The advantage of running with a belt full of stuff is that you have...stuff. If for some reason you have to dump the vest carrier system, it allows for a short term fighting load. Overseas, I had to wear the damn thing everyday. The disadvantage is that it weighs you down a lot. The padded load bearing belts are more comfortable and allow for more stuff than (sometimes) what you need. You absolutely need a dump pouch (something I was against 5 years ago), small med pouch, spare mags for the pistol and one reload for the rifle. The speed pouch for the AR/M4 mag goes on the belt for the empty gun reloads. Becarefull about having too big a knife on the belt. You have to be able to assume a variety of positions and the BFK sometimes gets in the way. For the most part, its a utility knife (which I have actually had opportunities to use on SWAT). The suspender concept is something thats personal preference. My raid armor pushes the belt down on my hips, so if you're in a profession that requires armor, it helps keep things where they're supposed to be. Personally, I try to keep the legs as clean as possible. It helps in moving faster and if you've ever done raids in a cramped meth trailer, junk just loves to grab your kit. Gear that sometimes works onthe range changes it's usefulness when its deployed on real jobs or every day. We did a lot of vehicle operations which precluded a lot of stuff off of the belt because it was difficult to dismount. the pistol was hard to reach as well based on the type of vehicles we had. The gear is always taylored to the mission.