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School me on pistol battle belts

Jmccracken1214

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  • Dec 10, 2018
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    Thomasville, NC
    I shoot a handful of matches a year and am wanting something besides my actual belt to use.

    Whats some good budget minded belts? Im wanting to run my pistol/rifle mag pouches on them and possibly a pistol holster? Maybe drop leg to get it a little lower on my person.

    Been shooting a while but a complete noob when it comes to this gear. Any help is appriciated.

    Thank you.
     
    "Battle belts" may be what you are after. Google that for this website and for ar15.com and you will find a few really long threads with different set ups. I use a Ronin tactics belt, polymer HSGI tacos, safari 6390RDS holster, dump pouch, etc.
     
    B02944A9-A6EB-4EE4-9FFE-01C13258E028.jpeg
    Tyr belt I picked up at the first(?) big Alabama match. Taco, stingray blade tech and a homemade spare pistol mag. If you shoot 1911, High Speed has a nice three mag holder.
    I wear it like this. I can shift easily if I need to game it.
     
    "Battle belts" may be what you are after. Google that for this website and for ar15.com and you will find a few really long threads with different set ups. I use a Ronin tactics belt, polymer HSGI tacos, safari 6390RDS holster, dump pouch, etc.
    Yes, thats what I meant when I typed pistol belt.

    Used to the old military style "pistol belts" we had back in the day, that resemble the modern belts guys are using at matches.
     
    The Safelife Defense are very nice. I have one of the Classic Duty Belts, they also have the Tactical Belt but that may be overkill.


     
    I use The Wilderness belt they are pretty nice, they have different stiffness options so you can get what you want, they also make a ton of other stuff holsters, bags, slings all kinds of stuff, don't use it for any kind of competition just EDC but it's a pretty nice belt a lot better than the old leather belt I used to use
     
    Take a look at AWSINC light battle belt. They have a build a belt system that you can use and it's pretty reasonable.
     
    T-Rex Arms Orion user here. Love it, use it for most range days and competitions. Holds up great and stays put even under sprinting.

    2 Esstac pistol mag pouches
    Esstac AR-15 mag pouch
    T-Rex Arms dump pouch
    T-Rex Arms med kit
    32oz canteen pouch, think from Blackhawk
    RHT CZ Shadow 2 level 2 holster
    BFG single pistol pouch holding a Surefire light

    Cannot recommend the belt enough.
     
    I use a midway double velcro for 3 gun. It stays put and has worked for a few dozen matches so far. I think it was a whole $35.

    I did use a safariland with a regular 2" leather belt and keepers. Keepers suck but are necessary. The 2" belt was better but you'd better like wearing it all, all damn day.

    I would advocate against a drop leg and against a blackhawk serpa. I bought a blackhawk for positive retention (I don't like the typical cheap kydex pressure retention). I dryfire trained and trained to make sure I hit the release with the side of my finger and when I'm drawing the finger lands flat on the slide and not in the trigger guard. I have seen people have ND's and damn near shoot themselves in a hurry pushing that button.
    The drop leg just puts the gun out of reach and you'll hunch over to grab it. It's not great for speed or drawing comfortably into a good stance without some extra time. It also seems to snag on more things somehow.

    I like the safariland duty style holsters for a positive retention with the top strap. Push the strap down and forward with your thumb and you're not training to use your trigger finger to push a button.


    I run double pistol mag holders, and a rifle mag. Typically I start a stage with 18x5 pistol, 2x30 rifle, and 12x2 shotgun. Sometimes run a dump bag if there's a long, long course of fire. Lots of weight on the belt, but it's rigid enough to hold it up and easy enough to get snug so it stays place while I do my best attempt at fat guy sprinting. I do wear a toolbelt most days so I will add that I'm used to having and moving 20+ lbs around with me, so the gun belt actually feels fairly light and compact.
     
    I have a bunch of the kydex GCode stuff, as well as some Tactical Tailor belts/pouches. More just for range use and hunting stuff, but they work well for what I use them for. Don't do any comp stuff, so can't really say on how well they'd fill that niche, but worth taking a look at.
     
    Cr speed, last forever and you don’t have to tote your stuff around depending what your doing it comes right off but levees the one to hold your britches.
     
    I’ve been using a Safariland ELS setup for the last few years for 3gun. I like that I can re-arrange or remove my gear and holster as needed with their clip system.

    I started out with a battle belt setup years ago and quickly moved on. For any kind of competition I’m sold on a velcro duty style belt.
     
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    How much pistol shooting actually gets done at "prs style matches that have use of a sidearm"?

