I currently have a belt man leather belt 1.5 and it works well until you carry a 5" 1911 w/rail for 8-12 hours. Looking for something thicker and especially more sturdy. The load starts to depress on my hips after multiple hours, and this belt is thick compared to a dress belt or of the like. So it appears my options are a SOE Cobra’s Rigger Belt for 65.00 or a Ares Ranger Belt for 79.99. Both have about the same lead time and both can be offered in about the same colors…Who has what and how does it work for heavy loads. I’m not talking a Poly gun. Im talking like my 42+ oz MC Operator w/ light. Please help
I’m a fan of OSOE gear. I am on the wagon on this as I run John’s gear.
I’d contact him to see if he has what you’re looking for. Often times, as it seems, some people flake at the last minute due to various reasons beyond their control and what you need is sitting there in the pile.
This is how I got my OD Cobra belt and his new AK/M4 double stacked bungee topped pouches that no one has in stock as well as few other things from John.
Most of the time, I just PM him or email him and ask what he has lying around and go from there.
**As for the heavy weight thing, I can’t help ya since I’m carrying my G19 or G27 in a Raven…definately not the weight of your badarse rig.
i checked tacticalresponsegear.com, they are out of the cobra belts. shoot john a pm via facebook and he can probably get one made up for you pretty quick.
eta: i own three osoe cobra belts. i wear my black one daily for work. the other interchanges with my leather belt and the third is dedicated to my tapered war belt. since i got my first one two years ago I have bought a couple more as gifts for people.
O.S.O.E. ROCKS! Every other piece of gear I own or see just looks cheesy to varying degrees by comparison. O.S.O.E. stuff is built super tough, I see no reason to buy anything else.
I’ve purchased a couple of items from John recently. The rigger’s belt I bought a couple of weeks ago replaced the belt I bought from him in 2004. His gear is solid.
I’m an SOE fan. John’s gear is the best around.
ive got two. wore one everyday for almost 7 months in iraq which carried the load of my m9, three mags, leatherman, and benchmade.
i had a regular 2in riggers belt before the ares, and it would fold and bend under the weight of the holster/gun. the ares is really stiff and tough.
cant go wrong with the ranger, especially if you are looking for a belt to carry a gun.
How about neither? Check out the CTOMS QR!!!. Solid belt, lined, cobra buckle and ready to be shipped.
Do what you want…just my 0.02$
Hmm…The CTOM looks nice but looks cheap compared to the SOE and i dont like the rear drag loop, be great if i ever thought i would have to use it otherwise looks like it would get in the way or look dorky with a pair of Levi’s on.
CTOMS and Cheap do not belong in the same sentence. I own CTOMS gear that has seen hard use in the Sandbox. After, cleaning out the moon dust, mud and blood, looks like the day I bought it. CTOMS is designed in Canada but made in the USA. Worn this belt for months with a BHP holstered in Kydex and two mags in a Kydex holder. That was open carry in a mil enviro. Sorry I assumed, since you were look at those belts that you were openly carry.
I agree they would look ‘dorky’ with levi’s but so does any riggers belt no matter who makes it.
SOE and ARES are both made in the USA. If I remember correctly Jake over at ARES (owner) is ex-military.
And I wear my cobra belt in Levis, khakis and my work uniform. because of the buckle it doesn’t look as bad as a standard riggers belt does IMO
Sorry for the misunderstanding. I know SOE and ARES are US products. I was trying to illustrate that CTOMS gear is sewn in the USA. Most of the CTOMS staff are ex-military, leos or paramedics as well. I was trying to make the point that it was the quality asSOE and ARES gear. I was presenting another option.
In regards to the cobra buckle, you do not consider it a ‘tell’. Why? Why not? I am asking for your opinion, not trying to start internet brawl. It may help me make a more informed decision.
so few people know what a cobra buckle is. The small percentage in my AO that do, i’m not worried about “telling” to and that’s really only a concern when i’m tucking my shirt in. the other times you can’t see it cause i’m wearing a t-shirt.
If the belt is for everyday wear try The Wilderness www.thewilderness.com and get it in the csm model . you will not know your wearing a 5" 1911. And it can be had in 1 3/4 or 1 1/2 inch widths.
+1 for the wilderness! I have their original instructor model in the 5 stitch, and love it!
I have a Wilderness belt withTi buckle. It is a well-made piece of gear. I found only one limitation that is inherent in its design: the free end side is “double-thick” since that end folds over onto a velcro. The only gear-carrying space is on the buckle side - this may or may not be a problem depending how much gear one wears on belt and where it is situated. For me it is a problem, and my Wilderness gets less and less use.
OSOE belt shares this limitation to some extent due to incorporation of delta ring and velcro loop that secures it. I don’t need that feature and it takes away real estate for me.
Ares belt gives me the most space to wear my gear and is very well built. As my other belts wear off, I’ll be replacing them with Ares.
Ares Gear belt hands down. It’s the stiffest and most durable belt I’ve used. Put my old Wilderness belts to shame. Looks pretty good with casual dress as well. I wear mine to work on our casual Fridays and no one knows what it’s made for. Most comment on the cool looking design more so than anything.
Ranger Belt from Ares is the bomb… I used to run all kinds of rigs and settled on trying a Ranger belt out of desperation. I wanted a rig that would be stiff as hell plus one that would keep my gear from sagging as well as keeping my pants on! It has so far exceeded my expectations and plus it looks good… cool guy factor is a must
John Willis just did a run of 1.5 rigid belts with your choice of fastex buckle or flat buckle.
I was lucky enough to get in on the first ones made. I went with tan and fastex buckle.