ltwguns.com

Does a 1.5" belt work okay with an IWB holster with 1.75" loops or will it shift too much and am better off finding an exact match?

It depends.

Many otherwise excellent IWB holsters are designed so that the top edge of the belt is forced to ride above the top hem of the pants. Put another way, material at the top hem of the pants between the holster body and belt loops is forced downward (folded, bunched up, or rolled over), below the top edge of the belt.

Coincidentally, this altogether common problem with IWB holsters can be mitigated if you choose loops 1/4" wider than your belt. Of course, a little more or less than 1/4" additional belt loop width would be better in some cases, but as they say, "beggars can't be choosers."

It should also be noted that the weight (thickness) of the pants material plays a role: The thicker the pants material, the worse the problem, and the more belt loop "width" one needs to compensate.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying you'll have to try your combination of belt, holster, pants, and pistol and see if the "oversize" belt loops work for you. The "good" news is the problem I attempted to describe here is so common that the odds are decidedly in your favor.

Hope this helps.

-AC

PS: I would rather not name any IWB holsters that exhibit this design defect, but a few that do not are the Milt Sparks SS2, Heritage, and VM2 (with loops, of course, not clips). If you look at those three IWBs, there is ample room for pants material between the holster body and belt loops (including in the critical area at the top of the belt loops and between them).

PPS: Actually, it could be argued that the VM2 goes a bit too far in solving this problem. The result is that the belt loop "assemblies" of the VM2 are pretty bulky little units (although one hears few complaints about this).

Exact match varies. If you are using a Wilderness Instructors Belt they are very thin. If your are using a common leather belt up to a leather gun belt they can vary widely. My Sparks VM II with 1.5 in loops fit perfectly on my 1.5 and 1.75 in Wilderness Belts. My 1.5 loops fit VERY tight on my 1.5 leather gun belt, but it is a custom belt and meant to be able to carry a S&W 29 comfortably on horseback. (it is an overkill belt, but fully tooled and beautiful )

My Sparks mag holder is more finicky (if used the way it was intended) and the 1.5 needs to go only on a 1.5 belt if you use the inner tab the way it was intended, but I have found that I can easily cheat "when I have to" put it on a 1.75 belt (as I do now while my EDC Wilderness 1.5 is rebuilt)...I just use the snaps like most pouches with out the inner tab function outside, but put it inside and it works perfectly with 1.75 belts making it very versatile in my opinion, b/c the inner tab is not necessary, but just an added stability/security bonus in Sparks great design. I always get both 1.5 & 1.75 loops when possible. Good Luck

_________________
God Bless
45Fundi

Yes it could shift on your belt. Your best bet is to contact whoever made your holster and have them send you a pair of 1.5 loops provided your loops are removable and not sewn on. Cost should run about $15 to $20 bucks and you'll winf up with a holster matched to your belt. Most makers can get a new pair of loops out very quickly.