76 Leather belt review

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

bigfug

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Oct 24, 2008
Messages
5,152
Reaction score
878
Location
Moore
My wife bought me two belts from 76 Leather for my birthday. I have received and worn the black belt, and he was waiting to hear from her on the brown, to make sure it fit before making it, since she wasn't sure of my size. The belt I received has kydex inserts, although it is available without. 76 Leather is relatively new, but he has plenty of experience, working for Diamond D Leather, his brother, famous for their guide/tanker holsters. Alan has since returned to Oklahoma and ventured out on his own.
Let me preface by saying I am a huge proponent of quality equipment, and believe a good belt and holster make all the difference in the world in the terms of comfort and concealment, and can make a big gun feel small. The particular belts I received are replacing a Looper purchased from H&H at least 8 years ago, probably closer to 10, still a good belt, but it was time to move on. The first venture out with the new belt I carried my 642 in a 76 Leather J-frame holster. This holster is not one of his production items, he recreated and improved on a holster that I inherited with my grandfathers Model 49. The holster I have had and used off and on for 2-3 years now, and has held up well. As far as wearing and carrying with the his belt, I honestly what forgot it was like to forget that I was carrying a gun. The holster rode comfortably all day with out flipping out or riding up as it had with the Looper, I didn't have to readjust, or tighten my belt. I never touched my belt or my gun for the entire day, with the exception of the using the restroom. This isn't anything against the Looper, as it performed the same new, again, I had just plain wore it out of the years, even having been taken down several times by Looper.
The design of the 76 Leather belt is actually reminiscent of the belts previously made by Flashbang, at least visually, I cant speak to build as I never saw one personally. It has a nice stitched pattern, without being crazy, so it works well for business, casual wear, or even somewhat western flare I think. He can do custom colored stitching if requested, similar to what we had seen on the Flashbang belts. The belt has 3 separate kydex inserts placed around the belt, but again, is available without, but both are a stitched dual layer belt. He uses snaps, rather than a screw to secure the buckle, so you can easily switch buckles out as they suit you, which I thought was rather nice. I don't think he has a website yet, but he can be reached on Facebook. If he doesn't have a mold for your particular gun, he can get one, he can use yours, with a turnaround of just a few days. I'll post pics in the comments. I hate when people do this and don't post details of the gear.... 76 Leather belt, 76 Leather holster, S&W 642, with Altamont basket-weave grips, loaded with Hornady Critical Defense.
 

bigfug

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Oct 24, 2008
Messages
5,152
Reaction score
878
Location
Moore
417A6892-D527-4809-AADE-15FE12E148B1.jpeg.jpg
E46F7D74-BD0A-4FAA-9302-88E228004462.jpeg.jpg
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom