I received my Liger Gun Belt almost two weeks ago so I have had some experience with it wearing it off and on and now am ready to give my opinions of it.
This is a good-looking belt. The Ligerthane material according to Liger Products has a “LigerDerm patterned exterior that gives it the look and feel of leather.” I can’t argue with that one bit. The appearance of this belt is as fine as any leather belt I have owned and nicer than many. So far the material doesn’t show a single mark. Likewise the buckle is very nice looking. Made of a single billet of aircraft aluminum and hard anodized, it also shows not a single mark. Care according to Liger is “rinse with mild detergent and wipe dry.” Simple enough. I expect after several months use it will appear about as good as the day it came from the factory.
The fit of the belt is as expected. I measured according to the instructions and my belt is comfortable hooked right in the middle hole. Add a pistol IWB and it hooks one hole further out. The belt is advertised as being 1 ½” wide and according to my measuring tape it falls just a hair inside of that. Width is 5/32”, 3/32” thinner than my good quality (Waldon) leather gun belt which runs right at ¼” thick. As it is 37.5% thinner than the Waldon belt I was concerned it wouldn’t have the rigidity to support an on the belt holster. That concern was certainly unfounded as it showed almost no flex with a Glock 19 with fully loaded mag suspended from it although it is a comfortable as a thin leather belt around your waist. Guess this is thanks to the “high-strength resin-embedded polyester fabric core.” Whatever. It works.
Liger claims the belt is impervious to water, mildew, rot and resistant to many common solvents thanks to highly abrasion-resistant polyurethane coating. The coating also give the belt a “super grip” interior that keeps the belt in place and keeps whatever is riding on the belt from moving around. Anything you put on the belt does not move. If you place your holster right in the sweet spot where you like to carry it, it will stay right there. This same extra grip makes threading the belt though the belt loops a little bit greater of an ordeal than with a slick leather belt. For me it took at least twice as long to thread on the Liger belt through the loops of my jeans or BDU style cargo shorts. Not a big deal but it is an extra aggravation during the early morning hours I could have done without. Another and ever greater minus for me is the design of the buckle. Simply it is difficult to fasten and unfasten. The hook is hard to get in (and out of) the holes and to pull the belt tight you have to run the lose end under the buckle end and this involves getting a few fingers inside the belt so you can’t easily pull as tight as you would like. It can be done but it sure isn’t as easy as I would like and nowhere as convenient as a traditional buckle. The buckle looks good and appears very strong but I don’t know that those benefits outweigh the negatives of the design.
Price of a Liger belt at $59.99 is certainly competitive with a good quality leather belt and given its quality of construction and materials it is certainly worth the price.
For me the Liger belt will see limited use. In the hot summer months, when a leather belt can get soaked with sweat and nasty or you find your self working around water, the Liger belt seems like an excellent alternative to the leather belt. If you have problems with items not staying where you put them on your belt, the Ligerthane material will keep them in place. For me, I find a traditional leather belt to be a superior choice and will continue to use one for the majority of the time although given the areas the Liger belt excels in, there is a place for it in my closet. I am glad I purchased one.
Liger Belts can be found at
http://www.ligerproducts.com/
