I've noticed a lot of discussion about carry belts lately, and having never heard of them until now I don't understand what's so special about them.  I can see a police duty belt for carrying all the "stuff", but a single pistol and maybe a mag should be able to work off at least a good quality "regular" belt.  At least, that's what I use with jeans (and I use a D-ring webbing belt with cargo shorts).and I've not had any issues beyond worrrying that I'm printing like the NY Times (i.e. lots, and badly).

What am I missing?

If you carry a decent sized hand gun (like a Glock 19) and at least one spare magazine, and carry it all day, you'd understand the advantage of a stiffened, dedicated carry belt.

Best thing I did was switching to a gun belt, trashed all my other belts, never going back. I see it the other way around, I'm not sure why anyone would not want a gun belt.

Yep, I switched to Galco for all my leather belt needs two decades ago.

yup.  Carrying with a saggy belt sucks ass.  Get a good gun belt with a stiffener and it makes all the difference.

The only belts I wear now are gun belts whether I'm carrying or not.  Even to work (business casual; slacks w/ button down shirt) when I can't carry, I wear Galco's SB3 dress belt.  I have it 3x different colors.  

Outside of work, I wear a custom belt made by Mike at Armour Belts.  Great stuff.  This is my primary CCW belt.  I've actually worn this to work a couple of times and received some nice compliments.  

I think I'm going to order an Ares Gear Aegis belt for my next casual belt.  Keep hearing great things about that product.  

HUGE difference between a typical, cheap, leather belt and a well-made leather belt designed for IWB/OWB carry.  The belt will carry the weight of the firearm without sagging.  It will keep it close to your body with minimal movement.

They are also a sign of someone that doesn't carrying a gun seriously.  Anyone that has actually trained to be proficient with their handgun would have quickly learned that good belt designed to carry a gun is necessary.

Something like a Beltman Belt is just a good quality leather belt that happens to help a lot in carrying a gun.  

I have two and wear them every day.

A good easily adjustable belt is superior in every way to a static buckle belt you have to change to a different hole to adjust tension.  I switched a few years back from a pin buckle with static holes to an adjustable tension belt and it was life changing.  One problem with the static belts is sitting tension vs standing tension can vary.  Think about it like this you sit down for dinner in a restaurant and if you have a static pin and hole buckle belt if the belt is to tight you have to unbuckle and adjust to a different hole which could be to loose.  The is especially problematic for skinny guys like me with no curves.  I use a Ares Aegis belt which is infinitely adjustable if it is to tight I can release a bit of tension if it is to loose I can suck it up and tight it just a bit.  The key is that if I do not like the tension I have infinite adjustment not one hole tighter or one hole looser that could or could not be the correct tension I am going for.  I probably adjust my belt 30-40 times a day when I sit down at work I loosen it up when I get up to walk somewhere I tighten it up or if I feel to tight I can slip a little bit of belt out of the tension and adjust to to exactly where I want.  Comfort is a big part of carrying every day all day and anyone who tells you a hunk of steel stuck in your pants is perfectly comfortable to have all day is lying to you and probably does not carry all day every day.  A good belt can make or break a comfortable carry day especially if it sag that is where a stiff belt really helps because if you are sagging you are probably not comfortable and probably printing like crazy.

Two things about carrying you should never cheap out on that is holster and belt if you want to be comfortable.

Many will spend big bucks on a good gun and holster with the intent of carrying regularly skip the belt and a few months later will be leaving guns in cars skipping it for quick runs to the store due to weight comfort etc. or end up dumping a solid fighting gun for a tiny pocket pistol due to carry discomfort of one sort of another. A good solid gun belt makes a huge difference for most people  in comfort stability and as you indicated printing as well. I moved last year and when we cleaned out the house I disposed of all belts except a purpose built gun belt. It is now the only belt I wear.

I have a gun belt, but I don't always use it.

I have non-gun branded belts that work just fine for carrying, and several that don't work so well.

Just because it's not specifically made to carry a gun, doesn't automatically mean that it won't work well for carrying. It just depends on the stiffness and how well it's constructed.

Once you use a good, stiff belt you'll never go back.

I have a couple Hanks belts that are outstanding. The 'less than perfect' ones must be pretty close to perfect because I can't find any blemish on one and the other has a dark spot only visible inside the belt.

A carry belt is firmer and won't bend and flip your gun upside down whenever you undo your pants. It also won't sag on the gun side as much throughout the day. Basically it should keep its wasteband shape even when you take it off.

I often keep a holster and gun on my gun belt in the safe, and then just strap it on over (or under) my clothes rather than feeding it through the loops.

This. I dropped $110 on a very nice sharkskin belt at 5 Shot Leather some years ago, and I have worn it every damn day since. Can't even feel my 4" 1911 now. Absolutely the best money I have ever spent.

I bought the Ares Ranger Belt almost 3 years ago and wear it everyday. It easily holds up my Glock 19, two spare magazines, and a small fixed blade. Any dedicated belt like that will make a huge impact on your comfort and conceal ability.

OP, I think that a lot of us folks that carry had that same question when getting into the world of carrying.  Yes a duty belt needs to be stiff for all the gear that a LEO has to lug around.  When you carry that gear, you notice that over time, the belt's stiffness wears down, and you need to invest in another gun belt.  So much more comfortable with a sturdy belt..  I think that everyone chiming in will agree.  

