Way back when, when I was a young buck who just starting to carrying a gun, I gave them all a shot. I tried every type of holster possible…or close to it. Belly bands were a brief experiment. The cheap one I had offered crappy retention, and even just wearing it around the house revealed major retention, concealment, and comfort issues.
After that, I moved on and never looked back. The STRAPT-TAC belly band is the first time I’ve come back to belly band carry.
Clip & Carry sent me the STRAPT-TAC to try, and it’s been my EDC carry option for about ten days now. During that time, I attended the Gathering hosted by Palmetto State Armory, which required an 8-hour road trip one way. I wore the holster almost the entire time until I left for beers with my lovely wife after a long day. I’ve worn it everywhere I’m legally allowed to carry a gun.
With that said, this isn’t your typical belly band. Heck, it’s not even technically a holster.
The STRAPT-TAC Design
So if it’s not a holster, what is it? It’s more akin to especially designed belt. The STRAPT-TAC wraps around your body like a belly band, but you then use your own Kydex IWB holster with it.
The STRAPT-TAC has a pocket held in place with a firm belt. The belt is 1.5 inches wide, and your IWB holster fits into the pocket with the clip attaching over the belt. The pocket acts like your pants worn with a belt.
You will need to provide your own Kydex holster with the STRAPT-TAC. I used my SIG P365 and my Tulster Oath holster with the STRAPT-TAC for my carry adventures. The Oath has a mod wing or “claw”, but I didn’t have to remove it to effectively use the holster.
Benefits of the STRAPT-TAC
Most belly bands don’t offer great passive retention. Most use some form of active retention involving a thong with a button if they have anything at all. This design allows you to use the proven passive retention of your favorite holster, which is nice. The layout allows you to customize the placement of your gun, and you can make the same cant and ride height adjustments you can when you carry traditional IWB.
You can go from IWB to belly hand without much of a leap in training. You know what to expect from your holster, and it remains pretty standard when you switch to belly band carry. The main difference will be ride height.
A good kydex holster allows you to ensure complete and total safety when carrying. Your trigger is completely protected, and the holster is specifically molded to your gun.
The benefits above all only apply if you use a quality holster for concealed carry. The STRAPT-TAC can’t turn a turd of a holster into anything great. A floppy soft nylon holster won’t grant you these benefits.
The STRAPT-TAC is ambidextrous and easy to wear in a multitude of positions and heights. It can be worn strongside or appendix position in a semi-appendix position. Hell, you can wear it high under your shoulder for a quasi-shoulder carry position.
It’s not a traditional belly band with a lot of excess bulk either. I’m warm-natured and live in Florida. Belly bands often become big sweaty messes with me. While the main portion gets a little warm, the minimalist design keeps it breezy compared to most options.
Wearing The Rig
The STRAPT-TAC comes in several sizes, and a large fits my gorilla-like self. You can tighten it down, and it really doesn’t move. It’s comfortable against the skin as well. It doesn’t get super hot, and generally, I found it fine for long-term daily wear. I wore in an appendix style position and strong side and never found it uncomfortable.
Admittedly, it’s not as comfortable to me as carrying standard IWB, but that’s because it’s larger and tight to the body. It’s not as bad as most at creating another layer of sweat as other belly bands, but it’ll still warm you up.
The main belt that goes around your body secures with hook and loop, and the main body is designed to prevent folding and does so wellâthe hook and loop clips on tight and never failed me during carry.
The STRAPT-TAC makes small guns disappear without issue. With larger guns, your concealment is somewhat compromised if you carry any higher than traditional belt height. If you use the STRAPT-TAC to carry low and in your pants, then you won’t have an issue with concealment, or if you wear a bulky cover garment, you might get away with it.
Going Hands-On
I practiced drawing quite a bit with the rig. I wore it fairly low in both a strong side and appendix position. It sits higher than your belt by design, so you have to get used to pulling your cover garment up loud and proud and reaching higher.
Your draw isn’t compromised in any other way that I can tell. The inner belt and pocket doesn’t fail or twist when you draw. Your holster will also determine how easy and intuitive your draw is. If it’s intuitive and ergonomic on the belt, it will be intuitive and ergonomic on the STRAPT-TAC.
The real question is would I choose to wear the STRAPT-TAC with my Tulster Oath holster instead of just the Tulster? In most situations, no, I wouldn’t. The Tulster is smaller, lighter, less burdensome, and won’t force you to sweat.
The main purpose of the STRAPT-TAC seems to be useful for carrying when you can’t wear a belt. Suppose you’re in gym clothes, sweats, or something similar. It’s a deep carry option as well that works under formal clothes where you might not want a clip showing.
It’s not an EDC item for me but a niche tool for specific situations.
Specifications: Clip and Carry STRAPT-TAC Belly Band Holster
Sizes: S to M 23 to 30-inch waist, L to XL 30 to 36-inch waist, 2XL to 3XL 36 to 48-inch waist
MSRP: 34.99
Ratings (out of five stars):Â
Concealment * * * ½
With a small gun, you’ll have enough concealment to effectively hide your pistol. With anything larger than, say, a compact weapon, you’ll find it tough to fully conceal without noticeable bulges. It doesn’t conceal as good as just a regular holster, but it works.