    Is it that much that you can't do it with a kydex pancake holster, a CCW belt, and a couple of mag pouches? I bet not.

    But battle belts are OAF
     
    For the double Velcro belts, CR Speed/Double Alpha are hard to beat. For a stiff, high quality, single belt the Wilderness belt is a good bet.
     
    I Use a blue alpha gear belt t I like it, it works great.
     
    T-Rex Arms Orion user here. Love it, use it for most range days and competitions. Holds up great and stays put even under sprinting.

    2 Esstac pistol mag pouches
    Esstac AR-15 mag pouch
    T-Rex Arms dump pouch
    T-Rex Arms med kit
    32oz canteen pouch, think from Blackhawk
    RHT CZ Shadow 2 level 2 holster
    BFG single pistol pouch holding a Surefire light

    Cannot recommend the belt enough.
    +1 on the TREX Orion. It’s what I run as well. I run HSGI tacos on mine. Their triple pistol, single ar, and medical sled. Dump pouch and comp-tac drop belt holster. Works out pretty well. I run a cinch belt for it and it works perfect.
     
    This was my journey....


    There is no "one" of anything in terms of equipment.

    @TheGerman was very helpful in my education.

    Just don't ask for his opinion on Condor.
     
    I'll throw another in for the Ronin belt--or really any molle two belt system that uses an inner velcro belt.

    A lot of companies make them and they're a bit spendy, but they're super convenient especially if you end up putting a lot of gear on them. It's really nice to be able to just throw the belt on over your shit without having to negotiate pouches and belt loops every time you put on your pants.
     
    Whatever you get, don’t get the pos Safariland duty belts you a lot of LE wearing. I wear one every day while on duty and it sucks big time. Sizing sucks, stability sucks, velcro sucks, weight distribution sucks, every thing about it sucks. It is some old, horrible technology that should just burn and die. It should not even be considered for standard issue in 2020.

    Heaven forbid our LE administrations look beyond the far outdated leather tradition and adapt to current technology and ergonomics of modern belt systems like the Ronin or T-Rex Arms.
     
    The Safelife Defense are very nice. I have one of the Classic Duty Belts, they also have the Tactical Belt but that may be overkill.


    This. I use the Classic Duty Belt at work. Crazy stable, and easily affordable. That said, I still use belt keepers and I replaced their velcro inner belt with a Blue Alpha Gear 1.5” EDC belt, so no Velcro contact for me. I just hate velcro noise while I’m moving around. Never even tried their inner belt.

    Whatever you get, don’t get the pos Safariland duty belts you a lot of LE wearing. I wear one every day while on duty and it sucks big time. Sizing sucks, stability sucks, velcro sucks, weight distribution sucks, every thing about it sucks. It is some old, horrible technology that should just burn and die. It should not even be considered for standard issue in 2020.

    Heaven forbid our LE administrations look beyond the far outdated leather tradition and adapt to current technology and ergonomics of modern belt systems like the Ronin or T-Rex Arms.
    The exact reason I upgraded to the Safelife.
     
    In case OP or anyone else was interested, I got a promotional text yesterday from Safe Life Defense that reminded me of this thread.

    15% off their belts through Monday.
    Use coupon code “USA15”
     
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    I have played around with a lot of belts in the past 10 years, even made some of my own. I have used the OEM for Ronin (AWS, something like that?), Crye AGB, various cobra belts, Volund Gearworks, etc. I have settled in with my personal favorites, for different uses:

    First Spear Biothane belt: Great for everyday wear, looks like a normal belt, perfect for when I want to pop on my G43 in a Veil Solutions AIWB holster. Very much not tacticool.

    Volund Gearworks 1.5" Atlas belt: Great for when I want to carry a G17/RMR/X300 AIWB for an extended period of time, or if I want to go to a IDPA match and have something that holds the gun well for "concealed competition use."

    Arbor Arms SALT belt system, non-padded: Great for training, stays on well, has the option to run the under belt, or the cobra belt alone, or the entire system. Can comfortably carry a couple pistol/rifle mags, tq's/med, safariland ALS rig, etc. Comes off really easy.

    Safariland E032 Competition Belt: Perfect for USPSA. Very rigid, mates up to the ELS system/RHT holsters, stays put, comes off easily.
     
    Thanks for all the help guys. I’m leaning towards the double belts, with Velcro. How long does one expect that Velcro to keep its “stickiness” ?

    also... my concern is with rifle magpouches. My AICS mag holders, currently are the soft pouches from Armageddon gear that’s got the mollee straps, will these secure to the 1.5-2” double belts?

    how important is it to have a slight drop holster, vs a standard mounted one on these belts?

    this set up with my discount will run me about $220 shipped.
    44A87E68-493D-4AB7-8338-9BC75C9B72C0.png
     
    I really like the HSGI slim belt. I also started with running no drop on my holster and found it to be uncomfortable to draw from and found a slight drop (Safariland) which brought it down about 3 inches and it was perfect. Not a drop leg but the top of the pistol rides about half way down the belt.
     
