Standard Gun Belt Or Contoured Gun Belt?

We also need to talk about the differences between a standard gun belt or a contoured gun belt.  Here's a brief explanation of the differences between the two:

Standard Gun Belt - A standard gun belt is cut on a straight line from the leather.  So, when you lay the gun belt out on a table, it lays completely flat in a straight line.

Contoured Gun Belt - The contoured gun belt was first introduced to the world by a master leather craftsman named Andy Anderson about 30 plus years ago. Andy specialized in fast draw gunfighter rigs, but his contoured belt became immensely popular in the 1960's and 1970's.  The contoured gun belt is cut from the leather at a slight angle so that the belt won't lay flat, but matches the rounded contours of the hips. Notice the slight angle in the image of the contoured belt below?

There are a number of custom leather shops that adopted the Anderson design and produce belts on a contour. Due to the difficulty in production, I'm only aware of one or two production holster companies that are making contoured gun belts. If you decide that you want one, you'll probably do best with a custom leather maker.  A little bit later on this site, I'll start reviewing different gun belt manufacturers, and let you know who produces a contoured gun belt.

The next question that naturally comes to mind is: Which is the better belt?

To be completely honest, I've tried both, and couldn't really tell a huge difference between them.  The fit of the contoured model seemed to be about the same as the standard.  One of the big selling points of contoured belts in the past has been the difference in comfort. From a comfort perspective, I also couldn't tell any difference.  However, I've got respected friends who absolutely swear by the enhanced comfort of the contoured belt.

The contoured belt seems to be more popular with the cowboy action and fast draw crowd than with the concealed carry and competition shooting crowd.

I suppose, at the end of the day, this will be another personal preferences choice.  Personally, I prefer a straight belt at they seem to be a little bit less expensive and easier to come by than the contoured models.