duty belt for women specifically?

[TxBJJgirl]

I'm currently in the police academy, and today my firearms instructor mentioned that he'd heard of there being duty belts made for women that accommodate our shape better. However, I've been looking online on several stores, and haven't been able to find such a thing. Anybody know where to get them or even to find out more about them?

[Michelles]

I thought they were unisex.
I'm interested too. Wonder what the difference is?

[greenlead]

Maybe they were pulling your leg? A duty belt is shaped however you are, by wearing it more, unless I'm missing something. :confused:

[nhexplorerpost2]

Well....personally, I do notice that my belt rubs alot on my hip bones. So, I wonder if that is the type of thing the belt would be good for?

[ngcsubutterbar]

if there is anything it's either custom, or made by a single low radar company because I've never heard of it and I'm in the business of gear.

[MDEMT280]

I just did a quick websearch (I enjoy a challenge) and found a belt that's supposed to be "specially designed" for women, made by Aker Leather. http://www.akerleather.com/ It's their model B01W. There might be more, but at least we now know such a thing does exist, right? Stay safe out there.

[Michelles]

Well, it is smaller in width which is nice, but I need more curve. :D

Not a bad price too.

[ngcsubutterbar]

oh come on, that's what the hips are for to support the belt. :D

[MORA Ranger]

My first agency bought me a women's duty belt, with the curve to it. Huge improvement-- so much more comfortable than the one I have to wear now. I don't know where my PD got it, but I just saw some in an AE Nelson catalog.

[wild800]

There is a duty belt called a Sally Browne which is curved to accomodate the difference in shape that many women have from men. The belt flares out slightly around the bottom and takes some pressure off the pelvic and hip bones. My Department will issue the Sally Browne on request.

Gould and Goodrich and Don Hume make them, and Safariland makes a contour duty belt that is esentially the same thing. I have noticed that our Uniform store doesn't stock them but will order it if you ask. If not, you can surely order on line directly.

The National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science has an interesting article regarding Uniforms.

http://www.iwitts.com/html/law_enforcement.html

[KittyMom]

Hmm... thanks for this info, all! My hip bones may soon be happier!

[TxBJJgirl]

I've been having lower back soreness lately, and when my instructor mentioned this, I started wondering if this would help. Actually, my hips don't hurt much, and I am a curvy girl so I have 'em.

I'm not sure if the pain is from the belt. I've been wearing my duty belt for a couple months now with no problems until recently. However, we've been sitting down most of the time until now. I've also just started wearing my body armour this week, so it could be from that. However, when it hurts the worst, I get the most relief from either lifting up on my duty belt with my hands, or making a fist and pressing it into my lower back under where the belt sits.

I'm not sure whether I should just keep taking Advil and wait for my body to get used to this new stuff, or see a doctor, or pony up the $$ and try something new like this. Dang sure my department won't pay for it; my city is having financial problems that just caused the shutdown of many citizen services, so my aching back isn't going to be much of a concern for them.

Thanks everyone for the info and sources.

[MORA Ranger]

It should be a concern for them because it could lead to a worker's comp claim. I've never had a back problem from my duty belt, but you should see a doctor and if it is the problem, your department would be smart to get you a better belt.

[TxBJJgirl]

Okay, I've been looking at these online. However, all the pictures I've seen have buckles and visible holes. My department gave me one that looks like this:
http://policemembers.com/product-ima...bs/t_18410.jpg

The AC Nelson website lists several different models, so they might have one more like my department uses, like maybe their 223-41V one. However, they don't have pictures there.

MORA Ranger, is the catalog you referred to in electronic format where I could get a copy from you, by any chance?

Heck, I'm thinking I should just buy the belt and try it; if it even feels a little better then it's worth it. I don't want to spend weeks like this, wondering if my back will get used to it or if this could fix it; I've never had back problems before so I'm taking it seriously. However, getting time off for a doctors visit while I'm in my last month at the academy would be a hassle right now. Besides which, $70 to potentially solve a back problem seems pretty cheap to me; I already blew over 10 bucks on painkillers.

[TxBJJgirl]

Nevermind about the copy of the catalogue; I called AE Nelson and they gave me the URL to pictures of all their womens' duty belts:
http://nelsonleather.com/old_images/sadiebrowne.jpg