Any battle belt converts out there who have ditched the vest/plate carrier?

[ButcherBill]

Well...

I started with an old set of 58 pattern coz it's what I wore in the TA but remembered how bloody heavy it was so got a set of PLCE in DPM which was fine until I thought 'Osprey looks cool', after wearing a set of Mk4 for one game I thought 'holy shit how can people wear this?', I then bought a battle belt with a six point yoke which suited me fine until I went GBBR ish and realised I needed loads of mags and pouches for them but once I was game ready I realised most of the mags were out of reach most of the time, I stuck with the belt until an alice set took my fancy but the mag pouches don't sit right with either 20 rnd or 30 rnd pouches, the US influence stayed & I went all ACU with an FLC which I was delighted with coz it fitted my AMPLE frame, I then went all OCD and got more ACU from Germany & the US with a TAP but it's too front heavy when magged up so I got an old issued DPM chest rig off ebay & it's the comfiest & most practical for me (so far), holds all the mags I want & I've fitted a holster to the short & only bit of belt it has.

Basically the biggest hinderance to any kit I've tried is my fat gut & the chest rig sits on/above it nicely.

p.s. as a fat lad I've had to modify every bit of field gear except the ACU (US army must cater for fatties) & the DPM chest rig.

p.p.s. at some point of all that nonsense I got some Bundeswehr field gear in case I ever took my G36 or G3 to a game but I've not used it or them yet.

p.p.ps. the ACU cost a fortune in postage so I'm unlikely to use them in game.

p.p.p.p.s. thank god I'm a collector.

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[MrTea]

Depends on where i'm playing and, sometimes, the RIF i'm using.

I've found that i'm much more comfortable with a belt & yoke setup when playing outdoors as it lets me get flatter while not obscuring magazines for a reload but dislike the extra width when playing indoors CQB so I run a chest rig for that instead. After selling my last webbing setup, i've wanted another so i've been building a new one in MC Tropic ready for when I can get back outdoors next. Just need to find some MC Tropic M4 pouches.

As for RIF, the only comfortable way i've found to store P90 mags is in the specific pouches that Viper make from a belt setup. The mags do fit in a chest rig but the length means i'm close to hitting myself in the chin with the mag.

 

[ruskitseller]

Well...

I started with an old set of 58 pattern coz it's what I wore in the TA but remembered how bloody heavy it was so got a set of PLCE in DPM which was fine until I thought 'Osprey looks cool', after wearing a set of Mk4 for one game I thought 'holy shit how can people wear this?', I then bought a battle belt with a six point yoke which suited me fine until I went GBBR ish and realised I needed loads of mags and pouches for them but once I was game ready I realised most of the mags were out of reach most of the time, I stuck with the belt until an alice set took my fancy but the mag pouches don't sit right with either 20 rnd or 30 rnd pouches, the US influence stayed & I went all ACU with an FLC which I was delighted with coz it fitted my AMPLE frame, I then went all OCD and got more ACU from Germany & the US with a TAP but it's too front heavy when magged up so I got an old issued DPM chest rig off ebay & it's the comfiest & most practical for me (so far), holds all the mags I want & I've fitted a holster to the short & only bit of belt it has.

Basically the biggest hinderance to any kit I've tried is my fat gut & the chest rig sits on/above it nicely.

p.s. as a fat lad I've had to modify every bit of field gear except the ACU (US army must cater for fatties) & the DPM chest rig.

p.p.s. at some point of all that nonsense I got some Bundeswehr field gear in case I ever took my G36 or G3 to a game but I've not used it or them yet.

p.p.ps. the ACU cost a fortune in postage so I'm unlikely to use them in game.

p.p.p.p.s. thank god I'm a collector.

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Nice one Butcher that's a great collection mate and thanks for sharing. I wonder...if you could only be stuck with one for the rest of your life, which one would it be?  

Cheers mate!

 

[ButcherBill]

if you could only be stuck with one for the rest of your life, which one would it be?

At my current massiveness I'd say the DPM chestrig but if I was a slimmer & fitter person I'd say the Mk4 Osprey but that's because I'd like to be more milsimy. I do like the idea of using the ACU FLC but tbh it's crappy cam for a Scottish forest (MTP is crappy too), old school DPM PLCE would be my go to if I could only pick one.

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[EvilMonkee]

I love my SMERSH, really comfy, loads of room and storage.  Being ex mil meself, I too prefer not having anything on my chest.  If I do, its usually a Chicom style rig purely for extra mags as a GBBR user.  

 

[Rory]

I’m too old and fat to run about with a cummerbund or mega hyper plate carrier. I’ve always found belt kit easier.

