This post continues our discussion on ways to carry your gear. In particular, I’m going to dig into the so-called Battle Belt. You might also see battle belts referred to as War Belts, though I see the term less and less often. I won’t go so far as to call it webbing, a term associated with the Brits, because that actually describes another kind of system that I’ll cover in another post. Similarly, I shy away from calling them duty belts, because that also describes a slightly different setup.
If you haven’t read the previous posts in this series, give them a look as well. I started by talked about the problem of weight and war fighting. A lot of what we’re discussing revolves around a hypothetical emergency scenario where you’ve found yourself and your neighbors in charge of providing security for your community in the weeks and months after a natural disaster.
We’ve also discussed the two major options you’ve got in for managing that weight. Do you want it on your hips or your chest? Both have their pros and cons as far as comfort, capacity, and accessibility.
This post is specifically about carrying weight on your belt line. The battle belt, or something like it, belongs to the second tier of The Everyday Marksman Gear Hierarchy, right after your basic everyday carry (EDC) and basic essentials.
But here’s the thing, how you configure your belt, if you use one at all, is a highly personal thing.
I’m not doing what every other article does by prescribing a solution for you regardless of your needs. Instead, I’m walking you through my own belt’s evolution and why I’ve made the decisions I have.
This article contains affiliate links.
Background of the Battle Belt
It’s difficult to define the exact origin of the modern day battle belt. Carrying military equipment around the waist has been practiced for thousands of years. It was the default carrying method for the US military all the way up through, and including, the well-known ALICE (All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment) era in the 1970s and 80s.
ALICE consisted of a gun belt and suspenders. Ammunition pouches, canteens, entrenching tool (E-tool), and other personal equipment all attached around the belt via metal clips.
Combat load was six magazines, three magazines in each pouch, plus one in the gun. Extra ammo went in the ruck.
A pistol, if issued, replaced a canteen. The pouches stayed in place using metal keepers. The hooks and keepers are not well regarded, and most troops replaced them with paracord.
After ALICE, we started adding more things to the chest using load bearing vests (LBV). That eventually became individual body armor. In time, we just attached pouches on the armor’s exterior using the newly-developed Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment (MOLLE).
Battle belts eventually came about as a middle ground solution. As things picked up in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000s, not everyone needed to walk around wearing their whole body armor system all of the time.
Instead of the whole armor system, wearing a belt equipped with some minimum fighting essentials provided an easy-on-easy-off way to carry fighting gear. That made it convenient for day-to-day tasks like digging a fighting position, latrine, and other duties aside from fighting.
Setting Up A Belt
Before I get to my own evolution, I wanted to talk about some quick philosophical points I’ve learned over time.
- Battle belts are for making holes and plugging holes
- If it’s heavy enough to need suspenders, rethink your approach
- Avoid putting things on your legs
Make Holes and Plug Holes
The first point, making holes and plugging holes, means that battle belts should focus on fighting gear and a medical kit. Obviously, that’s not a hard and fast rule as I routinely violate it by adding a knife and canteen pouch. But the principle here is that you shouldn’t be trying to carry a ton of stuff on a battle belt.
The goal is a lightweight minimum viable fighting kit. At some point, if you add enough weight, you’ll need a suspension system.
Suspenders and Weight
As a battle belt gets heavier, you’ll need suspension to help distribute the load and keep it in place. Once you add suspenders, you effectively turn your belt into load bearing equipment (LBE). This is not inherently bad, but you’re getting past the original intent of the battle belt as a minimum fighting load.
If you start turning your battle belt into a webbing system, then you have to start making other choices about your gear and what you carry. It’s best to consider them two different systems.
The battle belt is supplemental to things like chest rigs and plate carriers. If you have a belt with suspenders, and then a chest rig, and then a small backpack, you’re in strap hell and liable to get tangled up.
Avoiding Drop Legs
The trend is slowly dying, but drop leg holsters and pouches suck. For a while, it seemed like everyone was doing it because it was the cool thing to do. I think it peaked with HSGI releasing the Costa Leg Rig. Everyone rushed out to get the new hot thing, but quickly realized carrying a few pounds on your thigh sucks.
