REVIEW – A gun belt sounds like a simple thing to get right until you’ve worn a cheap one for a full day with something heavy clipped to it. It sags as the day goes on, and by afternoon your holster has migrated somewhere it was never supposed to be. Kore Essentials makes belts and buckles of all kinds, and the X5 Black Tactical Nylon Gun Belt is its answer for a belt that holds a holster in place.
Note: This Kore Essentials X5 Tactical Nylon Gun Belt was sent to me by Kore Essentials at no cost. They had no editorial input and did not see this review before it published.
Photos and video by Gregory Morley.
The Basics
This is a 1.5 inch tactical belt built around Kore’s ratchet buckle system instead of holes. A hidden track about 10 inches long runs along the inside of the strap, and the X5 buckle locks into it at more than 40 positions in quarter-inch steps. That means you don’t have to pick between too loose and too tight on a punched hole.
The belt ships uncut and oversized on purpose, with the buckle in the box as a separate piece. You cut the strap to your size and clamp the buckle onto the cut end yourself. A folded card on top of everything says “STOP, PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU CUT,” and it means it.
What You Get
- Black Tactical Nylon Gun Belt, 1.5 inch, uncut
- X5 gun buckle
- Belt tip keeper (elastic)
- Hex wrench and set screws
- “Stop, please read before you cut” instruction card
- Kore gun belt hanger
By the Numbers
- Price: $59.95
- Width: 1.5 inches
- Thickness: 5mm
- Load rating: Up to 10 lbs, for IWB, OWB or appendix carry
- Waist range: 24 to 54 inches (regular), 54 to 72 inches in the EXL version
- Adjustment: Hidden 10 inch track, over 40 positions in quarter-inch steps
- Construction: Nylon web outer layer rated to 500 lbs, Super-Fiber inner liner, reinforced Power-Core center
- Buckle: Alloy with a powder coat finish, held on by set screws and a toothed clamp
- Warranty: 1 year, and the 30-day money-back guarantee only covers an uncut belt
Design & Build
The strap is much stiffer than a normal casual belt, closer to a strip of reinforced webbing than anything with give to it. A holster needs that stiffness in a way a pants belt doesn’t. The X5 is a ratchet buckle, so it locks into a track position with a mechanical click and doesn’t rely on friction to stay put. A pull tightens it, and a small lever on the front edge of the buckle releases it. The click when it locks is the only confirmation anyone in my apartment is getting that it worked.
The keeper is an elastic fabric loop that holds the tail flat against the belt so it doesn’t flop around.
Sizing It Myself
Cutting a belt to length with nobody around to double-check the measurement sounds like a way to ruin a $60 belt. It turned out to be easy. The inside of the strap is printed with size numbers, so you cut at your mark, push the cut end into the buckle, and tighten the set screws with the included hex wrench. The teeth in the buckle bite into the strap and the screws lock it down.
I cut mine with no drama, and the cut end didn’t fray at all. It took longer to read the card twice than to make the cut. Since a cut belt can’t go back under the 30-day guarantee, reading it twice is the right call anyway.
How I Wear It
It’s my standard belt for IWB and appendix carry when I’m out and about. It also goes on as a regular belt any time I know I’ll be hanging a tool or a knife off it, like camping or hiking. In both cases the biggest difference from a normal belt is how little it moves. There’s no sag by the end of the day and no working the buckle back a notch after lunch, and the quarter-inch adjustment means the fit stays where I set it.
For holding real weight steady on a waistband all day, with nobody else adjusting it for you, it does what the box says.
What Could Be Better
The stiffness that makes this belt good at its job makes it a bad choice for anything dressier than jeans or work pants, so if you want one belt for everything, this isn’t it. Cutting it is simple but final, and a cut belt isn’t returnable. At $59.95 it also costs more than most people pay for a belt without a leather label, though the ratchet track and load rating do work most belts don’t.
Watch the Review
Video review coming soon. The companion video is still in edit, and it will be embedded right here as soon as it goes up.
Quick Questions
Q: Do I have to cut the belt myself?
A: Yes. It ships uncut and oversized. You cut at the size printed on the inside of the strap and clamp the buckle on with the included hex wrench. Mine didn’t fray.
Q: How much weight can it hold?
A: Kore rates it up to 10 lbs for IWB, OWB or appendix carry, and the nylon web outer layer alone is rated to 500 lbs.
Q: How precise is the sizing?
A: The hidden track gives over 40 positions in quarter-inch steps, much finer than the roughly one-inch spacing on a punched-hole belt.
Q: Will it work as an everyday belt, not just for carry?
A: It holds up pants fine, and I wear it that way when I’m carrying a tool or a knife. It’s stiffer than a casual belt and looks tactical, so it won’t blend in with slacks.
Final Thoughts
Nobody buys this belt to look good. You buy it so you can stop thinking about your belt. The ratchet buckle and quarter-inch track fix a real problem that a hole-punched belt never will, and the trade-off, stiffness and a tactical look, is an honest one for the fit and the load rating. At $59.95 it sits at the entry price of Kore’s 1.5 inch tactical line, where the camo and USA-made straps run $69.95. Kore also makes plenty of other buckles and belts if the X5 isn’t your style.
Price: $59.95
Where to buy: Direct from Kore Essentials
What I like: Quarter-inch ratchet adjustment, holds real weight all day with no sag, easy to cut to size and the end didn’t fray, the buckle clamps on securely with set screws
What I don’t: Too stiff to double as a dress belt, cutting it ends your return window, pricier than most belts
Buy the Kore Essentials X5 Tactical Gun Belt direct from Kore Essentials