 @ButcherBill, I was also running an old 58 pattern webbing belt with repro fastmag holders for my main kit. I just augmented with a cheapo vest for ‘impact protection’. Served me well for ages. 
I still have a belt set up and a viper vest for game days, albeit with pouches, just had to get the old expansion Velcro bits added. Although I have seen some padded hip belts, interested to see if anyone is using them, my fear is an overly sweaty lower back/arse

 

[Skara]

I run a belt setup for longer games, found it doesn't restrict my breathing like a chest rig does when climbing steep hills or hiking many kilometres. Plus it's velcro lined so it locks onto my trousers preventing any shifting. It's based on the Templars Gear PT-4, pouches are a mix of Templars Gear, Helikon and Baribal.

Here's a picture of me wearing the thing along with a 15l backpack at October's National Finals, 4 rifle mags, two small utility pouches and a larger one at the back, GPS pouch and a dump.

I'm now considering building a second "speedsoft style" belt, much lighter with just 4x rifle mags and a dump pouch, will probably use a HSGI belt instead of a PT-4.

 

[Barny]

Not sure if this is what your after but an alternative belt set up below

TT_belts two part rigid belts fitted with 5.56 on the black and 7.62 on the MC.

The black one shows 3x rifle mags, 1x pistol, bfg holder, dump pouch, MHA with deadly customs holster and shaw concepts padded thingy.

The Mc one is currently in winter mode so the hpa tank gets moved onto the plate carrier along with 1x rifle mag. View attachment 141560

Both belts allow me to run kit off/away from my torso allowing me to keep cool with just a t-shirt on. Work well as i dont tend to run much when in game 

 

[Wavey_Gravey]

Rifle mag pouches on both sides of the belt is wild, you must have some long ass arms.

 

[Skara]

Rifle mag pouches on both sides of the belt is wild, you must have some long ass arms.

Not really.

I can easily reach the first one on the right without too much trouble and it's generally the first magazine used unless I'm in the middle of a firefight, where I draw the two on the left first.

2nd mag on the right is definitely harder to reach but again, if I have time I don't mind faffing around a little bit to get it.

Having all 4 mags on the left would be more convenient for reloads, but it would totally throw off the weight distribution, especially when I don't need to have a lot of stuff on me.

This way I can keep things balanced and, most importantly, at hand.

Except for the GPS, but that thing never comes out of its pouch when shooty shoot is expected and when I need to use it, it's clipped to the right suspender.

For the record, in those flat utility pouches I have a multitool + screwdriver and bits on the right, notepad + map reading stuff (ruler, protractor, map) on the left, plus spare room for my vape + liquid and smaller bits and bobs, while food goes in the slightly larger pouch at the back.

Mirror to the GPS pouch is a flapped double mag pouch for my radio and the wiring to my earpiece is threaded and taped to the left suspender, again I don't need to switch channels during a firefight.

(Also didn't realise how grey my hair became ??)

 

[Jacob Wright]

Just spotted this thread at a rather timely moment, as I’m currently pondering a battle belt. 
 

I currently run either a Platatac Peackeeper or Arktis chest rig, and sidearm just on my trouser belt. The chest rigs are great but at the last few games I played I could have done with just a battle belt. 
 

In the past I’ve used a Blackhawk Molle belt with Esstac Kywi’s and various other pouches, but the Blackhawk belt isn’t the most comfortable and shifts around a lot due to the lack of an ‘inner’ belt like you see on a lot of modern shooters belts, especially once you’ve added a couple of magazines onto it. 
 

I’ve stumbled across the Light Ops Belts from Dragon Supplies, and apart for being in MTP they look pretty spot on. The pouches are stitched to the outer belt, but would allow me to carry 3 primary magazines, 3 secondary magazines and a couple of small utility pouches for anything else. 
 

Currently got some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket, so I’ll let you know how I get on!

 

[ruskitseller]

I run a belt setup for longer games, found it doesn't restrict my breathing like a chest rig does when climbing steep hills or hiking many kilometres. Plus it's velcro lined so it locks onto my trousers preventing any shifting. It's based on the Templars Gear PT-4, pouches are a mix of Templars Gear, Helikon and Baribal.



Here's a picture of me wearing the thing along with a 15l backpack at October's National Finals, 4 rifle mags, two small utility pouches and a larger one at the back, GPS pouch and a dump.



I'm now considering building a second "speedsoft style" belt, much lighter with just 4x rifle mags and a dump pouch, will probably use a HSGI belt instead of a PT-4.

Yeah thanks for that mate, that is the sort of thing I am going for. I have some of bits for it now. I also have a Camelbak Mule rucksack for hydration, although I do also have an Osprey water grenade.