Research shows that adding weight to your legs increases your energy expenditure by 4% per pound and makes running very awkward and uncomfortable.
If you must use some kind of drop leg configuration, and I do at times, then you need to situate as high as possible on your leg. I also recommend Safariland’s UBL system, which is just a hard plastic connector that lowers the holster a few inches without attaching it to the leg. Some people use a leg strap, but this is for stabilization and not load bearing. The weight is still on the belt.
Allowing for Personal Preference in Battle Belts
This is my catch-all to say that these rules are not set in stone. Everyone has a preference or how and where they want to carry their stuff. I added a utility knife to mine as well as a canteen/utility pouch. Some people elect to carry dump pouches, others might attach a radio. All of that is fine as long as you keep the weight manageable.
Ultimately, what you carry on your belt is a reflection of your own needs. What works for me probably isn’t ideal for you, and vice versa.
My Personal Belt
Before I talk about my belt’s history, let’s look at the current configuration. I say current because experimentation is a constant thing. An underlying philosophy of mine is to accept the possibility that I might be wrong and always look for reasons to change.
This battle belt is the end result of nine years of experimentation, training, and competition. It’s not minimalist, nor is it a heavyweight. I put it in the “medium weight” category.
The inner belt is a Viking Tactics (VTAC) instructor belt with cobra attachment. The outer MOLLE belt is the VTAC Brokos belt. I bought these items in 2010, so they are fairly old at this point. A lot of other companies have since come to market with similar configurations and similar or lower price points.
From left to right, these are the pouches:
- Tactical Tailor Magna double pistol magazine pouch
- HSGI Taco
- HSGI Taco
- Bleeder/Blowout kit by HSGI with an attached tourniquet
- Tactical Tailor canteen/utility pouch
- Becker BK-10 Crewman knife in a kydex sheath
- CZ P07 pistol in a KT-Mech Akela holster
How I Arrived Here
I was first introduced to the battle belt concept not through my military service, but by the internet. Like most enthusiasts, I browsed the various picture threads on message boards. One of the longest running is still going at M4carbine.net. That particular thread started in 2006 and is still getting new pictures. The discussion provides a nice glimpse of the evolution of peoples’ kit.
After shooting my first “tactical” match in Montana, I quickly realized that I needed a way to carry extra magazines to the line. The picture threads provided the inspiration.
My first iteration wasn’t too far from what it looks like now. It had the same pistol magazine pouches, the same two tacos, and a Safariland 3285 for my Beretta 92A1.
That holster is discontinued, but it was the only one on the market at the time that would accept my Beretta with a TLR-1s on it.
I chose the Magna pouches and tacos because they work with a variety of magazines. The Magnas have magnets in them that provide retention on any metal-walled magazine. To date, I’ve used them with Beretta, CZ, FNS, and 1911 mags. All worked well.
The HSGI Tacos also allowed me to use regular AR-15 mags and 308 mags for both my M1A and 308 AR. That’s a lot of flexibility, and I highly recommend them.
I also attached an Emdom USA dump pouch, which I’ll circle back to in a minute.
I shot that configuration for years until I started learning more about small unit tactics.
Enter Max Velocity Tactical
Around 2014, my interest in skillsets outside of shooting alone began to grow. A lot of searching and blog browsing eventually led me to a series of articles by Max over at MVT. I wouldn’t get to actually attend a course of his for three more years, but his articles were free to read.
His approach was different. It wasn’t about being flashy and showing off pristine pictures for the internet. Rather, he spoke from a place of been-there-done-that and trained others to do it as well.
At the time, he was writing primarily from his experience in the British military, known for its webbing kits. The battle belt configuration he advocated wasn’t too far off from that. It’s also the one he wrote about his first book, Contact!, which was the predecessor to his tactical manual I previously reviewed.
So I gave it a try.
Battle Belt Version 2 – MVT Style
Inspired by Max, I included suspenders. TT Magna pistol mag pouches and HSGI tacos stayed as they were, but I attached a TT Universal Mag pouch on the outside of each taco. The belt also included a first aid kit, two canteen pouches, a utility pouch, and my holster.
That brought me up to carrying eight rifle mags, stacked four deep, and two pistol mags. All of it hanging on one side of my body. In hindsight, that was pretty imbalanced.
Living in California at the time, I honestly couldn’t give this kind of rig a good shakedown. I had no 30-round magazines to stuff in the pouches and test. When I showed it to others with more experience, the feedback was generally good. They thought it was well thought out but probably heavy and bulky on the sides.
I also ran into another problem. The TT Fight Light harness I used for suspenders had a drag handle on the back. That in of itself isn’t a bad thing, but the attachment loops on the belt didn’t appear inspire confidence that would hold up to dragging someone my size.
Battle Belt Version 3: Modern ALICE
What shaking out I could do of Version 2 helped me realize that the imbalance wasn’t going to work. Eight rifle magazines on one side was simply too much. Version 3 was an effort to shift things around.
The notable changes here were moving the pistol magazines to the right side next to the holster, deleting one of the tacos, deleting a canteen, and adding a knife.
Moving the location of the pistol magazines wasn’t ideal for speed and accessibility, but it worked well enough for just carrying ammunition. I considered moving one of the triple mag pouches to that location, but it got in the way of squatting, kneeling, and made it awkward to go prone.
But not so awkward that I wouldn’t try it again in another configuration.
Looking back, this configuration wasn’t all that bad from a practical standpoint. It was slightly better balanced, though not by a lot since it still had seven rifle mags on one side, and felt a bit more streamlined. The big reason I drifted away from it was the a decision to include a chest rig in my load out.
Back to Max for a Moment
Not long before Version 3, Max revised his battle belt ideas towards a much lighter-weight configuration paired with a plate carrier or chest rig. He called this the Lite Battle Belt, and it stemmed from his time training civilians and considering other logistics, like riding around in vehicles.
The philosophy is that this BB [battle belt] is light enough to not be an encumbrance, even while carrying out normal chores. Yet it allows you to carry enough gear to be useful in a fight. This is not a full BB as I have posted about in the past, which is more specialized towards infantry dismounted operations. Between a BB lite, a VERSA chest rig, and some form of patrol/assault daypack, you can carry all you need.
You can wear the BB Lite all the time, with the rifle either on you or accessible at short notice. You can simply wear it on its own for short duration range time/training where it allows you a basic ammunition load. As the situation changes, or perhaps you go out on patrol, you can add the VERSA chest rig ( and perhaps a plate carrier) as you feel the need.
The BB Lite will not interfere with riding in vehicles or simply sitting down on watch / QRF. Worn with the chest rig it is also vehicle/chair compatible. For me, it is the ideal gear layer system.
– Max Velocity Tactical
The idea shifted to using the battle belt less as a do-all fighting implement, but more of a minimum-capability system that you could keep with you all of the time without being encumbered.
In hindsight, this represents what life would look like in Scenario X. Your job isn’t going to be planning patrols and advancing to contact on a daily basis. Instead, you go about your daily life doing chores, taking care of family, and working with your community. A minimalist configuration supports those activities without getting in the way.
What Others Have to Say
Aside from Max, whose ideas I have a lot of respect for, there are others I’ve drawn information from as well.
Jeff Gurwitch, former Army Special Forces, outlined his thoughts for SWAT Magazine in 2016. He echoed a lot of the sentiment Max does for keeping it fairly minimal but recommends a utility pouch for miscellaneous items.
More recently, I had a live stream discussion with Marine and renowned gear nerd, Brent0331. He came to the same conclusion. A light weight belt set up for minimum combat makes sense for most people getting started.
I also closely followed the reports of guys on Lightfighter.net as they rotated in and out of training. Everyone came back with similar answers: it’s all about what you need it to do at a minimum, nothing more. When that moment comes, add a plate carrier/chest rig and a backpack.
The trend for huge loads on so-called war belts peaked around 2011. By 2016, it seemed to be slipping back to a scaled down minimal fighting kit.
Back to the Current Battle Belt
My belt, as it stands now, is a mixture of all the advice as well as my own experience attending Max’s training, which I wrote about over in this article.
I added the Tactical Tailor canteen/utility pouch for incidentals. A 1L Nalgene or standard 32 oz canteen fits in there nicely. If I don’t mind carrying the canteen in a small backpack, I can use the pouch for small survival essentials, binoculars, chemlights, or extra mags. An enclosed utility pouch is just a handy way to carry some stuff
I wavered back and forth on dump pouches for years. Sometimes I used it, sometimes I didn’t. I always thought there was a lot of utility in having an easy place to dump mags, water bottles, or other misc junk, but I just never warmed up to having the thing dangling off of me.
I would feel comfortable deleting one of the rifle magazine pouches to gain some other capability, like a radio. There’s also the option to add pistol taco pouches on the right side to carry either two more pistol magazines or a flashlight and multitool.
Configuring Your Own Battle Belt
So now we come to it, it’s your turn. I’m not terribly interested in cosplaying as an operator, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a few lessons with us. Something like our fictional Scenario X makes you consider your minimum essentials.
What do I recommend? That really depends on your needs and weapon choices. Remember:
- Battle belts are for making holes and plugging holes
- If it’s heavy enough to need suspenders, rethink your approach
- Avoid putting things on your legs if you can
I generally suggest 1-2 rifle magazines and a first aid kit at a minimum. If you want to carry a pistol, and I see no reason not to, then add the holster and 2-4 pistol magazine pouches.
A knife never hurts but is by no means a requirement. After that, I would suggest no more than one additional hydration, utility, or dump pouch. Again, pick one of those and accept the tradeoff. You do not want this belt to be too heavy.
As a side note, I want to separate this concept from putting equipment directly on your pants belt, which I refer to as a Duty Belt. This is certainly a valid technique as well, and one I might try eventually. But I consider that method to be a slightly different approach and outside the scope of this article.
Over to You
I want to know, do you currently run a battle belt? If you do, tell me how you have it set up, or post a picture.
If you don’t what do you think you would do to set one up?
I am currently looking into creating my own battle belt and this article was super interesting and is making me reconsider a few things. I will get back with my setup when I have it complete!
Hey Nick, thanks for reading and commenting. I’m curious, what things did I make you reconsider?
Mainly to cut even more down on the weight that I was thinking of carrying. I was thinking like 2 AR mags, 2 pistol mags, small IFAK, canteen, holster, and small admin pouch. Your article is making me reconsider all of that and lighten up the load even more. It also never crossed my mind to put a fixed blade on my belt, I am probably going to do that.
The reminder to keep everything all balanced was also good.
That sounds like a pretty good setup to start with. If you don’t have all the gear yet, I’d say just start with the 2 pistol mags, 2 rifle mags, holster, and IFAK. Depending on how that works out for you, then I’d expand from there if you feel like you want to. The knife and canteen/utility pouch are definitely overkill on my belt if all I was doing was attending the odd training course or competition. I always considered some kind of small admin pouch, but I just kept coming back to the fact that I also have pockets… Read more »
I do not yet so I will start with that for sure! Thanks for the tips!
Great article, and I appreciate the candor with the 30rd mags…being from NJ. I’ve bought 15/30s now 10/30s to replicate the length of the standard 30rd. (Pretty soon it’ll be down to 01/30 mags!)
Thanks for reading! Having lived under California’s laws twice before, I feel your pain with NJ. Keep fighting the good fight, and I hope some of these restrictions finally get tossed out via court challenges. If not, Virginia might not be far off from going the same route.
::EDIT:: :I forgot to mention, I settled on two different configurations all together. One is for CQB and the other for rural patrol. The rational is that I live in an urban environment and any conflict would most likely be very violent and very quick, then over. A moderate amount of ammo, no knife but a multitool, no canteen but a hydration bladder if any water at all. Shorter stints, but more intense is the line of thought. 10.5″ with a can. In a rural setting, things draw farther out. A quick draw is typically less important than good retention… Read more »
Hey Mark, thanks for coming by! Eagle is honestly kind of a sad story. FirstSpear is definitely a spinoff from Eagle alums, and they make great kit. I’ll talk about some of mine in the next article in the series. I actually live just down the street from Velocity Systems / Mayflower. I’m hoping to set up some kind of tour someday and write about it. The snag hazard is real, though. Stuff jutting out from the sides of the hips definitely gets caught in a CQB situation. I haven’t done any formal training in that realm, but what little… Read more »
Nice! I got an email notification that my message has a reply! First time so far…this new site is great. I haven’t thought about Mayflower in a while. I’m going to check out their current offerings. I’m not familiar with Velocity Systems but I gather they are related/same? Regarding CQB, and I’ve only had about 6 courses (48 hours total?), is that I prefer a chest rig with no belt (if I had to have a sidearm, it’d be a BladeTech Total Eclipse on my conventional belt) and it would be with a 10.5″ barrel with a can. Man, if… Read more »
I’m glad you’re liking the site! I’m actually very happy with the commenting system, though I do tinker with it a lot. Velocity Systems acquired Mayflower back in 2016. It’s all good kit though, and I have a bunch of it as part of my write up next week (along with the FirstSpear stuff). I was doing to say in the previous reply that I think a chest rig and minimal stuff on a belt would be best for CQB, but it looks like you already got to it! I also noticed your edit up above, and I think you… Read more »
Did I hear St. Louis area?!
That is correct…
Good to know that there are like minded people in the general area…
Have you ever trained at AS?
Not yet, it is on my to do list, I am thinking I will go this year. I am a bit new into this world and I am working my way to the point I need to be at!
If you guys would like, I can ping your emails and facilitate meeting up. It’s always good to find people with common interests.
Wait, you’re Big Brother? That’s not so bad.
Matt, please do.
Great article & I’m starting to think that I need to run 2 pistol & 2 rifle pouches on the belt instead of 2 pistol & 1 rifle. Also realizing I need to get a 2 layer belt ASAP instead of just hanging everything off a 1.75″ riggers belt.
Anyone have experience with the HSGI leg rigs? I’ve seen them & like the idea, but it seems like hanging that much crap off to one side would be a bad idea.
leg rig: https://www.highspeedgear.com/hsgi/HSGI-leg-rig-V1-21DL00.html
Sorry for the late reply, this comment got hung up in the moderation queue. I know you asked the questions again later on, but I wanted to get it out here.
Marksman
How do you feel about inner/outer belts vs just outer belts (like you have)?
To be honest, I don’t have any experience with the inner/outer belt. It came around a few years after I was already down the path that I went, and never felt like I was missing out. That said, I do think there’s a lot of merit to the idea as an even more low profile solution. The two that I like the most are the AWS LAB and Tyr’s MAB system. I might be tempted to try the AWS one in the future. The big tradeoff, to me at least, is that the inner/outer systems preclude the use of outer… Read more »
Fair enough. I had to ask. I’m at the point of I’ll need to get one or the other to get any further in this journey and I can’t/won’t pay to try both. If I go with the inner/outer it’ll have to be 1.75” since I know I can run that through my jeans (what I do for IDPA matches). Downside is how loud Velcro is when you undo a big strip of it and that you’ll wear the inner loop belt out eventually. If you’re willing to roll the dice Blue Alpha Gear does the inner/outer with a 1.5”… Read more »
I have been eyeing this:
https://www.optactical.com/raodmkiiibe.html
And great series of posts, but my concern is they will cost me money
Oh, It’s definitely going to cost you money. I already ordered a new holster & rifle mag pouches….
I like that belt, nice and minimal. But now I have four contenders for what I want.
Hey Ethan!
I, too, am a big fan of OP Tactical. I’ve actually eyeballed that belt on and off for a long time. As far as inner/outer belts go, it looks like another solid option on the table.
One of the features I like a lot about the AWS belt was that you can insert a molle panel exactly where you want it on the belt. It seems like a slick setup.
The Blue Alpha Gear looks nice as well. I think you’d honestly be fine with any of them.
I might add that a multi tool is a handy add on. I always have a fixed blade and a small folder..think 2″ blade for mre’s, cutting cordage etc…
Hey Kenneth, thanks for commenting! I usually carry a folder or multitool as well for the same reasons. What’s your preference?
I’d like to add that a multi tool is handy, I’ve always carried a fixed blade, but a smaller folder is real handy. I also carry less than lethal..think pepper or bear spray. Pulling a trigger is very final with no going back. Just my 10 cents.
Thank you for this article Marksman. Being in the United Kingdom we cannot use firearms as a member of the public without valid defense but that does not mean that this article was not useful to me. With my future hobby in Air soft this has helped me realize that i don’t necessarily need to be fully encumbered with a Wrap/Plate carrier or a chest rig. The pointers i will be taking from this will be: if it fits it sits, basically i wont be putting my sidearm on a drop leg and instead to accommodate it onto my BB… Read more »
Hey Mark, thanks for the question.
Generally speaking, I would avoid suspenders on a battle belt like this. If you’re planning on going that heavy, then upgrade to more of a full on webbing system like the British PLCE, or something like I wrote about in my LBE article.
https://www.everydaymarksman.co/equipment/load-bearing-equipment/
If not that, then I’m more likely to put the radio on the Camelbak/assault pack. It’s not ideal because the radio isn’t very accessible, but it’s out of the way and not weighing down the belt.
Nice write up and very informative. I’m currently in the process of setting up a belt kit for myself to primarily use on my hiking/outdoor shooting day trips so that I can ditch the rucksack and lighten my load . I live in Canada and regularly hike in the mountains with my rifle to do some quiet target and practical shooting in the bush. I’m building my belt by using the removable hip belt from my Savotta Jakaari rucksack combined with a Canadian forces style buttpack , a 3 mag capacity magazine pouch , an IFAK pouch and lastly my… Read more »
Hey Mick, thanks for coming by. That sounds like a pretty reasonable setup. I’m glad to see another Jakaari user out there, I’m a big fan of my S model.
Hi Matt , I have a jakaari L rucksack , love it , very well made and practical !
New to your blog, so I apologize if you’ve already provided this information. What is the belt you’re currently using (maker, model, etc)? I enjoyed reading this article and will look forward to reading future articles. Thank you.
Hi Bill, thanks for stopping by! The inner belt is a Viking Tactics (VTAC) instructor belt with cobra attachment. The outer MOLLE belt is the VTAC Brokos belt. I’ve been running these since 2010 when they were the only game in town for this kind of style. There’s a lot of other great companies doing this now. Don’t beat your head against a wall too much trying to pick the “right” brand. HSGI, First Spear, Blue Force Gear, and others all make great battle belts.
So im about to purchase a belt and im torn between many. You stated you had the condor belt. Did you like it? Would you buy it again? Can you recommend something that wont break the bank?
Thank you,
Hi James,
I actually don’t have a Condor. The belt pictured here is an old VTAC Brokos with VTAC Instructor Belt on the inside.
When you say you don’t want it to break the bank, what kind of budget are you talking? Depending on the load you plan to carry, you might be able to get away with a tactical-belt instead.
What is that black kydex holster in your second iteration?
Hi Mellow, the black holster is a Safariland 3285. It was the only holster on the market at the time that fit my Beretta 92A1 with or without a light.
I do run drop legs in used to them with my sp2022 but I also run small ifak esee5 smoke grenade pouch one double ar mag pouch and one speed repoad pouch and 3 pistol mags with lanyard on one space for the pistol i might try to find a good kydex holster for that sp2022 is possible let me know if you guys got any peeps that make them for that firearm
I’ve always had an interest in the SP2022, it seems like a criminally underrated pistol. I’ll keep an eye out for anyone making a good holster for it.
Matt, Great article(s) and very sound advice. In my mind, your most critical point is to build what I would call your “Defense System” based on the scenario you’ll most likely be in. I’m in a suburban area with some nearby urban locations. My Scenario X doesn’t care/matter what happens, just that (1) The adverse event is drawn out; (2) There is no immediate law enforcement support; and, (3) We have to protect people and assets from the have-nots. First, you can’t do it yourself, it has to be a community of neighbors. Find like-minded individuals and discuss ideas. With… Read more »
Thanks for reading and commenting, Lou! That sounds like you’ve got a nice set up for yourself as well. I totally agree that you have to evaluate the situation realistically, and you aren’t going to do it alone.
I am curious if you have an opinion of the HSGI double stack pistol/rifle taco mag pouches. Are they to heavy for a belt set up?
Hey Sam, thanks for asking. Honestly, it’s a personal preference. The double stack pouches aren’t going to add too much weight, and they’ll work just fine provided you practice with them (making sure to grab the right mag that you’re looking for in the moment, I’ve experienced that problem while at a training event).
I just personally like keeping things to a single layer to help keep the bulk down.
I’m a little late to this article and was curious what holster (black on your 4th iteration pic) and drop system you are using. I’m trying to get my gun down off my hip to clear the plate carrier. I’m looking at the KT Mech setup with the TekLok drop…but I don’t think I’m gonna like that. Thanks!
Hi Riccardo, thanks for the question. That holster is a Safariland 3285. At the time, it was one of the only duty holsters on the market that would accept a Beretta 92A1. Bonus feature was that it worked with or without a weapon light. Safariland since discontinued that model, but the drop system you asked about is their common UBL in mid-height.
The UBL is a solid piece of polymer and I’m a big fan of it. It’s modular, too, so it works with most Safariland products as well as other manufacturers that use the same bolt pattern.
I like you have been at it a while and I came up with my belt after a few try outs . I have suspenders but I hung a camel back hydration system on the back . I customized the harness so it can be dropped off with quick release buckles . I just like suspenders lol my back is a mess . Mine is a belt then a padded Molle belt , all tactical tailer (I live right by them ) Left to right belt laying flat so, three taco pistol mag holders , one rifle mag , sure… Read more »
Great article…I like how it’s about what’s best for the individual, not shoving your ideas down people’s throats. For what it’s worth, I served with Max for a short time…the guy is legit and has a truly innovative mind, so I was glad to see a nod to him.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Chris! I’ve never liked it when anyone, even the experts, say “this is the only way to do it.”
Matt, right above the paragraph that states ” My personal belt” you show a photo of your belt and an earth tone AR. What is the light mount you are using to mount the light on the left side of the fore grip? Is it magpul cantilever rail mount or something else? I am setting up my belt and fitting out an older “Sig M400 enhanced” carbine with MOE fore grip slots so it is a little more challenging since nothing can be mounted on the top. Thanks and I do enjoy this group. I look forward to hearing from… Read more »
That’s an Impact Weapon Components SMC mount. It’s been great, but my particular model is for the Magpul MOE handguards before they started using M-Lok.
https://www.impactweaponscomponents.com/product/smc-m300a-m600c-scout-light-mount-n-slot/
I’m a big fan of IWC stuff
Thank you. My weapon also has the MOE slots prior to them making the M-Lok so I need the exact same thing as you. It looks as if your attachment pushes the light out further than the Magpul cantilever rail.
Thank you.
I just placed an order for this mount and fortunately they have them to ship. I talked to them in person and they are very nice so I will look to continue to buy from them.
Thank you for the referral.
That’s great, I’m glad they were able to help you out. I haven’t talked to them in years, but I remember them being very helpful back then, too.
Any issues w/ the retention on the KT holster?
Hi Tim, no issues so far with it. I would still like something with a thumb release, but that’s more of a personal preference.
Excellent. Are you attaching to the belt with their standard attachment or the Teklok? Any thoughts on one over the other for a BB setup?
thanks,
I’m using a Teklok for modularity reasons. I move this holster back and forth between this belt and my lighter “tactical belt” (https://www.everydaymarksman.co/equipment/tactical-belt/).
