Beltless Carry Solved - Mastermind Specialist Covert Belt and Multi-Purpose Pouches

[Larry T]

Maybe I missed it but are you wearing it over bare skin or an undershirt? Does it move around?

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

No, I don't wear it against skin. I wear either a tee or beater, then the belt over that. No movement assuming you're not wearing it crazy loose.

[Larry T]

So a question to all who are using the covert:

I'm looking at the possibilities of this setup, and it appears that it would work...but looking for your input.

Come fall, there are many times when I am working in bib overalls [carhartt]. On these days, I leave the 1911 at home and pocket carry the 642, because there's no way to hide a Commander in the pockets.

Do you feel this setup would be feasible under a bib overall? Really not interested in the expense of the enigma setup, but this is within budget for the time it'll be used.

Chris~

I don't know why it wouldn't work as long as you can get your hand in / under / through the overalls to establish a grip / draw.

[blues]

So a question to all who are using the covert:

I'm looking at the possibilities of this setup, and it appears that it would work...but looking for your input.

Come fall, there are many times when I am working in bib overalls [carhartt]. On these days, I leave the 1911 at home and pocket carry the 642, because there's no way to hide a Commander in the pockets.

Do you feel this setup would be feasible under a bib overall? Really not interested in the expense of the enigma setup, but this is within budget for the time it'll be used.

Chris~

Chris, if you can wear a belt and holster under that outfit, it will work.

[ECVMatt]

Thanks so much for the heads up! I spend about 90% of my non-working time in trunks. I was looking at the enigma, but it gives me a headache trying to figure that contraption out. I know it works and gets great reviews, but between the leg strap and not working with light bearing holsters, it is just too much. I can't wait to give this belt a try and it works with my favorite holster with no modifications or need to bolt it to the chassis.

[Crashpad]

So a question to all who are using the covert:

I'm looking at the possibilities of this setup, and it appears that it would work...but looking for your input.

Come fall, there are many times when I am working in bib overalls [carhartt]. On these days, I leave the 1911 at home and pocket carry the 642, because there's no way to hide a Commander in the pockets.

Do you feel this setup would be feasible under a bib overall? Really not interested in the expense of the enigma setup, but this is within budget for the time it'll be used.

Chris~

I've used my Specialist a lot under overalls and coveralls. The Covert will work great.

[CSW]

I've used my Specialist a lot under overalls and coveralls. The Covert will work great.

Thanks for the heads up on that.
I'll be ordering today.

[guymontag]

My main complaints with the Mastermind Specialist Covert are the thickness of the belt, the hook and loop attachment method, and the wear it was starting to show after ~4 months of almost daily use. Mind you, daily use is not what the belt was intended for (I don't think), and the folding over of the belt and wear likely would not occur if I weren't wearing a Beretta 92 with CCC clips. Any hook & loop always seems to wear out quickly for me, so I am not a fan, but I did not have any issues with the Specialist Covert on that end, just personal preferences. I recently moved from the Specialist Covert (at least for the time being) to the Enigma because of how thick the Specialist Covert is compared the the Enigma. I can simply wear the Enigma with more clothes. My pants more easily button with the Enigma.

Apologies for raising the thread from the dead - I have a Specialist Covert on the way specifically because the Enigma is so bulky. I’m trying to stuff a double stack 9, a large fidlock, a tegris skeleton with more hardware and spacers into my pants, along with the holster that attaches to it. Reminiscent of those early sidecar rigs, it’s like trying to shove a cafeteria plate down my pants.

I wear a size 30 in Magellan/5.11/Buckle so I’m hoping a simple belt with the standard holster is the answer for me. If it’s somehow bulkier than the above I don’t know what I’ll do.

[p1090]

Apologies for raising the thread from the dead - I have a Specialist Covert on the way specifically because the Enigma is so bulky. I’m trying to stuff a double stack 9, a large fidlock, a tegris skeleton with more hardware and spacers into my pants, along with the holster that attaches to it. Reminiscent of those early sidecar rigs, it’s like trying to shove a cafeteria plate down my pants.

I wear a size 30 in Magellan/5.11/Buckle so I’m hoping a simple belt with the standard holster is the answer for me. If it’s somehow bulkier than the above I don’t know what I’ll do.

Re-reading that post, my statement of "it's thick" doesn't provide enough detail to be helpful. Apologies.

When I say thick with the Specialist I was using it in almost the exact way I wear my Enigma. However, in addition to the holster width (wash between the Enigma and the Specialist), I needed to include the width of the belt itself (thicker on the Specialist than the Enigma, especially when double layered, but for the clip on the Enigma) and the mounting hardware.

The Enigma is less bulky for me mainly due to the direct mount of the holster to the Enigma chassis. With the Specialist, you have the added width of the belt attachment hardware, which is where I noticed the main difference in bulk. I used both PTD loops and DCC clips, each of which added some extra width along the beltline and where the hardware attaches to the holster. When I wore a regular belt over the Specialist, it was noticeably bulkier, but probably not to an unmaneable degree. Simply put, with the Enigma mounting process, you bolt the holster to the Enigma faceplate and are done. With the Specialist, you mount the belt loops on the holster, then hook the belt to the loops. It's an extra layer of hardware and an extra full-thickness belt.

I found FOR ME that the thinner Enigma belt plus the removal of the hardware needed to mount a holster to the Specialist was a significant enough difference that I switched entirely to the Enigma for concealed carry use. I can carry the same stuff with less bulk.

TLDR:
Enigma Benefits: thinner for me, self-contained unit
Specialist Benefits: literally everything else, including cost, modularity, and ease of setup

As an additional use case for the Specialist, I've found the Specialist works well for me when wearing overall bibs when hunting. I was easily able to use the Specialist in lieu of a huge battle belt-esque setup because of the rubberized portion of the belt.

Hopefully that's a more helpful explanation than the drivel I provided before.

[Joe S]

I will chime in once I've got some significant wear time with it, but wanted to hop back here to give a preliminary thumbs up to Mastermind Tactics. I had been wanting a new EDC belt, didn't need it to carry a lot of weight, but it needed to be fairly slim, discreet, maybe even ok looking. I like the look of the Tenicor Zero, but am a cheap bastard, which had me looking at the Specialist Covert from Mastermind.

I sent an email with a question to them (can you run it as a normal belt; they don't recommend it, but they know some folks are without issues). They replied in literally a matter of minutes, while I was reading this and another thread about it. The cheap price, quick CS, good reviews here, made in the USA = take my money. I also ordered the multi-purpose pouch.

Got them super quick, they seem amazingly well made, already using them and happy. Will update when I have then longer, but just wanted to give this thread a bump.

[CSW]

Been using this belt 2-3 times a week since March of this year.
It's been working very well for me, hides my commander size 1911 with ease.