Then there is guys just like yourself (and once a lot of us), who have not bought into the whole idea that a "gun belt" is needed in a "concealed carry" capacity.  The best way I can put it, we can all tell you the water is warm, and to jump in...  but only you will decide if you want to jump in and see for yourself.  Plain and simple, it's worth your money to get one..  You will see...  And soon you will be with us on the Dark side of the "tacticool" world.

EDIT:
I forgot to add, that I went from carrying a duty belt to a plain clothes rig.  At the time I had not had a proper gun belt, but I knew I needed one.  Once I started with that plain clothed gig and working anywhere from 10-15 hours a day, I immediately felt the pain of not carrying a proper gun belt.  The basic set up...  gun, two mags, cuffs, flash light.  Life after the Ares Ranger belt was sweet.  If I switch it'll be to something that is not so cumbersome to put on and take off.  The Ares Agis belt will probably suit my needs..  Best of luck, and let us know what you end up doing.

OP pay attention to Edgecrusher's post as it is spot on with what I have learned after many years of carrying.  A fully adjustable belt is more comfortable as it provides more fitment possibilities than trying to find the right hole, and with that said a good gun belt of either design is far superior than your typical wally world special.  Don't be like my friend who use's some crappy belt and end's up hardly carrying at all even though I gave him my Wilderness frequent flyer that no longer fit me and it is by far nicer than what he use's.  You can bring the horse to water...but you can't make him drink.

For me the belt is the key essential component that a lot of guys haven't figured out, I'd go so far to say that for comfort it's even way more important than a quality holster and the holster is just another piece of the puzzle.

Wow, definitely a stronger response than I expected!  I've been using a 1.5" belt from Naragansett leathers but y'all have convinced me to give a gun belt a try.  I ordered a Hanks one off Amazon and it should arrive Tuesday, in time to try it out.

I carried with a normal leather belt for a couple years and always thought everyone was silly for making such a big deal out of belts...then I bought one. Makes all the difference in the world, and you'll never go back to a thin floppy belt again.

Most of the time when you hear people talk about discomfort carrying a gun, it's from trying to do so with an off the rack belt from Joseph A Banks or the like. A dedicated gun belt makes a HUGE difference.

Yep, that about sums it up.  I had a VERY stiff leather belt I ordered from a tanner/leather shop.  Then i started doing some training. I went to a generic riggers style belt (blackhawk i think) for EDC, and i liked it, but it was too limp.  Now i use an SOE EDC belt.  It is fantastic.  Specifically for appendix carry, I don't want a "buckle" due to the added bulk.  I can fasten the EDC on teh side and it will hold up gun and 2 extra mags no problem.

Gun belts vs regular belts are like night and day.  Just do it.  Go buy a few for different types of dress, then go throw out all your regular belts and carry regularly.  I haven't touched a non-gun belt in years.  Even when I can't carry, a gun belt is just better in every way. Every regular belt I see at the clothing stores or on guys having trouble keeping their pants up makes me chuckle in seeing how cheap and weak they were.

Agreed. Started with a normal belt. Took a class. Got a Wilderness belt, took another class . Eventually wore out the wilderness and got a CompTac with internal stiffener. Took more classes. Broke stiffener. Got a Areas Ranger. Wear it daily. Taken several classes. carry a M&P9 with WML and RMR and one reload. It's just like that SOE EDC belt. Only thing worth having if you carry anything bigger than a LCP daily

Never broke my the kydex in my Comp-Tac but the area of the belt without it stretched and sagged. after about a year.

Mine sagged like that too. It broke in between the belt loops on my holster(OWB by Raven)

What you're missing is that there are no good quality "regular" belts when you subject them to the repeated load of a firearm and magazines.

Think about a few things: consistency in your grip, draw, and reload, weapon retention while grappling, and single-handed malfunction clearance.  Your belt matters a lot.

^^ This.

Carrying a compact or full, even a sub compact, with a spare mag is what will make or break a good draw and not be so painful on the back if you've got back problems.

...plus it helps keeping the pants from sagging.

I just got my order from Ailen Gear.  I ordered a cloak 3.0 holster and figured while I was paying shipping anyway, i ordered their new CCW belt.
This thing is heavy duty, I've been carrying my P320 for the last two day and barely know it's there.
No saggy belt and droopy pants.  I love it, and the price was right.  It's not going to win any style competitions, but it does what it's designed to do.

Alien Gear belts are rebranded Bigfoot 14oz steel lined Gun belts.  Great belts.  I can't say enough good things about mine.  Excellent price for what you get.  On top of that Bigfoot puts them on sale a couple of times a year at $10 off.

I just received my very first gun belt a couple days ago, from Bigfoot Gun Belts.

Tried it yesterday with a gun I never carry due to weight and general discomfort-- a CZ75 with spare mag.  Wore it all day, including on a short hike, and it was a *major* improvement over my usual belt.  It honestly felt at least as light as the G27 when worn with my old belt.

Well worth the $60.

IME, a good gunbelt will reduce the perceived weight of your pistol by about 40lbs. They last longer, look better, and are superior in every way to a regular belt. The sag/roll/twist stories about regular belts are all true. Spend the money on a purpose-built belt. Not doing so is like carrying your gun in a sock tied to your beltloop.