concealment Belt, but I do think it has a place in my inventory.
An ideal configuration for the Comfort Concealment Belt is with a lightweight gun or similar equipment worn for short durations, with fairly low levels of activity. Carrying within the home is one of the main roles I use the belt in, as it stays comfortable for longer periods of time than a traditional holster or the PHLster Enigma while allowing more security and capability than pocket carry. The above-mentioned carry of medical and other gear is also one of my preferred configurations for the Comfort Concealment, and one that I highly recommend checking out.
With an MSRP of $34.95, the Comfort Concealment Belt is a budget-friendly way to carry your life-saving equipment in certain situations where other methods may fall short, while still having some limitations of its own.
About Dan Reedy
Dan is an Air Force veteran, avid shooter, and dog dad. With a passion for teaching, he holds instructor certifications from Rangemaster, Agile Training & Consulting, and the NRA. He has trained with Darryl Bolke, Mike Pannone, Craig Douglas, among several other instructors, amassing over 400 hours of professional instruction thus far. In his spare time you’ll find him teaching handgun, shotgun, and less lethal classes.
Dan’s work has been published by Primer Peak, and The Kommando Blog, and he has been featured as a guest on Primary & Secondary.
Looks very uncontrollable would not want to walk any distance or sit for any length of time. Hard if you’re driving kid of silly really.
It might be good for concealed carry with a skirt, though I still prefer to keep mine in my bag. Womens clothes are harder to conceal though since our clothes are usually more form fitting
With hardly NO portion of that grip exposed and tucked so far down into your skivvies… yeah, good luck drawing that out in 5 minutes or less.
Hit the gym bud
Do you dare sit down with that on?
The most uncomfortable way to carry a gun.