Supportive tactical belt options

[Petro712]

I have been using a standard nylon duty belt to hang my thigh holster from for many years. Ive seen more guys using a wider and thicker belt. They say it helps relieve some pressure on the hips and low back.

I dont have anything other than my thigh holster to put on my belt. All other gear is on my tac vest.

One thing I do like about my old belt is the velcro backing. I use a velcro inner belt that keeps the duty belt in place!!

I've looked at a few options and really like the features found on the VTAC Brokos belt. I do wonder however; is padding nice to have or does simply having a wider belt help? Do these belts stay in place or ride up?

Anyone have suggestions on belts for tactical use?

 

[WATERWALKER]

I've been using a HSGI 1.5" belt instead of a "duty" or cartridge type belt. I place this over my inner belt, which is a rigger's belt. This set-up has proven to be very comfortable. The only issue is other gear on my belt can be a little loose & keepers are all designed for 2" belts. W/ just a little effort you can get everything to tie down in place & not move.

I'm knit-picking a bit but I have absolutely no regrets in going this direction. IMO, the belt wears much more comfortably in all scenarios.

 

[mark5pt56]

The weight has to be on your shoulders or your waist/lower back. I'm getting ready to try the VTAC belt with suspenders so the weight isn't so much on my lower back. I would minimize the load the best you can. If some items can be in a small pack which may offloaded on site, etc depending on what your are doing. I think the padding just helps with comfort not so much with weight distribution, same as the wide belt, more so for attachment ease.

 

[slothlacrosse]

I just ordered an HSGI slotted slim grip belt. I'll snap some pictures and let you know how it feels once I get it set up.

 

[Petro712]

mark5pt56,

Let me know how the VTAC feels. That belt doesn't look padded. Appears to offer a wider footprint to help even the load and designed for carrying loads. As stated in my original post, I don't carry anything other than my thigh holster. My vest sits low enough that there is no room for pouches on my waist.

Slothlacrosse,

That slim belt looks pretty nice. I'm curious to know what feeling that inner belt material has. Will that neoprene padding have a little "holding" power to keep the belt at your waist?


As I continued searching. I've stumbled across a padded belt option that might save me some money. Tactical Tailor makes a belt pad that simply attaches to your existing belt. Looks like it might be a good option for me because I have no intention of attaching other items to the belt.

 

[mark5pt56]

If all you are attaching on the belt is a thigh rig, I would suggest just using a rigger belt or a decent semi rigid pants belt. I would also if you haven't just run the newer model ones with a single leg strap which will lighten the weight on the belt, etc. Safariland also makes a belt extender so you can drop it below the waist line and down enough from the vest. If your vest rides to low make sure it is fitted properly so the panels/plates cover the clavicle notch. I would recommend at least a spare pistol mag on the belt.

edit-make sure also your holster isn't to low, it should be no lower than with you standing erect, no body lean to that side, be able to cup your hand under the bottom of the holster body.

 

[Petro712]

My current setup is a velcro inner belt on my pants. My 2" nylon belt is attached using velcro to the inner belt. This helps keep everything in place. Very similar to my patrol setup.

The old school Safariland holster rides just below my belt line for the reasons you describe. I also run it slightly to the rear. Having the holster high and to the rear helps when running. Holster doesn't whip back and forth on the side of your leg. And if you need to go prone/crawl you will not be pushing the holster into the ground.

My vest covers everything it should. Panels cover from the clavicle notch to about my belly button while sitting (without touching tops of my thighs).

I am really looking for something to help with the last few hours of the day. It seems that my current belt starts to dig into my left hip area and you can start feeling the weight of the holster. I have not been able to contact anyone at Tactical Tailor today to check on sizing before I place an order. I think I will be trying their padded belt liner I posted about earlier.

Picture of my current belt attached.

 

[mark5pt56]

Two things I would look at after reading everything and looking at the shroud and belt. Maybe go to a 1 3/4" belt as the 2" may be two wide and not flex at the edges to cause pinching and the shroud is huge to where it may be pressing your hip/buttocks upwards as you sit and that will cause a pinch between body mass and the belt. I would try a thinner belt and trim the excess shroud down and to reduce weight, if you don't need the quick detach plates, hard mount the holster back on. I would try that first or even just run the holster directly to your pants belt to reduce excess bulk and may save you some coin.

 

[Avonac]

I have run regular nylon duty style belts, wide belts like the Vtac, with and without suspenders. 20+ years later, I'm wearing a Tyr gunfighter belt and I've ditched the thigh rig awhile back. This is by far the best setup I've used. But like others have said, if your only running a holster, just put it on a good riggers belt.

 

[BobinNC]

I had one made by Red Tac about 5 years ago. Best investment I could have made for a supportive tactical belt/harness.

http://www.redtacgear.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=50&sid=43fdaa500ec1cccbde4cc9d7e1db8136

 

[slothlacrosse]

Slothlacrosse,

That slim belt looks pretty nice. I'm curious to know what feeling that inner belt material has. Will that neoprene padding have a little "holding" power to keep the belt at your waist?

Belt arrived a couple days ago. I paired the slim grip with a 1.75" HSGI belt with Velcro.

I just have empty pouches on it at the moment, but the neoprene definitely seems to have some holding power. I'll let you know how it feels with more weight. I'll be running two pistol magazines, one M4 magazine, IFAK, and an M9 when it's all said and done.

Oh, and I had a USGI 1.75" rigger belt that I put underneath the HSGI belt so it would feed smoothly through the slim grip.

 

[Petro712]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up going with the Tactical Tailor Duty Belt Pad. $30 shipped. The pad was easy to attach to my existing 2" nylon belt. It feels comfortable in the short term. I have training in two weeks and will know more about comfort after wearing it for a few days. I went this route to save some money (just purchased a new Eberlestock G1) and I also have no use for all the extra MOLLE that other belts offer.

Only con is that the velcro straps are mounted permanently. It happened to work out that one of the straps was where I usually hang my thigh holster. I needed to move the thigh holster back a little to make it work.