Thresher8-8
Amateur
I wanted to take a minute and provide a quick review on the Kore Essentials EDC belt. Between 20 years of law enforcement and a few years of having concealed permit while in the Army I have been carrying a pistol for approaching a quarter of a century. I am not a writer by any means but thought I would pass along what I have found to be a good product. I found the belt at F3 Tactical in Chantilly, Va. and purchased it on a recommendation. Let me start off with that I believe a good belt is the same as the foundation on your house. Without a good one you could be in trouble. You can have a high dollar custom pistol, beautiful hand formed knife and amazing kydex holster but if you are carrying all of it with a $20 Wal Mart belt your foundation is jeopardizing your whole system.
First off the belt is at a rather attractive price point, about $60. As most of us are on budgets (LEO and Military pay checks) and the price is much easier to swallow than the $90-$120 belts from high end manufacturers. Those belts are worth the money but some of us have a hard time saving for them or need to prioritize purchases. This is where the Kore has found a true "nitch" spot. It is well built so it is going to cost more than a standard dress or jeans belt. Yet the manufacturer has been able to keep the price down.
I have found the fastener system to be a nice alternative to the old hole and post systems standard belts have. The small increments of adjustablility are great to have. You get 3 or 4 adjustment points compared to each hole in the traditional system. My waist size grows and shrinks throughout the day as I eat and digest making the small sized adjustments extremely nice to keep the belt comfortable. Another advantage is adjusting the belt to limit or eliminate printing. I also find the Kore easier to adjust compared to the slide and lock bar style belts on high end belts.
Next up is stiffness. The belt is not as stiff as some of the high end pistol belts but it is still plenty stiff to carry your gear. I actually like that it is not completely inflexible. The belt is a bit more comfortable that way. At least to me it is. I would see it taking years for the belt to deform and need replacing.
Kore seems to have styled the belt to not have the tactical look of a lot of pistol belts. The belts come in black or brown "leather". There are 3 different buckles. Between the colors and buckles you have several combinations to make it seem like you have several different belts. I think the belt looks just as good with a suit as it does with jeans. Granted when I wear it with jeans the belt is usually covered with an outer concealment garment.
The belt comes as a rather long piece of kit. Sizing is simple though. You buy the belt, bring it home, detach the buckle and trim to the right size using the markings on the inside of the belt. I have trimmed it twice. The first one I left it long as I wanted to be cautious with the size. I used some nice scissor and found reasonable hand strength will help you cut through both layers of "leather" & the plastic stiffening core. The second trimming was to take the extra length off the belt that was hanging past the buckle. That time I used a nice new razor blade. Both techniques were easy. After trimming, re-install the buckle and wear.
I have been using the belt for over 6 months and have enjoyed its functionality. It has had zero issues and shows no wear. All in all I see the Kore as a budget minded ACTUAL PISTOL BELT. Use this information as you please. If it helped you with making a decision to buy a good foundation than I am glad I wrote something.
First off the belt is at a rather attractive price point, about $60. As most of us are on budgets (LEO and Military pay checks) and the price is much easier to swallow than the $90-$120 belts from high end manufacturers. Those belts are worth the money but some of us have a hard time saving for them or need to prioritize purchases. This is where the Kore has found a true "nitch" spot. It is well built so it is going to cost more than a standard dress or jeans belt. Yet the manufacturer has been able to keep the price down.
I have found the fastener system to be a nice alternative to the old hole and post systems standard belts have. The small increments of adjustablility are great to have. You get 3 or 4 adjustment points compared to each hole in the traditional system. My waist size grows and shrinks throughout the day as I eat and digest making the small sized adjustments extremely nice to keep the belt comfortable. Another advantage is adjusting the belt to limit or eliminate printing. I also find the Kore easier to adjust compared to the slide and lock bar style belts on high end belts.
Next up is stiffness. The belt is not as stiff as some of the high end pistol belts but it is still plenty stiff to carry your gear. I actually like that it is not completely inflexible. The belt is a bit more comfortable that way. At least to me it is. I would see it taking years for the belt to deform and need replacing.
Kore seems to have styled the belt to not have the tactical look of a lot of pistol belts. The belts come in black or brown "leather". There are 3 different buckles. Between the colors and buckles you have several combinations to make it seem like you have several different belts. I think the belt looks just as good with a suit as it does with jeans. Granted when I wear it with jeans the belt is usually covered with an outer concealment garment.
The belt comes as a rather long piece of kit. Sizing is simple though. You buy the belt, bring it home, detach the buckle and trim to the right size using the markings on the inside of the belt. I have trimmed it twice. The first one I left it long as I wanted to be cautious with the size. I used some nice scissor and found reasonable hand strength will help you cut through both layers of "leather" & the plastic stiffening core. The second trimming was to take the extra length off the belt that was hanging past the buckle. That time I used a nice new razor blade. Both techniques were easy. After trimming, re-install the buckle and wear.
I have been using the belt for over 6 months and have enjoyed its functionality. It has had zero issues and shows no wear. All in all I see the Kore as a budget minded ACTUAL PISTOL BELT. Use this information as you please. If it helped you with making a decision to buy a good foundation than I am glad I wrote something.