Background: I'm a plainclothes LEO and conceal my firearm AIWB.  My agency gives us the bare minimum, so I need to personally procure a solution.  I occasionally serve warrants and deal a lot with domestic incidents.  If I get a callout, I want to throw on my vest and an outer belt that's already got an OWB holster and other gear attached.  I responded once to an incident with my bare-bones gear and felt uneasy about it the whole time.  I don't want to put myself or my family in that situation again.

NEED: 2.25” belt to accommodate my holster system, and being adjustable is a MUST—if sh*t hits the fan, I don’t have time to change clothes and need to work with what I’ve got.  Must have Velcro backing for an inner belt.

HAVE:
EDC: 9mm pistols with AIWB holster, handcuffs, belt badge, spare mag, creds.  Most of these things are in my pockets instead of pouches on my belt.  EDC belt is whatever nylon belt matches that day--NOT a gun belt.
Range: Rifle, Body armor (outer carrier + rifle plates + a few agency-issued molle taco pouches), Kore Essentials rigid gun belt, Safariland OWB ALS holster, spare mags for all weapons.
Other pieces I own but have stuffed in a bag right now: Extra cuffs, mags, tourniquets, Safariland QUBL (quick attach holster system), IFAK, miscellaneous pouches for things like radios.

LOOKING AT: Kore Essentials 2.25” Duty Belt + High Speed Gear Micro Grip Panel.  Regular Velcro inner with keepers for the range; grip panel for fitting over clothing in a dynamic response.

My vest provides just enough vital organ coverage without impeding my hip hinge (leave me alone, I've got a short torso lol) and has molle for most of my gear.  Riggers belts with cobra clips are an obvious choice, but I find those aren’t adjustable enough to accommodate for different clothing.  A ratcheting belt would be better.

Please let me know if you have any recommendations that may work before I drop $200+ on the Kore/HSG combo.

You have your old leathers?

Really any decent belt will do so long as it’s wide enough to keep your holster steady. Maybe throw a mini ifak and dump pouch if it’s for not patrol stuff. Depending on holster a thigh strap can help jeep the rig secure if you don’t have the Velcro under belt or belt keepers.

A lot of guys also use a carabiner to quickly hand an ifak off the back of a belt to. I just use an extra belt keeper to hang cuffs.

I always recommend Volund gearworks for belts when this comes up. They aren't as popular, but I have 2 of their duty belts, a velcro under belt, and 2 different CCW/EDC belts and they've all held up for years of use. I use one of the duty belts with a HSGI pads and really like it. It has rifle and pistol reloads, and an IFAK, and sits on top of my safe to grab in an emergency.  I'd recommend starting with that and putting the stuff you already have on it. The Volund belts are 2 inch not 2.25, but I have never noticed a problem with my Safariland holsters.

I have a 1.5 Kore belt that I'm wearing every day now, I like it I don't think I would want the ratcheting buckle for a duty belt. The Volund belt is also quite a bit less expensive.

Blue Alpha Gear

Does policy require a 2.25" belt? Because no way I would intentionally select that size. You lanning on using standard 2.25" mag pouches and accessory pouches too? Because no way I would pay my own money for any of that. Leave your 2.25" crap for your class A uniform for court. I know an adjustable conch system sounds like a great idea but I simply have a hard time believing it is both secure and fast... perhaps I am wrong and this is the new thing.

I actually can't/won't give you any advice with that silly 2.25" belt requirement. There just isn't any gear that I can reccomend that will do what you want effectively I have experience with.

I suggest a 1.75" direct action belt with a removable/padded grippy liner. A belt designed to be used with an inner belt, but you swap the inner belt for a universal liner like the HSGI you referenced. I happen to use that too. Pick a hook outter belt designed to go with a loop inner velcro inner belt. Otherwise your loop velcro wears out early on the expensive outter belt and the hook inner belt will shred your pants loops when you use that to train with.

I also reccomend a molle system for your pouches so they don't move like they will with a leather 2.25" police belt. Some poeople like to just use velcro,  but that moves when you dont want it to and you need the belt on in a hurry. If you yank your belt and accessories out of a gear drawer the last thing you want is your gear moving. Molle also helps an OWB retention holster stay put when used with a standard Safariland mounting plate. If you use just velcro, it is micro adjustable for comfort and easier to set up by far, but it is not as secure in a speed donning scenario. If you find yku have a bit too much slack in your belt and need it to not ride up, I dou d putting on a QLS single drop leg panel from the best with a QLS on the thigh helps hold my belt down... but I am seldom wearing something that thin or list enough weight I need the extra retention.