    The Velcro on my wife’s and my cr speed belts are over ten years old and still working and we use them often. Never used Molle strap holsters but the double belts are very solid so I can’t see why not. Even though the outer belts come off easy which is great for dropping your entire set up when not needed on your waist it’s great to have holsters with tek lok style clips so you can easily take them off if not needed especially in sports like three gun where you for instance may not need your shotgun shell holders for example on a stage. I use a bladetec holster for my comp pistol with no drop just set my tek lok as low as I can and that’s it but that’s a personal feel and you may have to experience with both and settle on what feels best. Hope this helps. All of my holsters and mag holders both wife and I are blade tech very high quality just FYI
     
    I KISS with a belt from Ares Gear and kydex from various places for gun, mags. The Aegis enhanced belt is very rigid and the buckle never slips.
     
    Veteran owned, made in the USA in Kentucky. Extremely high quality and well designed.
     
    My view toward personal equipment is heavily colored by my Vietnam experience. The primary attribute for me was/is the ability to gear up ASAP. Get it on the body, and moving to engagement first; putting all the snaps and buckles right once on the move.

    Our likeliest moment of need was usually while asleep. Being able to get out of bivouac and away from the zeroed zone was essential. Arty and rocket bombardment were the initial threat. The most vulnerable moment was while getting up, equipped, and moving. Helmet, flak jacket, boots, rifle, ammo belt, BOOGIE! Get in the hole! (Clothes optional). This was half a century ago (I was back home in '67), but much of it remains accurate.

    We figured we had about a minute before the second, corrected barrage arrived. Reality dictated that we actually had more, but erring on the side of speed was the preferred option. Getting skragged while lacing up your boots was a no-no.

    These days, these locations; the threat has changed. But the concept still holds water.

    I want a belt that has the gear ready to go, and actually gets on the body rapidly. This is the belt I've chosen. It is complemented by a drop leg holster that I can't find on Amazon, which I got at the DM Base Exchange in Tucson (Blackhawk?). The setup dons quickly; and it provides a total of four pistol mags at the ready, somewhat less cluttered than average. Four may be a lot, may be a little, but I doubt having a couple of extra mags is all that much of a detriment.

    These days my handgun and Grabber Carbine both eat 9mm out of the same magazines (Ruger American Pistol 9/Ruger PC Carbine 9). Having the same chambering isn't a real value unless the magazines match. These days my primary applications are for HD and 2-Gun matches; first magazines use 124gr HST, following mags use 124gr Blazer Brass.

    The Ruger PC Carbine is a takedown rifle. For carry, it rides in this Sling Pack.

    Greg
     
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    I run a Ronin Shuto belt and replaced the inner liner with a HSGI micro grip belt. This combination allows me to wear my rig over any clothes. If I have to wear my belt rig for HD, chances are good I won’t have the luxury of time to choose what clothes is underneath.

    As for my holster setup, I have a Safariland Mid-Ride mounted to the belt, and a Safariland QLS bolted onto the Mid-Ride. The Mid-Ride drops my holster lower so it’s easier to draw, but not so low that my holster becomes floppy. The QLS allows me flexibility to swap out different holsters faster.

    As for my magazine retention, my pouches are anchored securely to the outside of the Ronin using HSGI Molle Fasteners.
     
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    Get a Safariland competition system for the belt, not the duty belt as mentioned above; if you like the inner belt velcro liner it is available for quick detachment from self. Their drop legs are very modular and easy to reconfigure. I have used the other "battle belts" with Safariland attachment gear as well; this one was a Blackhawk with Blue Force Gear malice clip attachments for Safariland kit, matching shoes and handbag not found. I like to add a paracord pull strap (as seen in last photo) on the belt to get a really tight fit, like the rodeo bull riders that cinch up their hand with tight wraps before the gate opens. Sometimes a simple Propper belt with Safariland belt clip system is handy. Installing "belt keepers" to further stabilize the belt rig to self is also recommended; available in button snap and velcro styles.

