I have a 1.5" Riggers Belt with a Cobra buckle. I see the buckle is rated for a stupid amount of load, but all the belts say “not for climbing purposes”. Is that just lawer speak for “we don’t want to be liable if you hurt yourself with our belts” or will the ballistic nylon really have issues with load?
I am more worried about the velcro, but it seems like all rigger-style belts adjust the buckle with velcro.
History: the first ‘rigger belts’ were simply A7A cargo straps cut down to the wearer’s size. Military guys got them from a buddy who was a parachute rigger, or stole them off sling loads or bundles on drop zones. 
Back in the day they were kind of a cool guy Airborne status symbol. Not to say they didn’t serve a utilitarian purpose - they did work better than the issue belts. They became mainstream across the military when someone, I believe Brigade Quartermaster, began mass producing them.
Then product ‘improvements’ began to be made such as velcroing the belt end; covering the outside with velcro so police duty belts would adhere to the rigger belt when used as a liner; and then, addition of the belay loop with small D-ring.
As you noted, in order to provide fall protection, the buckle has to be strong enough to remain fastened. The theorectical maximum force on a climber in a fall would be 9kN, approximately 2,025 ft lb, based on rope stregth. (Mountaineering Handbook, Craig Connally). The Cobra buckle is rated at 18kN or 4,050 ft lb.
The buckle is just one component. The webbing (belt material) the thread used and the amount of stitching and it’s pattern are all key elements in determing suitability for climbing. I wouldn’t be nearly as worried about the strength of the webbing as I would the thread and stitching.
Most belts advertised as rigger belts don’t provide fall protection and should be more appropriately called something else - warbelt, combat belt, etc.
All that aside, have you ever rappelled using a carabiner on a belt? I have, not the most comfortable experience.
Here is an example of a good ‘rigger belt’ that is fall rated with an explanation:
Thanks for the tip. I did not consider the stitching. I have done some climbing before, but I was using a harness. I’ve got a buddy who was 10th mountain and we were talking about doing some rapelling.
When I bought my “riggers belt” for some reason I thought it would work for this. I agree they should call them somthing else.
You know for rappelling on the cheap you can’t get much better than a 12 foot sling rope, a locking carabiner and a figure 8.
You guys sound experienced, but rappelling in particular can get someone who ‘doesn’t know what they don’t know’ hurt.
A lot of cops get their first exposure to rappelling in SWAT school. Years ago I had one of my buddies approach me shortly after we had attended our first SWAT school and rappelled. During the rappelling portion I had to make several safety ‘suggestions’ to the instructors, who had obviously rappelled before but never rigged it. Anyways, my buddy tells me, all excited, ‘hey I found a place to rappel and I’m going this weekend, want to come?’ I’m kind of surprised because we were in the middle of BFE (Bum f#@$ Egypt) and I didn’t know where he would have secured rope so quickly. I asked him, ‘hey, where’d you get the rope?’ His reply: ‘Skinner’s Hardware.’ What followed was a discussion about the proper rope to use for rappelling and climbing.
I thanked the Lord that I had run into him before he went out to practice his newly learned skill.
Yeah that does sound a little scary. I did know there is special kinds of rope for this. Unfortunately the climbing school I used to go to was not what I would consider top notch. They kept you safe, but did/would not teach anything that I think could be used in the real world. Basically they had pulleys on the roof and they would tie you and your belayer up and all you could do was practice the motions.
I am not even sure where to go to learn this. I figured 10th Mountain troops probably practiced it pretty often, but I could see your point that maybe they did not do their own rigging. I will ask him if he has any rigging training.
The hook and loop material merely secures the loose end of the belt, it does not bear any load regardless of the type of buckle in question. Or at least, I should hope no one would ever be stupid enough to secure themselves to a line only with hook and loop…
See if you can find a civilian SAR team near you, they may have someone who can train you to rig lines. Many companies offer guided rock climbing trips all across America, but obviously there may be more travel expenses involved. But you’ll learn.
I think I was misunderstanding how the buckle works. I think the webbing gets “locked” into the buckle when it is under tension and the velcro simply keeps the excess webbing from hanging and getting in the way.
I just removed the webbing from my velcro and pulled on the buckle and it was not slipping. I guess the velcro does not do anything load-bearing which makes sense.
Or your local fire department. Most of the bigger departments do high angle rescue training.
A riggers belt is really not what you want to use as a primary seat for rappelling. Inf 26 is on the money with his history and trying to rappel with a riggers belt, not a good idea. I’ve been using The Wilderness belts for years, and have gone rope sliding in them. Not saying they’re the “only” one, just another one.