Comfort * * * ½
It’s much more comfortable than your typical belly band but not as comfortable as a holster by itself. It still gets a little warm in the widest part of the body.
Overall * * * ½
Typically I’d toss in retention and safety, but those are more on the holster you have to add than the STRAPT-TAC. It’s a useful little device for niche situations. Like the Phlster Enigma, it works well with clothes that are less carry-friendly. While cheaper than the Enigma, it isn’t as comfortable or concealable.
“….but you then use your own Kydex IWB holster with it.”
So its not a Belly Band Holster like the review title proclaims, its a belly band holder for “your own Kydex IWB holster”.
Too bulky for me. That pic of Chris’ IWB setup looks like a real challenge to sit down, or drive, or…
I agree, it does look bulky and uncomfortable too. It also looks like a move away from the idea of ‘non-printing’ conceal-ability. There are better options.
Okay, so this just happened to me less than 30 minutes ago…
I was at our local supermarket here in L.A. County, stopping to pick up dinner and give Mrs. Haz a break for the evening. We live in an upper middle class neighborhood, very family oriented.
As I left the entrance to return to my vehicle, four (white) yutes looking like 16-17 years old ran past me with bottled drinks and bags of chips, laughing and looking back over their shoulders. I sensed I was witnessing a shoplifting in progress, so I whipped out my phone to video record them as two jumped inside to start the (older Tacoma) pickup, while the other two jumped into the bed (riding on public roads in an open bed without belts is prohibited in CA). The driver saw me with my phone, swerved close to me in an attempt to intimidate me on his way out of the parking lot, and his buddies laughed and flipped me the bird until they disappeared around the corner, completely running the red light and causing danger for other drivers there.
Mind you, I’ve been shopping at this particular supermarket since I watched it being constructed 20 years ago, so most of the staff know me well. I asked for the manager on shift, and was directed to a man I’d never seen before, likely rotated in by order of some District Manager. I asked him if he knew what had just happened (from his vantage point of seeing teenagers running out from inside), and he said yes. I told him I had video of the thieves, their faces, their truck’s make/model/LPN, and would provide my statement to LE for a report.
He gave me a tired look, shrugged his shoulders, and said he wasn’t interested in taking the time to file a report, regardless of how concrete the evidence against the thieves was.
I stood there, looking at him. A long term employee standing nearby also looked at him. The manager walked away, and the employee shook her head in confusion at the lack of action by her boss.
What just happened was that four young men not only got away with brazen theft, but they learned from the experience and will definitely do it again, likely at the same store. Maybe even tomorrow. And they didn’t bother wearing masks to hide their faces from the in-store cameras at the doors.
The overall morale of the populace here is low, and everyone knows thieves are getting away with it. Earlier this week, thieves cut the large inlet copper piping feeding my employer’s building, causing us to shut down for the rest of the day (sanitation reasons, as no bathrooms were therefore available for employees). Only two feet of thick copper pipe, worth perhaps $30 at the recycler. Yet the commercial plumber who came to install the replacement said it’s happening everywhere.
This is the ripple effect of Soros-funded D.A.s loosening the power of the law and refusing to prosecute crime. White kids stealing today…they may turn into car thieves tomorrow.
The big take away from this story is that your poor wife is married to real loser.
You’re certainly an expert at being a loser spouse, little boy.
Tell me, do you apologize to your ‘wife’ for your inability to bring her to orgasm? You really should, you know.
And, where the hell have you been the past few days, anyways? I didn’t give you permission to leave TTAG.
Dance, troll, I order you to continue to humiliate yourself… đ
One of the advantages of a older city, the pipes are all lead, iron, clay, or wood and not worth stealing so we don’t have people stealing them and disrupting business or our questionable water supply. The rest of what you described we have been seeing a bit of but not to the point that no report would be bothered with.
lead pipes, huh? yeah, no.
This is trickle-up criminality in action. They learn it from their socio-economic lowers when they see them get away with it. Maybe it makes them them feel less white too, which is apparently trendy these days. They probably played some gangster rap when they got safely away and felt âlegitâ.
âAnd they didnât bother wearing masks to hide their faces from the in-store cameras at the doors.â
Donât needlessly risk your safety getting video especially if you know the store has it.
Spend your energy convincing neighbors to stop voting D
I donno, why not just wear a thinner belt inside your shirt and hook your holster to the thinner belt? Why carry all that extra around? Somehow this device looks like a solution in search of a problem.
