A Reinforced Gun Belt Is Stronger

Bigfoot Gun Belts equip both our 14-oz belt and 18-oz belt with a spring steel core for added strength, for the ultimate gun belt in terms of retention strength and hold. There are other reinforced gun belts out there, but none as strong as a Bigfoot belt.

That's what gives our gun belts their legendary strength.

Spring Steel Cores Flex And Hold

Why spring steel? Simple. Spring steel is one of the strongest, most flexible types of steel that is currently being made. It's unique properties make it perfectly suited for this application.

Steel is an alloy of carbon and iron, though many steels such as stainless steel include other metals as well. Thousands of years ago, people noticed that some parcels of iron - those with a dash of added carbon - were harder and more durable than typical iron. They figured out how to make it and thus, man left the iron age and began producing steel.

Metallurgists learned over the years that different properties could be obtained by adjusting the ratio of carbon to iron or introducing other materials into the alloy, and thus created different types of steel.

One of those types is spring steel. Spring steels are designed for a high yield, or resistance to losing shape under load, so they return to or stay in a particular shape once pressure or strain is put on it. This is accomplished by a medium-to-high carbon content along with tempering - rapid cooling of the metal during manufacture - to create a steel that bends but won't break.

Applications range from use in actual springs, antennas, piano wire...and Bigfoot Gun Belts.

The Spring Steel Difference Among Reinforced Belts

Naturally, there are other reinforced gun belts out there, but very few steel core belts. Not everyone has access to the same spring steel Bigfoot does. Other materials in reinforced gun belts are much more common.

What one is much more likely to find in a reinforced belt is a core material of some sort of tougher fabric or plastic. Granted, there is good reason for this, as there aren't many materials that are strong enough to truly reinforce a belt that aren't too brittle for such an application.

Common reinforcing materials include nylon and Kydex plastic. There's nothing inherently wrong with either material; both work in this application and for many other uses. However, spring steel is better still. The material can better handle more strain than either of these materials, and more importantly return to it's original shape.

Bigfoot Gun Belts employ spring steel cores not only because it's the best material for the job, but because it will do it better and for longer than other materials. We built this belt to last.

Reinforced Belts Hold Better

Besides the longevity, the other reason we reinforced our gun belts with spring steel cores is because of the job they are tasked with doing, namely to hold up a pistol and holster along the with the wearer's pants.

A belt should hold tension all day. Once fastened, it shouldn't allow pants - and certainly not a pistol and holster - to ride up or down as a person goes about their day. The reinforcing material provides additional tension and thus hold.

This task is beyond the capabilities of the typical department store belt, once the added weight of the pistol and holster are put on the waist. Aside from preventing travel of the pants, pistol and holster on the waist, the additional hold prevents gun sag. This occurs when a person's belt and trousers noticeably "dip" or sag where the pistol is located.

Gun sag is completely undesirable. Concealed carriers want their pistols concealed; sagging can reveal the firearm's presence. Gun sag can also increase the likelihood that a pistol will fall from its holster if that holster's retention is relatively loose. Secure retention is therefore a safety concern as well.

If a person carries at the small of the back, a sagging gun belt can also give a person a wicked case of plumber's backside, and some people just don't find that attractive!

Thus, a reinforced belt is the natural choice for open and concealed carry belts, as they are uniquely suited to the purpose, as they keep a holster and pistol where they are placed. Since our leather gun belts aren't any different in appearance to many other fashion belts, they are also wonderfully discreet along with being unnaturally strong.

That's what makes our belts legendary.