So after reading the whole thing I’m still at a loss for what kind of pistol holster (Glock 22 Gen 4 .40 cal) to use On a war belt. Do I just use my Fobus holster on it or do I need to get a new holster that has prongs that will adapt to the Molle? Most or all of my pistol holsters are OWB so do I just slap them over the top of the war belt like i would my jeans or do I need to look into a holster that has molle straps
Hi Jeff, thanks for asking. I didn’t really get into holsters for this because it’s such a huge personal preference., If you’re using a Glock 22, then the world is pretty much open to you. The choice you have to make is whether you want it to mount to the belt or the MOLLE weave. I personally like Safariland, G-Code, Blad= Tech, and KT Mech for this duty-style application (in that order).
Hello. I have no military or LEO experience, and just became more serious about guns because of 2020. I’m focused on home defense and have extensive mixed martial arts experience. Is a battle belt needed? I’m thinking something goes bump in the night and know I only have less than a few minutes to be ready for whatever entered my house. I’m now keeping a pair of sneakers next to my bed. Guns are staged around my house and have an AR15 and Glock 19 next to my bed. I’ve been starring hard at the IC13 INVRT bandolier because it… Read more »
Hi Phil, strictly speaking you don’t really need a battle belt if your primary concern is “bump in the night.” It would certainly be faster than a plate carrier or similar, though. The fastest is probably a spare magazine attached right to the rifle. If nothing else, a small sling bag you can throw over your shoulder with spare mags, IFAK, and other items would be useful. Here’s a link to my friend Lothaen’s writing on the topic: https://thenewrifleman.com/a-riflemans-support-bag/
We were issued ALICE gear all the way through the 90’s at Fort Hood in both 1st Cav and 2AD (Before and after reflagged to 4ID). We were a pure Armor battalion, 3/67AR, but even our 11C and 19D were just getting the LBV instead of the ALICE suspenders in 1998. Strange now to think little had changed in our LCE -at least since Grenada in 1983 -if not earlier. BTW, the heavily loaded pistol belt gets tedious after just a few hours. Light Battle Belt concept is right on (Same with a Carpenter’s belt) -But I was a Tanker,… Read more »
Great article Matt! Just a question: When using battle belts, does the back of the belt rise up your torso when you crouch? I figure I’m doing something wrong.
I saw your setup and agree with the majority of it. Canteens and quick kits I feel, for me, are best kept on my rig at the low back near my left and right combat knives. There is a ton of space at my back that is unused and I like to offset a little of the weight from the front. Also with how loaded my sides are on my belt and with my full rig on I use a leg holster because I can draw my sidearm much faster, shaving a second or two off and the sidearm is… Read more »
I’m working on my battle belt as well. Currently no fixed blade, but I have a candidate for that now. Also, no hydration. Up until recently my Belt Rig was really more of a Range Rig, but that is also changing too. Rethinking a lot of things after joining this group. Thanks and keep up the good work!
The fixed blade is very optional. I’m actually working on an update to this, and the blade is currently no longer on the belt. Thanks for reading!
Thanks for usefull advices. For sure I’ll take them into account.
It seems that war is cnocking into my doors so it’s better to be prepared.
Regards from Poland.
Wearing hook and loop buckle tactical belt involves the following steps: Step 1: Set the belt around your waist or through the belt loops on your pants. Step 2: Thread the end tip through the hole closer to the middle of your body. The end tip should thread from under the buckle in this step. Step 3: Pull the end tip and thread it through the other hole on the buckle. The end tip should be threading from above the buckle. Step 4: Pull the end tip to tighten the belt to your liking. Step 5: Thread the excess belt… Read more »
I’m also engaged on my combat belt. there’s currently no fixed blade, but I’ve got a candidate for that now. No hydration either. Until recently, my belt rig was more of a spread rig, but that’s changing too. After joining this group I’m rethinking many things. Thank you and keep it up!
I have tried multiple rigs from M57 gear WW2 Korean War surplus and mish mash with other things as I went from one rifle to the next. I still like the suspenders and pistol belt and will use with wife’s rig but found myself currently trying out a M83 Assault vest and so far I like it but as you stated things are always evolving/changing. I have one AR 10 mags, browning HP with 2 mags, 2 canteens one metal for boiling water, a lifestraw to filter water, IFAK with extra clot/wound dressing’s, TP , compass,pocket- knife and bayonet, small… Read more »