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    Get a Safariland competition system for the belt, not the duty belt as mentioned above; if you like the inner belt velcro liner it is available for quick detachment from self. Their drop legs are very modular and easy to reconfigure. I have used the other "battle belts" with Safariland attachment gear as well; this one was a Blackhawk with Blue Force Gear malice clip attachments for Safariland kit, matching shoes and handbag not found. I like to add a paracord pull strap (as seen in last photo) on the belt to get a really tight fit, like the rodeo bull riders that cinch up their hand with tight wraps before the gate opens. Sometimes a simple Propper belt with Safariland belt clip system is handy. Installing "belt keepers" to further stabilize the belt rig to self is also recommended; available in button snap and velcro styles.

    View attachment 7332490View attachment 7332491
    What the heck is going on here? How do you access spare mags attached to your holster platform with your weak hand? Especially the ones behind the holster? Looks impractical to me, but maybe I’m just not understanding your setup?
     
    When did they become gay!?!?

    Now I’ve gotta go sell all my stuff.

    Pity though, it worked so well for me. 😜


    Be Loud, Be Proud, Embrace you.

    I think they are awesome when worn "over" stuff - rain gear, winter close, etc. After watching a guy get his jeans stripped to half mast by his I think suspenders are a definite. Only thing missing was the guy announcing "I dropped my magazine!" and than bending to pick it up with his ass exposed.

    but......

    When the belt line is clear of obstruction the security of a two belt system is superior, just way more hetero all around.
     
    if belts are wrong then I don’t wanna be right, lol...

    I’m sure it all depends on your intended use. If I was getting in and out of vehicles or needing to carry plates, etc I’d just run a plate carrier.

    I’ve used a belt system (cobra + hsgi slim) in my last several run n guns and classes and it’s worked well. I run the 10k events with obstacles including low crawls, walls, positional shooting, monkey crawled across rope bridges, etc.

    I find the weight on my hips is easier to run with vs on my shoulders where feel like I can’t breath as well. I haven’t had any issues with it getting twisted or losing mags or showing my rear, etc..

    just lucky I guess.
     
    Ordered the safelife. 15% off was nice, but they charge $15 to ship the damn thing! Jesus.

    question, going to order a drop holster for my shadow2, with this beast being 3# loaded... is that going to cause issues while moving around at matches, with it on a Velcro belt?
     
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    @Jmccracken1214

    No its not, I can do .25-5m jogs with my full belt and S2 with zero gear problems. My holster is QLS’d and using a single thigh strap. All attached to the belt via a Safariland medium drop UBL.

    I do not like anything higher. My duty belt rides higher and the draw stroke is less ergonomic. Medium + thigh strap is the way to go for me if given the option.
     
    I run a Ronin Shuto belt and replaced the inner liner with a HSGI micro grip belt. This combination allows me to wear my rig over any clothes. If I have to wear my belt rig for HD, chances are good I won’t have the luxury of time to choose what clothes is underneath.

    As for my holster setup, I have a Safariland Mid-Ride mounted to the belt, and a Safariland QLS bolted onto the Mid-Ride. The Mid-Ride drops my holster lower so it’s easier to draw, but not so low that my holster becomes floppy. The QLS allows me flexibility to swap out different holsters faster.

    As for my magazine retention, my pouches are anchored securely to the outside of the Ronin using HSGI Molle Fasteners.
    Running pretty much the same. Ronin TF belt, HSGI mini pad for if I’m running over rain gear, and Safariland ALS holster on a mid-ride w/the QLS system. I Use Esstac pistol and rifle pouches secured to the belt with their WTFix straps. Excellent rig once it’s setup.
     
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    For anyone interested, I may have a Trex Arms Orion in large, multicam color, up for sale soon.

    Lost weight and had to get a medium size.
     
    T-Rex Arms Orion user here. Love it, use it for most range days and competitions. Holds up great and stays put even under sprinting.

    2 Esstac pistol mag pouches
    Esstac AR-15 mag pouch
    T-Rex Arms dump pouch
    T-Rex Arms med kit
    32oz canteen pouch, think from Blackhawk
    RHT CZ Shadow 2 level 2 holster
    BFG single pistol pouch holding a Surefire light

    Cannot recommend the belt enough.
    T-Rex Arms Orion for Competition? looks look but Is it stable enough?
     
    T-Rex Arms Orion for Competition? looks look but Is it stable enough?

    Absolutely. In fact, Saturday afternoon I ran just under 2 miles in one and it does not move. I do full on shooting workouts with it wearing pants or even gym shorts and it has zero stability issues. Have ran it in 1 USPSA and a few IDPA outlaw matches as well. It is far more stable than my duty Safariland two belt system issued at work (which is quite horrible I might add).

    As far as holding up your pants (if not wearing gym shorts), any belt from a cheap football belt or actual pants belt will work.

    Its a legit one belt solution that sticks to you assuming you have it tightened down.