Very interesting. Years ago, I carried a 3â SP101 in a bellyband holster while working in the hospitality industry. I had to wear a tucked-in shirt per uniform requirements. I would wear the holster sort of over my underwear and drape my shirt over it, then button up and tuck in as per usual, with the gun at about 1:00, and no one was the wiser. Carried the SP101 and a few smaller double-action hammer-fired pistols that way for quite some time and actually practiced enough that I was pretty darn fast drawing, all things considered. Wasnât particularly comfortable, but it wasnât overtly intrusive either, and it was nice to know that I had some means of protection besides my own two feet. It isnât unheard of for staff to be robbed after close or when walking to their car, and it wasnât the best part of town to begin with.
These days, I use a tuckable holster and pack a G19. The main disadvantage here is that the belt clips are visible, but so far either no one has cared to ask or just hasnât noticed, or maybe assumes itâs part of my belt.
This holster could definitely be someoneâs solution.
All of the questions I had were answered it the end of the post. Nice read.
Why is carrying a 365 a big deal? I sometimes carry my Taurus 709 in a Nemesis pocket holster. It’s pretty much exactly the same size(and I shot my buddies 365). I do wish my belly wasn’t too big for this…
So it’s a holster which requires me to buy….another holster. How brilliant. Pass.
THOUGH ABOUT IT JUST TOO HOT OF WEATHER IN TEXAS .
RESTRICT OF MOVEMENT , NOT FOR ME .
ANYWAY , THANKS FOR INFOR ALWAYS
BUT DEYS WOOD NEVER HEARS YA COMIN DATS FUR SURE!!
I tried a Belly band once, think it’s in the tried holster boxes somewhere. For a pocket pistol they can work but weight of firearm is an issue and spare mag. I do carry a spare mag for the small ones I have like the Kahr.
This one looks like it would exclude heavier pistols, but might be useful as the author says….certain situations.
NTexas, don’t know how you spend your days, but I spend a lot of time in hot weather and t-shirts. This is really not for me either. I prefer a lower profile rig most of the time. But, I also keep a Galco butt pack with me. Not necessarily on me all the time. It’s my backup. Usually in the truck. One of the early good ones. Had this one forever. Made a couple of minor repairs myself over the years. Carried it 30-40 miles off shore many times. When John and Katherine were small it went into every theme park in Florida. Usually carrying a Glock of some description or an HK P7M8. State parks etc. Called it my Disney rig. Carried inside after 9-11-01. Security was ridiculous. Anyway, my butt pack back-up today is a 19X w/spare mag. Spyderco, Surefire, two spare batteries, Leatherman, whatever. It’s a light blue/grey color. No one’s ever given it a second glance. Well the Under Sheriff did make a derisive remark about “fag bags” and something about God giving me pockets
I stripped down that quick zip, exposing that P7M8 and said, I understand Major, but this pistol won’t fit in my pocket. His jaw fell open. I have a brand new blue Galco butt pack. One I bought a little while back on eBay for a song. It’s waiting in the wings for my original to give up the ghost. Nothing lasts forever.
Except, for a smaller black only nylon/leather version I think it’s been discontinued. Black, and especially leather, screams “GUN!” To every L.E.O. and thug on the street. You’ll never touch it if you need it. Look around. You may find what I described at a gun show. It’s a useful alternative carry method. Although, as I said I always have a handgun on my person, a reload, a knife and a Surefire. The butt pack lies beside me ready for unassing the A.O. That’s for around town. More than a tank of gas from the house I throw in a rifle. With support gear.
So you carried everywhere in your
purse butt pack?Phlster enigma.
A great setup!
Not my thing, but choices are always nice.
With slick fur and narrow hips this would not work for me, it looks to be about as concealable as the gunm I drag behind me tied to a string.
The one holstein that did work for me was an over the shoulder boulder holder, however it got hung up on a bolt on the trash dumpster and I bungie jumped most of the night before I finally freed myself.
Maybe you need a harness. Strap the gat to the side, learn to tail fire…….
Nah, top mount. A possum technical!
BIL perpetually wears sweats and T shirts, you almost have to die or get married to get him to wear a belt. He carries his Hellcat in the Alien Gear Shape Shift appendix configuration. He just clips it in his sweats and it constantly pulls them down.
I had looked, for him, at the phlster enigma when John Correia (Active Self Protection on youtube) did some videos on them, but I think they are more complicated than my BIL would deal with. This looks like it might work for him. Certainly worth the $35 to try out.
“BIL perpetually wears sweats and T shirts, you almost have to die or get married to get him to wear a belt. He carries his Hellcat in the Alien Gear Shape Shift appendix configuration. He just clips it in his sweats and it constantly pulls them down. ”
So… BIL has basically given up on life, is highly depressed, doesn’t have enough sense to put on a pair of pants with a belt, and you think he needs a belly band to contend with.
đ
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Thought these brands were for the gut enhanced folks. The guy in the picture is as thin as a rail.
The paradox of belly bands. If the weather is hot enough that you’re wearing clothing that requires a belly band, it’s too hot to wear a belly band. If the weather is cool enough to make a belly band comfortable, you’re wearing clothing that will easily work with a more traditional holster.
There is a reason belly bands never catch on, and it’s a better reason than the reason people keep trying to make belly bands a thing.
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