FWIW, I use a Liberty Holster (Dain) that is a few years old with out hooking it to my belt. The retention on it is little and more than anything "cups" the gun. I do wear a belt but the clips are attatched to my pants and the belt rides over the clips. I have practiced many times this way and it works fine for me (southpaw, 9 o'clock position). The reason I do this is because almost every pair of pants I own the belt loops get in the way of the clips.