Ive been reading through threads and looking at pictures but really just don’t know where to start.
I want to put together a nice basic “battle belt”. Primary use will be in some classes I am signed up for in the fall, but it would obviously be available for HD if need be.
My basic idea is a belt with holster and mag pouches. Im thinking 2 pistol mags + 2 rifle mags…but open to any/all suggestions.
As far as a budget - I’m really a buy once/cry once kind of guy and when I buy something I prefer higher quality equipment that will last, so dont be afraid to suggest manufacturers on the higher end of the price scale. That said, I’m no billionaire so anything with a good price point for the quality is appreciated.
I like the looks of the Blue Alpha belts, but suggestions such as 1.75" vs 2"? MOLLE vs the standard? What are preferable ways to attach the various equipment to the belt itself?
Frankly, Im just overwhelmed by the plethora of information/options and am just looking for a starting point - just a nice quality basic setup to use in classes that can be expanded upon as I learn what works and doesnt work.
When building out gear, the #1 question to keep in your head is what is the mission purpose. I’m setting up my first belt as well and I’m doing the 2 Pistol 2 Rifle too. Plus an IFAK, Dump pouch and a Tourniquet pouch. Me personally, I’m not a fan of these thin 2 piece belt setups, or the massive thick padded belts. I’m planning on picking up a T Rex Arms Orion Belt. It has a rubber foam laminate on the outside to help stick to you. It’s a quick belt to through on regardless of what you’re wearing.
Personal preferrence comes into play, and sometimes you have to try different things to locate your own sweet spot, like with holsters.
You’ve got your mission down, that’s a start. Padded belts will be more comfortable for all day. Some folks dont like em.
For me, mission is similar to yours. I’m very happy with:
BFG SOC-C. Love this thing. Very comfortable, highly adjustable. Has suspenders if need be. I don’t use 'em, but they’re there if I want to load it down, or when wearing it over ECWCS. Nice to have the option.
BFG double pistol mag pouch
Tac Tailor single rifle mag pouch. BGF single pouch on top of it, in case I wanna double up
Knock-off Max Roly Poly style dumper
Tac Tailor double rifle mag pouch on the other side
Safariland ALS on a mid-ride UBL
ATS, SKD, Esstac, etc., lot of good brands out there to choose from.
Some people like the ones that’re an inner velcro pants belt that mates up with the outer bat belt. Said to keep it from shifting around. Me, I dont mind the shifting, and prefer to be able to don/doff quick.
I put together a Minimalist Belt and Belt Pad from Wilder Tactical so I could work all day in and office Khaki’s then put the belt on to compete in IDPA and one of the local ranges at night. Simple holster, 2 mag pouches and a flashlight holder on a belt with a cobra buckle. Just take out of my bag put on, IDPA for a couple hours, then take off and put in my bag. Slim not bulky and easy to setup. Obviously a lot of choices out there, going to set up another for pistol/rifle combo for classes (Holster, 2 Pistol Mag pouches, 2 rifle mag pouches), just haven’t found a class yet, so haven’t put it together.
FWIW I thought about putting together a belt for a long long time. The choices are almost overwhelming and there is a ton of great stuff out there, but finding the right combo wasn’t easy. I looked at hundreds of pictures and videos, read tons of articles and reviews including here. Good luck.
Speaking from very limited and non-duty experience.
I also have a BlueForceGear SOCC padded belt with suspenders, also do not use suspenders when “dry firing” AKA LARPing in the house. It is bulky, but I set it up that way intentionally as a heavy, things-are-bad setup that would probably be used with a plate carrier or chest rig:
two pistol ITW Fastmag, two rifle ITW Fastmag, bulky dump patch, low Safariland UBL hookup, two tourniquets (one comes off when adding BFG Ten speed pouch with smoke grenade), fixed blade knife, and double 40mm pouch for double pepper spray grenades.
My preferred setup currently is a dual belt setup that I’ve actually used in a multi-day class at this point. Very nice to be able to peel off the weapon components and walk around outside the range/car while still having the needed items nearby. I keep this by my bed, and I have an extra 1.5” belt to be used when desired:
RDR molle 1.75”, DARA holster, Esstac 2+1, NAR tourniquet and holder, AWS small dump pouch.
If I only had one, I would have the RDR setup. Just got one for my wife, will have a Safariland UBL, Esstac 2+1, and Dark Angel med kit (she actually knows how to use).
I also have an extra couple Esstac single AR mag and dual pistol holders with belt loops to be used as necessary with either RDR belts and an extra Blackhawk slick belt I have in a box.
To add, RDR has a fairly lengthy wait currently, but $110 is hard to beat for a good dual belt setup.
If you want something custom, Ricon Tactical is out of Poland and does cool stuff. Uniquely enough, his store is on Etsy. You can see his work on Instagram.
I’ve had the padded war belts and a couple of others. I’ve been using the Esstac shooters belt right now. It’s stiff enough, pretty affordable and is comfortable. I use two of their pistol and two of their rifle mag pouches and and I like them as well. I use a low ride Safariland holster with a single leg strap. Give them a good look. You can throw on a small med kit and your good to go. Padded war belts are comfortable for when you’re wearing a lot of equipment on your belt. But generally speaking I don’t see a need to overload a belt.
There are lots of other good options out there. But even if you go with a different belt I’d use the Esstac Kywi mag pouches.
The WTF straps are thinner and a little easier to weave through molle gear. I have them on my plate carrier and they seem to be holding up fine. Whereas I guess you could, I wouldn’t use the WTF straps to mount to a belt. The plastic belt loops work just fine. They slide around a little bit which doesn’t bother me but you can always throw a little patch of sticky Velcro on the loops to hold them in place.
