I have been looking into getting a battle belt setup and going to a mostly slick chest rig. The only thing I would leave on my carrier would be my horizontal fast mag setup for 1 m4 mag and a pistol magazine along with my CAT. My thought process is that the mag pouches on the battle belt would just feed into my pouches on the carrier. Example being I grab my chest mounted magazine and perform my reload then when able I move a mag from the belt back into the chest mounted pouch.
Any one have any experience with battle belts? I hope what I’m saying is making sense it does perfectly in my head just hard to articulate.
Even when I ran my SPC with 6 loaded magazines, my ‘easiest to get’ magazines were the trhee still on the belt, and only would resort to the plate carrier mounted options if that source was depleted, or inaccessible because I was in an MRAP turret. Since I’ve trained more with the belt, I’m quicker there as long as I’m not seated in a confined space; and anytime I’m in a space that tight my first option is ‘grab another weapon’ before ‘dig a magazine from a plate carrier’… but this is how I personally use mine.
I’m currently in the process of trying to put more of my blowout kit onto my armor carrier - right now I have two, either mounted to my modular chest rig, or in a separate fanny pack, which works, but I’m still trying to condense my ‘prevent holes and patch holes’ kit into the same deal so I can grab it independently, then be able to grab weapons and magazines as a more ala-carte grouped setup.
Last year I switched my personal kit from plate carrier only to PC and battle belt after realizing that the PC simply was not what it needed to be when ran solo. I run my mags about half and half, 3 on belt/4 on PC. Just makes sense to me to keep the mags closer to my weapon for reloads.
Never cared for moving mags from pouch to pouch though, unless we’re talking from one extreme side to the other. Seems to be a bit of a wast of time/energy, but to each their own.
There are also a couple of threads on here where people have posted pics and in depth descriptions of their gear, and why they went with what they have. Here are the two you may be interested in, if you haven’t already looked at them.
In my limited experiences, I’ve found it more convenient to pull from my belt first, then from my chest rig.
Might have something to do with the fact that every training class I take…pistol or rifle…I use a belt. But not every one uses my chest rig. So, I’m more comfortable pulling from belt first.
OP, I prefer pretty well opposite of what you’re looking for. I would much rather run 1-2 mags on the belt and back feed from the PC. For one, I’ve trained to always go for the belt mag first. Second it keeps bulk and weight off the hips which makes it easier to move around, and get in and out of positions. If I’m pulling from the chest it means I have no other good options, that said I can see how in some applications running no belt mags and pulling from the chest rig /PC is best practice.
I just found that reloading from the horizontal fast mag was incredibly fast for me I have not tried reloading from a belt for rifle magazines so for all I know that would be even faster. So what it looks like is that everyone is digging the belt systems
Maybe they are proud of their stuff so to speak.
When the US Army needed a design house to develop future warrior concepts, Crye gear was there.
When the abortion of the pixelated grey camo, OCP, was utterly failing soldiers in Afghanistan, Crye gear was there.
When a Muslim extremist took people hostage in coffee shop in sydney, Crye gear was there.
The examples, such as UBL, could go on ad nausem.
Not meaning to be a fan boy, but Crye, as a company, is an innovator. If I was running a small to medium business in Brooklyn NY, I figure the overhead would be a killer.
I do second the battle belt element. There are compromises with battle belts, but I readily have the muscle memory to make belt carry of handguns, tools or magazines most effective. For me, belt draw and presentation of magazines is comparably as fast from belts to chest rigs in any standing situation. There is an advantage for me in chest rigs when proned out.
I have stated in other posts that I often take classes running mag cases on my everyday leather belt and carrying spare mags in/from my back pocket. That is the way I figure I am most likely to use a carbine in anger. That said, war belts are my version of the bat belt, with more real estate for more options. YMMV.
For all you belt feeders keep in mind the belt is first line gear, plate carriers/chest carriers are second line. If you have to ditch your chest rig say due to falling in water or because it is on fire it would suck to have empty belt pouches.
My battle belt is set up like a “super duty” belt for me, since my primary “go-to” gear is a duty belt I can snap on which has 2 pistol and 1 rifle mags for quick-reaction defensive and/or get-home use. That, or a gun in hand and a mag or two in pocket, is the most likely gear I would have in an actual shooting engagement.
For my battle belt, I have an HSGI which can carry up to 4 rifle and 4 pistol mags, IFAK, and whatever admin/survival items fit the situation. The chest kit is a Mayflower UW to be worn solo or over torso armor, which carries 4 rifle and 2 pistol mags, plus IFAK and admin, leaving me with up to 8 rifle and 6 pistol mags.
For standing/moving, IMO the belt has the advantage, and gets its magazines used first and refilled out of the chest rig, if worn. For sitting/driving or confined spaces, the chest kit has the advantage, as the belt may not be able to be worn, but should be readily accessible.
It is a rigger’s belt, so it should be fairly rigid. FWIW, I like the aluminum Cobra connectors on my HSGI belt better than the standard plastic connector shown on that Crye belt. Stronger, and lower profile. I do like that the Crye can hook into pant loops. That said, for me the war belt is intended to be snapped on OVER whatever I’m wearing, so it’s a non-issue. I also like the anti-slip padding of the HSGI belt- looks like the Crye doesn’t have that.
I’ve got th e hsgi with the cobra riggers belt…added single rifle taco and two single pistol tacos…absolutely love it. I also went with a G code RTI Mount for my Holster so it can be swapped out easily depending on what I’m running. My plans are to add a dump Pouch and also a blowout kit to the belt.
I went with the single tacos to keep it slim and fast.
I plan on getting a pc/chest rig as well but haven’t yet as I haven’t needed them. I only use this stuff for classes and comps so some others probably have much better info.
That said, I can attest that the belt is super comfortable, durable, and fast.
I wouldn’t call it rigid by any means. Stable yes. There is no internal support but it utilizes hook and loop in conjunction with the inner belt that you wear through your pants. 100% stable in my experience. Initially I ran a cobra belt through the riggers belt to stiffen it up but I ended up ditching it since I preferred the comfort of the original belt. It conforms to your body very nicely.
Only real negative is that with the HSGI it has the non slip padding so you don’t need to mate it to a underlying belt and can wear it over a jacket if its big enough and your in a pinch. The crye can be run like that if needed but there is no Velcro holding in place.
keep in mind the belt is first line gear, plate carriers/chest carriers are second line. If you have to ditch your chest rig say due to falling in water or because it is on fire it would suck to have empty belt pouches.