I only reccomend the short Tactical Tailor Fight Light Malice clips for anything that does not have a proprietary molle mount. They cinch up excess molle when mounted correctly to the second, tighter clip and are the most light/secure/stable method... and I have tried every molle mount system in existence. Especially on a 1.75" molle belt where rigid mounting is difficult.

For pistol mag pouches, I prefer KYWI open top. The double mag ones with some built in separation. For a cuff pouch, I prefer a single BFG behind the pistol for a soft case (secure and easy out but NOT easy in) or zero9 for a rigid cuff case (heavy/bulky but easy out and in). Check all the zero9 stuff for flash lights and radio holders too. I use an Emdom universal rifle magazine pouch for a soft radio pouch with Motorola APX radios and a BFG micro dump pouch for evidence collection on my weak side next to my IFAK. I keep a BFG micro trama kit on the lower back, a TQ mounted to front of pistol holster, and an ITW plastic carabiner to hold a pair of PIG gloves on the belt.  

This whole setup just clips over whatever I am wearing and the only negative vs wearing a velcro inner belt or using a Sam Brown with keepers is the back of the belt rides up over my non velcro belt a little after sitting and standing a few times. A small price to pay to fit over anything you might be wearing vs relying on a velcro inner belt or keepers.

One thing I DO NOT reccomend is a Volundgearworks 2" belt. I have one. It is too thick and stiff. The inner molle of soft molle backed pouches fits in the 1" channel perfectly (and loose) and can't be compressed like the 3/4" inner molle channel of 1.75" belts  when using the fight light malice clips. The compression of the 1" molle into a .75" molle channel is how you get good stability for pouches mounted on a molle belt  in my experience.

You will find this WAY more comfortable than a 2.25" belt that cuts into your hips and has loose, sloppily secured pouches. You will find it WAY more secure than a detective belt set up with paddle mag/holster pouch, a paddle Safariland holster, belt clip flash light holster, and belt clip factory radio holder. I have all of the above for my CID uniform (polo, cargo pants, 1.5" nylon belt) but have a complete fast donning belt, plate carrier, and helmet for active shooter or felony warrant service use. I just pull out all my CID stuff from my belt (belt clip badge holder, holster, mag pouch, radio holder, flashlight holder, etc) and throw on the 1.75" direct action belt with veloce in grippy liner right over my 1.5" normal belt I normally use with my CID uniform.

The direct action belt has its own handgun (or a QLS plate so I can remove my handgun from my QLS equipped paddle and swap it to the direct action belt), separate loaded pistol mags, separate flashlight, separate cuff case with cuff, etc. and I only swap over the radio into a more secure case on the plate carrier or belt (and possibly my entire QLS holster from my paddle). I have one comple holster with separate pistol on a direct action belt at home and one with QLS plate for my vehicle at work.

I hope this gets you going in the right direction.

I agree w ditching the 2.25 belt.  If your holster is has that size ubl on it, change that.  They’re cheap.  Go w a 1.75 or 2 in.  

Safelife makes a hell of a duty belt.  Been wearing one everyday for 6 years and have put it through hell and it’s still holding up good.  

Agilite just came out w an interesting belt as well.

Thanks.  I was also kind of hoping to avoid the 2.25”, but the agency apparently has purchased some pouches and other gear that will fit that size, but it hasn’t come in yet so I haven’t gotten eyes on it.

If it’s crap quality, I will just buy my own stuff and say the hell with the bigger belt.  When it comes to my own safety and comfort, I typically don’t mind shelling out money to make sure I have the best I can afford, I just might have to space things out a bit if I decide to go all in on fully-funding the belt gear.

That's sort of how I built my war/battle/SHTF belt. I used an Esstac 1.75" shooter's belt and an Urban Assault Belt Pad from Wilder Tactical. The belt pad attaches to the shooter's belt via hook and loop and stays there. I can put the entire rig on over my current EDC belt (Kore Essentials 1.5" gun belt) in a matter of a couple seconds. Or I can put it on over athletic shorts. And it doesn't slip down or move around much at all.

Granted you'd probably have more weight than me since I'm not a LEO. But I'd imagine that setup you're looking at would work pretty well.

If I was in your shoes, I would be looking hard at the Unity Tactical Clutch Belt.