Well step 1, I ordered a belt. Went with a Blue Alpha 1.75" double belt rig with molle and the low pro/EDC inner belt…all in coyote brown.
Leaning pretty heavily towards esstac pouches.
As for holster, seems safariland is pretty standard? It seems a lot of guys use holsters that drop the pistol down a bit…I assume that’s for clearance when wearing a chest rig? I have zero intentions of wearing a rig so is there any reason I wouldn’t want the holster directly on the belt versus dropped down?
OP mentioned Blue Force. Well, only you can tell if you’ll like it or not because we all end up liking different things, but that’s what I have, and I like mine. I went with the High Speed Soft Tacos for pouches (2 each pistol/rifle) because the expandability means no new pouches to by if I change weapons. I don’t mind doing the “buy once cry once” thing if I can swing it, but if I do… I want to make sure I keep the stuff. I’m also a bit of a cheap bastard. My holster is an ALS, but it mounts on a modified Blackhawk drop down left over… so I wouldn’t have to buy a new one. Now it’s up higher having no straps for the drop down. It mounts directly to the belt, and uses only the lower leg strap. Still, it’s a bit lower than a new direct belt mounted one. That’s good for my shoulder that doesn’t like to go up high on the draw stroke. As a result, I’m faster with this, than my daily CC holster, because that has to be RIGHT ON my belt. I did spring for their QD system, so swapping to a different holster is only a matter of seconds. I can go from Glock 17 with a TLR1, to a 1911… Click, swap, click. Can’t remember the name of my TQ holder.
I run a Blue Alpha and the only thing I don’t like is the cobra buckle. I think they are dumb tacti-cool items for belts. Massive overkill that does nothing but get stupid cold in the winter and needlessly destroys your rifle’s finish all year long. I don’t mind wear on my rifle at all and I beat on it good but the buckle just chews it up for no reason. I would much rather a plastic fast buckle.
I run a dual KYWI pistol mag a single KYWI rifle mag, a ZAK tools tactical key ring holder. The key ring holder is more for the drop leg when I decide to run it. My duty belt has no room for rifle mags or a decent IFAK so I run a drop leg when its called for. The Zak tools key ring holder doubles to hold my car keys on shift and also a super fast way to attach that drop leg. A simple Safariland UBL and QLS to drop on my duty holster when using the belt. No dump bags or all that other cool stuff. The belt is for training and that is about it.
I have zero expectations of putting on a belt or anything come a home invasion. You just don’t have time. Grab a gun and go. You will be lucky to be able to have a second mag if it isn’t already attached to the weapons platform.
If I have enough warning that I have time for a belt…odds are I am gonna have enough time to gather persons, evac, lay off, call the police and watch the POS’s get surrounded and taken down. The best gun fight is the one that didn’t happen. Generally speaking it’s gonna be one or the other. I have been to enough homicides and home invasions to know that 99.9% of the time it is the criminal element taking care of themselves and your avg citizen has zero to truly be worried about. These events tend to be to either super fast, sudden, and unexpected or you know it is coming and can prep for it.
Others situations might be different and or may feel different. To each their own.
I have some guys that wear the cobra buckle at the 6 o’clock position in their back. That way it doesn’t take up valuable real estate in the front. Or scratch up your rifle.
And yes, if you’re not running body armor or chest rig no need to go for lower holster. And if you have multiple pistols that you like to run you can do the Safariland QLS system which lets you swap holsters without taking everything off your belt to do so. Now I feel like I’m sounding like a Safariland commercial
Not sure why the Cobra buckle is so popular. It works good though, and is strong as hell. It may be bulky AF, but I just like that is snaps on instantly with a quick click. Don’t really care that it will hold 3,000 pounds or whatever. I ain’t that fat, even if I was gonna use the damn thing to repel with, and I ain’t. Goes on fast, stays there, comes off easy… Just bulky is all. I like that QLS system. I even got an extra mount so I can snap a holster in my Jeep for times when I’m not wearing one, or for an extra… Haven’t gotten to the point in the build where I’m ready to mount it yet though…
As far as holsters, as I said I like a Safariland ALS, and yes they are one of the “standards” for good reasons. Excellent retention, very fast to draw from, light, well-built.
Yes, main reason for lowering is to clear other stuff on your body. If you won’t be wearing that other stuff ever, no real need. A little low is nice for a smooth fast draw though. For me the mid ride UBL loop is the sweet spot.
With the ALS, you can use a non-stop, mid-drop (like mine), or low-drop, with or without leg strap, your preferrence.
And they now make one with slightly oblong mounting holes, to adjust the cant of the holster. This can also be done with the QLS system.
Me, I long ago got sick of having a gun strapped to my leg, even when running it as high as possible. The ALS at mid-rise is perfection, for me…no strap, it’s out of the way, and provides an excellent draw.
Yeah. I run Mid-Rise UBLs…If you are gonna be open carrying, you might as well make it more comfortable…it also gets the holster AWAY from your body which allows two things. I run mine with the ALS, SLS and the hood thingy…all that stuff allows me to tuck the jacket between the UBL and the holser but still have full access to the SLS and ALS and zero chance of stuffing the jacket into the holster when I reholster.
Jackets in the winter and not getting clothing jammed into the holster when you reholster. I see a lot of guy pointing their firearms inwards at themselves when reholstersing with OWB holsters that are tight to their bodies. Makes me feel weird and I am just waiting for the ND into the hip.
